African Studies at the University of Basel
Studying with focus on Africa

The University of Basel and its Centre for African Studies offer numerous options to focus on Africa during your studies:

Since 2002 the Centre for African Studies Basel has offered an MA in interdisciplinary African Studies. The programme integrates the specific competencies in African Studies at the University of Basel into interdisciplinary training that combines natural and social sciences and humanities.

Africa-related courses are also offered within the framework of other BA and MA study programmes and several subject areas provide the option of choosing Africa as a regional focus.

Around 40 students are currently registered for the MA African Studies programme, and many students from other programmes participate in courses and engage with themes related to African studies.

Degree programmes with focus on Africa

MA African Studies

An interdisciplinary focus on Africa

There are good reasons to study Africa. If one engages with the continent on a deeper level, hardly any of the usual formulas turn out to be reliable. Today, the multiple demands placed on those dealing with Africa and its people cannot be covered or communicated within a single discipline. Where the usual interpretations fail, new knowledge is needed.

MA Critical Urbanisms

Cooperation with the University of Cape Town

The newly introduced MA in Critical Urbanisms trains a new generation of graduates to think beyond the divisions of urban versus rural and North versus South in order to address the complexity of urban lifeworlds in the twenty-first century. The curriculum combines humanities and social-scientific methods with visual and spatial analysis.

History

Europe and Africa in a global perspective

Since 1989, African history has been taught at the Department of History; and since 2001, a professorship at the Department focuses on Africa. The history of Africa plays a major role in the MA programme "Europäische Geschichte in globaler Perspektive" with a focus on the dimensions of entanglement, identity and conflict in the various periods.

Master of Science in Epidemiology

Interested in the health of populations?

The MSc degree in Epidemiology at the University of Basel is run by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH). It centres on the links between epidemiology and public health and on epidemiological research topics such as population-based clinical or interventions research and analysis.

Compare, understand, explain cultures

BA Ethnology and MA Anthropology

The regional focus of anthropology at the University of Basel is sub-Saharan Africa, supplemented by Latin America, Oceania and South East Asia. Topical courses are centred on our research specializations in political anthropology, urban anthropology, visual studies, media anthropology, and medical anthropology.

Courses

Most Africa-related courses are linked to the MA African Studies in the university's online course directory. The detailed directory includes additional relevant courses offered by the University of Basel and other universities.

Featured courses

Practical course, spring semester 2023

We are the stories we tell - Narrative Analysis in Practice (Melanie Sampayo)

Seminar, spring 2023

Coup d’État! The Persistence and African Fight Against Unconstitutional Changes of Government (Michael Aeby)

Seminar, Fall Semester 2022

Urban Climate Change (Jon Schubert)

Practical course, fall semester 2022

Archival Imaginations: Reflecting on Contemporary African Literature and Art (Julia Rensing)

Seminar, spring semester 2022

Understanding injustice in knowledge (Sindi-Leigh McBride)

Seminar, spring semester 2022

Decolonising Global Health – an African Studies’ Perspective (Henri-Michel Yéré)

Study Counselling

Do you have questions related to your study options or conditions for admission? Do you need help with compiling your curriculum? Or can we support you in organising your internship? Please contact us. We are happy to assist you with these and any other matters that may arise during your studies.