African Studies with Environment

The new African Studies degrees at UCL draw on world-leading research and expertise from across the university relating to the study of Africa, and offer a unique opportunity to choose one of three distinct pathways. The African Studies with Environment MSc focuses on contemporary environmental issues including water supply, agricultural systems, climate change and settlement growth.

The degree pathways share a common core, comprising modules on the continent’s political and economic past and present, together with training in research methods. In addition, the Environment pathway explores aspects of human-environment interaction, through a range of advanced optional modules drawn from the Departments of Anthropology, Archaeology and Geography and The UCL Bartlett Development Planning Unit.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of three core modules (45 credits), three optional modules (45 credits), and a dissertation/report (90 credits).

Core modules

• Africa: Dialogues of Past and Present
• Debating Africa's Future
• Research Methods in African Studies

Optional modules

• Students choose three from a range of options including the following:
• Adapting Cities to Climate Change in the Global South
• Climate Change and Human Response to Holocene Africa
• Climate Modelling
• Ecology of Human Groups
• Environmental GIS
• Holocene Climate Variability
• Impacts of Climate Change on Hydro-Ecological Systems
• Land, Food and Agriculture
• Population and Development
• Post-Disaster Recovery Policies, Practices and Alternatives

Dissertation/report

All students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 15,000 words.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars and guided independent research. Assessment is through essays, portfolio, research proposal and examination.

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.