Master's degree African Studies (MA)

The two year Master’s degree programme builds on the knowledge and skills gained in the Bachelor’s degree programme of African studies, and serves to deepen the knowledge in the special field (linguistics, history and societies or literary studies). The Master’s degree programme provides the development of skills that may be applied in various occupational fields:

  • Academia: research and teaching at university or other academic institutions 
  • Culture: e.g. archives, libraries, museums, tourism, media 
  • Development cooperation: planification, support and evaluation of humanitarian projects (project management, monitoring) of non-governmental or governmental organisations in Austria or abroad (e.g. NGOs, ministry of foreign affairs, EU, UN)
  • International committees: research, administrative work or politics
  • Diplomatic service: only in combination with the required additional qualifications

 

General recommendations
 A good command of German is a prerequisite to follow most of the courses at the department of African Studies. However, the majoritiy of the academic literature is not provided in this language. This is why a good command of English is also required. In addition, the command of French or of another European language may be an asset. Students are encouraged to complete parts of their studies abroad in order to acquire additional qualifications. At the beginning of every semester, an information event is hosted to facilitate the start for first-year students by providing the possibility to meet lecturers and fellow students, as well as to receive support in how to structure their studies. 

Admission to the Master's degree programme

There are two entry requirements for the Master's degree programme:

1) The main entry requirement is a Bachelor's degree (Bakkalaureat or Diplom respectively) in an academic field of relevance for African Studies.

The admission procedure is determined by the major subject of your Bachelor's degree (African Studies or another relevant field) and by the institution that awarded it (University of Vienna or other university).

If your degree mainly, but not fully corresponds to the Bachelor’s degree of African Studies of the University of Vienna, you may have to complete up to 30 additional ECTS during your Master’s degree studies. We highly recommend to complete the required courses at the beginning of your studies in order to reduce the risk of failure in Master's degree courses due to the lack of prerequisite knowledge.

The admission period for the winter semester lasts from mid-June to the beginning of September.
The admission period for the summer semester: end of December to beginning of February

Please consult the following sites from the University of Vienna for general information: http://studieren.univie.ac.at/en/master-programmes

 

2) A proficient command of German is required as most courses are taught in this language. Please consult this page for more detailed information about how to prove your knowledge of German.

Admission with a degree from the University of Vienna

● Admission with a Bachelor's degree in African Studies: the admission to the Master's degree is possible on u:space as early as the day of graduation. For further details, please consult the page Teaching Affairs and Student Services.(Only in german)

● Admission without stipulations with a degree in another subject than African Studies (e.g. degree in History, Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Development Studies, Social and Cultural Anthropology or Political Science):

You can upload the documents necessary for the application on u:space. We highly recommend an early application, as the administrative procedure takes between 12 and 16 weeks. You will Need to receive the official notice of Admission before the end of the extended Admission period in order to start your Master's degree studies in the respective semester. Afterwards, you will receive an official notice of admission. For further details, please consult the page Teaching Affairs and Student Services. (Only in German)

● Admission with stipulations (e.g. degree in  Oriental Studies or Sociology):  the student needs to complete 6 ECTS:


1) African Linguistics: regional and thematic core area, 2 lectures, Code: SAS 2 
2) African Literary Studies: regional and thematic core area, 2 lectures, Code: SAL
3) African History and Societies: regional history , 2 lectures, Code: SAG

Admission with a degree from an Austrian university

Admission without stipulations with a degree in the following subjects: History, Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Political Science.

Admission with a degree from an institution within the EU

Admission without stipulations: Bachelor's degree in a subject with the specification "Africa/African"

Bachelor's degrees in a subject without the specification "Africa/African" need to be checked individually by the department's directorate of studies. Please see the section Recognition for further details.

Students who do not speak German as a mother tongue are required to prove their knowledge of German, as most courses are taught in this language. The minimum language requirement is B2.

Admission with a degree from institutions of non-EU/EEA countries

Each application has to be checked individually by the department's directorate of studies. Please see the section Recognition for further details.

Students who do not speak German as a mother tongue are required to prove their knowledge of German, as most courses are taught in this language. The minimum language requirement is B2.

 

 

Study plans and forms

Study plan African Studies - Master's degree (MA, version 2016)
Record of examinations African Studies - Master's degree (MA, version 2016)

Administrative steps throughout the MA


Master's thesis:
Rules of academic practice
Title page of the Master's thesis

Details on the request for mentorship and title of the Master's thesis and the submission of the Master's thesis

 Academic papers

All students of the University of Vienna are encouraged to read the University's policy on plagiarism, copyright & use of pictures and data protection in research.

Graduation MA

Check your electronic record of exams to make sure that all services are assigned to the correct modules and that there are no surplus services in modules. You can use the form „Prüfungspass“ linked here for comparison. In case of any uncertainties or changes, please contact the Student Services Office by e-mail. 

Your transcript of records (aka Sammelzeugnis) has to be confirmed by the StudiesServiceUnit before the grade of the master thesis can be entered. For this purpose, send your current and checked transcript of records by e-mail with the subject "Application for MA degree [name] [matriculation number]" to service.spl14@unvie.ac.at.

ATTENTION: The application may only be submitted via your u:account [aMatrikelnummer@unet.univie.ac.at]. Submissions from private mail addresses will not be processed.

Only after confirmation by the StudiesServiceUnit (SSS) and after entry of the master thesis grade you can submit the registration for the final exam/defensio directly via SSC. Please note that there must be two weeks between registration and examination date for administrative reasons.