Click here to view the African Studies Degree Plan. Students taking African Studies as an M.A. concentration take six courses in the field (which may include one course outside African Studies on an African topic) in addition to the regular core, economics and language requirements of the SAIS degree. In addition, the short course Introduction to Political Inquiry is taken during the first semester. Students will take two Core Courses and accompanying exams, including Comparative National Systems and a second course chosen by the student (either American Foreign Policy Since WWII, Theories of International Relations, or Evolution of the International System). The Economics requirement includes Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, International Trade Theory and International Monetary Theory. Additional Economics courses may be taken as electives. All M.A. candidates must achieve oral and written proficiency in at least one foreign language, and Ph.D. candidates in a second language or quantitative methods. French, Portuguese and Arabic are the main program languages. Intensive instruction is offered in elementary, intermediate and advanced classes. Other African languages are offered in the Washington area to SAIS students by special arrangement. Electives may be taken in a wide variety of areas, including International Development, Conflict Management, or International Policy. In the fourth semester, students submit a major research paper. The Program paper should be of publishable quality, and may be the product of a regular course or of supervised independent research. It is due on or about April 1 of the second year and must be approved before the oral examination can be scheduled. A prize for the best paper is awarded at graduation. The oral exam is based on the student's courses and on the Program syllabus. Students are expected to be able to discuss general theories and principles of the social sciences, and to apply them to African themes and questions. Students should also demonstrate a depth of knowledge in one sub-region of Africa.
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