African Studies (Research)

Degree: Master of Arts in African Studies (Research)
Mode of Study: Full-time
Duration: 2 year
Start date: September, February
Language of instruction: English
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The two-year Research Master’s in African Studies is the only programme of its kind in the Netherlands. As a study which straddles the — artificial — frontier between the Humanities and Social Sciences, you will be exposed to many aspects of life on the African continent and will develop knowledge and skills which cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries. As a student of this research-based programme, you will specialise both in a particular theme and in a particular region of Africa — a prerequisite if you want to move onto PhD research — while still retaining a wider disciplinary and continental view which will give your specialisation its relevant context.
The master’s is run jointly by the African Studies Centre and Leiden University.

The information about this programme is available in the following languages:

The programme is taught by leading African Studies scholars from all the relevant institutions in the Netherlands and Flanders. The Research Master’s is based at the African Studies Centre, which is the only academic research institute in the Netherlands devoted entirely to the study of Africa, and regularly hosts African scholars through its visiting fellowship programme. Offering a seminar programme and with an extensive library, it is a unique place for research students. You will also be taught by academics from:

  • Leiden University
  • The Research School CERES
  • The Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)
  • The Universities of Wageningen, Utrecht, Groningen, Amsterdam (UvA and VU) and Leuven

There are two types of specialisation — thematic and regional — and you must choose one specialisation from each type and develop your research proposal accordingly.

Prof. De Bruijn

“The research master’s stands out with its concentration on the preparation and execution of research in the African field.”

“The Research Master’s in African Studies offers students not only thorough knowledge of the ‘field’ we have named Africa, but also the entrance into an international world of africanists and policy makers. Teaching in this research master’s is pleasant and rewarding, not only because the students are from very international and diverse disciplinary
backgrounds, but especially because the exchange between teachers and students is a learning experience for both. In our teaching we consider Africa not so much in its geography but as a category through which the world is formed and classified. The teaching programme provides for a wide variety and combination in approaches, from the arts to development studies.

The research master’s stands out with its concentration on the preparation and execution of research in the African field. Student research is explicitly rooted in the African studies environment offered in this master’s programme. Research of the students is linked to on-going research projects of senior researchers. This not only guarantees a good grounding in a specific African setting, which may be in the traditional field – a specific country or community, or in a museum or archive – but also a thorough exchange of ideas and theory on the research theme.

Leiden is the home base of this research master’s because of its unique history in African Studies, within the faculties of Social sciences and Humanities and the interuniversitary African Studies centre, that co-ordinates the master’s programme. The African Studies Centre has one of the most extensive and accessible libraries on African studies in the world.”