African Studies

Africa is home to around 1.5 billion inhabitants in 54 countries, with a wide range of cultures and languages. As a continent, it is a key player in issues such as climate change and global economy, while its art and literature gain increasingly international appreciation. In the African Studies bachelor’s programme you will acquire in-depth knowledge about Africa, from an internal perspective and with a critical eye for the external, often euro-centric approaches of ‘Africa’.

Why African Studies at Leiden University?

• Leiden is the only place in Europe where you can follow an English-taught BA programme on African Studies.
• In this programme, you will learn Swahili. In addition to the language acquisition courses, you will stay an entire semester in an African country of your choice.
• Choose and combine different disciplines to study Africa in-depth: History, Anthropology, Linguistics or Literature and Arts.
• You will be able to tailor the programme according to your interests, focusing on your disciplinary choice, a particular theme, Africa as a continent, or a particular region or country.