African Studies (Master)

African Studies are an area science and focus on the research and description of African societies, especially their history, languages and literatures. During your studies, you deal with the knowledge of African societies and Africa's embeddedness in the world, as well as with the implementation of this knowledge in professional and social practice.

In the two-year master's programme, you can choose from three areas: African linguistics, African literary studies and African history. Our interdisciplinary focal topics at the institute invite you to work in an interdisciplinary manner; such as sociolinguistics, diaspora studies, gender, colonial history, afriphone literature, racism research, mobility, history of science, urban research, language contact, pan-Africanism, popular culture and post-colonialism. The teachers offer you intensive supervision and support you in organising study periods abroad.

Study Programme

The master’s programme in African Studies requires students to complete a basic module and a compulsory module. Moreover, they can choose one of the following three groups of compulsory modules: African Linguistics, African Literatures, and African History and Societies. The Basic Module is the foundation for any of the selected alternative group of compulsory modules. To complete the programme, students have to write a master’s thesis and pass a master’s examination. We advise students to complete parts of the alternative group of compulsory modules during a stay abroad.