African Studies (Research)

First year

Second year

Career Preparation

Career preparation in African Studies

In addition to offering you a solid university education, Leiden University aims to prepare you for today’s labour market. Your studies will contribute to the development of your employability. After finishing the programme, it will become easier for you to make the transition to the labour market, to remain employable in a dynamic labour market in a (career) job that suits your own personal values, preferences and development.

'Employability' consists of the following aspects that you will develop within your study programme, among others:

1. Discipline-specific knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills specific to your study programme.

2. Transferable skills
These are skills that are relevant to every student and that you can use in all kinds of jobs irrespective of your study programme, for example: research, conducting analyses, project-based working, generating solutions, acquiring and developing digital skills, collaborating, oral communication, written communication, presenting, raising societal awareness, independent learning, and resilience.

It is important that during your study programme you not only acquire as much knowledge as possible about your subject, but also are aware of the skills you have gained and the further skills you still want to learn. The course descriptions in the Prospectus of the Master’s Programme in African Studies include, in addition to the courses’ learning objectives, a list of the skills that they aim to develop.
The skills you may encounter in the various courses are:

• Collaborative skills

• Persuasive skills

• Research – and analytical skills

• Self-directed learning

• Creative thinking

3. Self-reflection
This concerns self-reflection in the context of your (study) career, including reflecting on the choices you make as a student during your studies, esp. with respect to what you can do with your knowledge and skills on the labour market.
In addition, reflecting on your own profile and your personal and professional development. Who are you, what can you do well, what do you find interesting, what suits you, what do you find important, what do you want to do?

4. Practical experience
Gaining practical experience through internships, work placements, projects, practical (social) assignments, which are integrated into an elective, minor or graduation assignment.

5. Labour market orientation
Gaining insight into the labour market, fields of work, jobs and career paths through, for example, guest speakers and alumni experiences from the work field, career events within the study programme, the use of the alumni mentor network, interviewing people from the work field, and shadowing/visiting companies in the context of a particular subject.

Employability in African Studies

You will also find these employability elements in your study programme. Examples of subjects that pay attention to this are:

• New Frontiers in Africanist Research: developing a joint research proposal in small groups, during which you practice your analytical and collaborative skills.

• Methods and skills in Africanist research: You will learn about and practice diverse qualitative and quantitative research methods and techniques.

• Seminar: Writing research proposal: step-by- step, you will write your own research proposal and learn how to set up a feasible research plan.

• Research project: Fieldwork: during your sixth months of fieldwork research, you will practice all kinds of skills that are needed if you aspire an academic career but that are also very important in other professional settings: networking, research methods and techniques, self-reflexivity, problem solving, analytical skills etcetera.

• Seminars Seminar Thesis Writing and Academic Publication and you will be guided in how to write a good academic thesis, as well as an academic publication, with a focus on analytical skills, argumentation, presentation, and originality.

• Thesis Research Master African Studies: in your thesis, you will practice all the skills that you learned throughout the course of the programme.

Activities to prepare for your career alongside / outside the curriculum

The curriculum of the two year’s research master in African Studies is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach rooted in the humanities, such as history and literary studies, and the social sciences, such as anthropology, political science and economics. As a result you will have the opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge about different aspects of the African continent and its peoples, at the same time you are not bound by boundary constraints of any of the more traditional disciplines focusing on Africa. An important aspect of this programme is developing your ability to conduct original and interdisciplinary research.
How can you use this knowledge and the skills that you acquire? Which focus should you choose within your study programme and why? What skills do you already have, and what further skills do you still want to learn? How do you translate the courses that you followed into something that you’d like to do after graduation?
These questions and more will be discussed at various times during your study programme. You may already have spoken about them with your study coordinator, the Humanities Career Service or other students, or made use of the Leiden University Career Zone. Many different activities are organised to help you reflect on your own wishes and options, and give you the chance to explore the job market. All these activities are focused on the questions: ‘What can I do?’, ‘What do I want?’ and ‘How do I achieve my goals?’.

Every year, various activities take place, within, alongside and outside of your study programme, which contribute to your preparation for the labour market, especially where it concerns orientation towards the work field/the labour market, (career) skills and self-reflection. These activities could be hosted by your study program to discuss the key decision stages within your program. Furthermore, you may want to attend career workshops and events organised by the Humanities Career service or your study association.

You will be notified via the Humanities website and by email about further activities in the area of career preparation. The following activities will help you to thoroughly explore your options, so we advise you to take careful note of them:

• Introductory interview with coordinator of studies

• Introduction to the the Humanities Career Service

• Internship information session

• Internship

• Humanities Career Event

• Guest lectures of alumni

• Workshop ‘Insight into your skills’

• Workshop ‘How do I find a job?’

• Workshop 'CV and job application letter'

• Various other Humanities Career Service workshops

Humanities Career Service, LU Career Zone and Career Workshops Calendar

Humanities Career Service
The Humanities Career Service offers information and advice on internships, study (re)orientation and master's choice, orientation on the labour market and careers.

Leiden University Career Zone
The Leiden University Career Zone is the website for students and alumni of Leiden University to support their (study) career. You can find advice, information, (career) tests and tools in the area of (study) career planning, career possibilities with your study, job market orientation, job applications, the Alumni Mentor network, job portal, workshops and events and career services.

Workshops and events
On the Workshops calendar you will find an overview of career and application workshops, organised by the Humanities Career Service.