MA African Studies at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Programme overview

The Center for African Studies administers a two-year program of area studies courses and intensive African language instruction leading to a Master of Arts degree designed to give students an interdisciplinary perspective on the study of Africa.

Faculty: College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | Study mode: full-time | Location: Champaign, IL, United States

What you will study

Required courses listed include IS 451 Bibliography of Africa; AFST 515 Practicum in African Studies (recommended); AFST 522 Development of African Studies; AFST 599 Thesis Research (8 hours max applied toward degree).

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

s The Center for African Studies admits students in the fall term only. Applicants to the Masters degree in African Studies should hold at least a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or from a recognized institution of higher education abroad. All graduate college admission requirements also apply. The Center does not require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, but it is highly recommended for students applying for the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship. Successful applicants should have a grade point average of at least 3.0 (4.0=A) calculated for the last 60 semester hours of undergraduate course work. International applicants or applicants whose native language is not English must have a minimum TOEFL score of 550 on the paper-based test (PBT) -- 213 on the computer-based test (CBT) or 79 on the

Domestic applicants: USD 14,908 a year (2026-27). Illinois resident rate. Tuition only for new and continuing graduate students, Fall 2026-Spring 2027 at full-time (12 credit hours per term). Non-Illinois U.S. resident tuition for this programme: $32,204. Excludes campus and mandatory fees, health insura Source

International applicants: USD 32,204 a year (2026-27). International rate. Tuition only for new and continuing graduate students, Fall 2026-Spring 2027 at full-time (12 credit hours per term). Excludes campus and mandatory fees, health insurance, housing and other expenses as the source states them separately Source

Not all graduate programmes offer admission in all terms; term availability is set by each programme of study.

Graduate applicants apply online through the Graduate College application; deadlines and term availability are set by each programme. Medicine, law and veterinary medicine applicants apply directly to their colleges.

Apply through the official page: https://afrst.illinois.edu/academics/graduate-programs/how-apply

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