LSE will introduce its first degree programme focussing solely on Africa in September 2014.
Applications are currently being accepted for the new MSc in African Development, which will be delivered within LSE’s Department of International Development.
Students on the course will be taught by internationally-renowned academics such as Professors Thandika Mkandawire and Catherine Boone.
Professor Catherine Boone, who will also serve as the Programme Director, said: “LSE realised that we had a critical mass of competency in this area within the Department of International Development and that there was a demand for this course and that we could harness a lot of the resources already inside the department to organise a one-year MSc course in this area.”
The programme will centre on the African Political Economy and African Development courses which will focus on African history, geography, institutions, politics, economics and economic policy. However, students will be able to choose additional courses to enhance their global view of development.
The department is hoping for strong interest from students in India and China where there is substantial new interest in Africa, but not necessarily a long history of development and academic expertise in this area. The degree programme will sit alongside the Programme for African Leadership (PfAL) which is a significant scholarship fund for African students who wish to apply for the MSc Development Management or the MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies (IDHE).
There is a lot of excitement within the department as it prepares for the first cohort of students.
“I am looking forward to meeting these interesting people from all over the world with an interest in Africa and a background of working or studying on the continent,” Professor Boone said.
“We think it will be an interesting, intellectual community.”
The deadline for applying for the MSc in African Development is 4 July 2014.
Follow this link for more information on the MSc in African Development.
This is great news. I hope I will be able to join at some point in time.
A good programme. Will help propel African development agenda under w new leadership
Why create a whole new programme? Couldn’t demand of African development teaching be satisfied just by adding new courses that would fit in the already existing programmes?
Are there available scholarships?
If you are an African student interested in studying Development at LSE, you might want to consider the Programme for African Leadership (http://www.lse.ac.uk/internationalDevelopment/programmeForAfricanLeadership/AboutTheProgramme.aspx). Otherwise, this page gives more details about how international students apply for scholarships to come to LSE.
As Professor Boone says in the article, the School recognised that the International Development Department had the expertise and also that there was a demand for this course.
“This one year course is primarily directed at students from Europe, USA, Latin America and Asia”
Why create a course about Africa, but exclude actual Africans from who it is primarily directed at?