Centre of African Studies > Student information > Traineeship and fieldwork
There are many opportunities to combine your study programme with a period of traineeship or fieldwork in Africa. For the majority of students, a period abroad is both academically rewarding and an exciting life experience.
Photos: Mikkel Grabowski
Project-based module - traineeship or fieldwork
Participation in a traineeship or fieldwork programme may replace a thematic seminar, and should take place in the 3rd semester. The traineeship or fieldwork programme must have direct relevance to African Studies and must therefore normally take place in Africa. However, traineeships or fieldwork programmes taking place outside Africa will be permitted if the assignments or the location of the fieldwork relates specifically to Africa.
Traineeship
The objective of the traineeship is to gain practical knowledge and experience in carrying out assignments and participating in activities that are relevant to one or more of the subject areas that make up African Studies. A traineeship may be part of the preparation for the MA thesis.
Fieldwork
The objective of fieldwork is to gather material on a specific topic and to give the student experience in the research situation that is characteristic of fieldwork. The student must be able to apply common quantitative and qualitative fieldwork methods. Fieldwork may be part of the preparation for the MA thesis.
Planning traineeship or fieldwork?
Many elements must be in place in order for you to get the most out of your stay. You are recommended to follow these steps in the planning phase:
- Contact the Student Councellors
- Contact your supervisor; Traineeship: Stig Jensen (sti@teol.ku.dk), Fieldwork: Niels Kastfeldt (nk@teol.ku.dk)
- Start searching for placement, writing applications and planning your stay
- Prepare and sign the Written agreement or work plan
- Contact the Student Councellors for Registration and approval
It is a good idea to subscribe to CAS Student News to receive electronic information on traineeship positions, scholarships and other financial support.
Registration and approval
Traineeship and fieldwork has to be approved by the Centre of African Studies in advance of your stay if you wish to obtain ECTS-points. For registration you need to fill in the Traineeship and Fieldwork Registration Form and hand it in to the Student Counsellors, studievejledningcas@teol.ku.dk. The registration form must be signed by your supervisor before handing it in, and you must enclose a written agreement between you and the host organisations (traineeship) or a work plan (fieldwork). Please note that you also have to register for traineeship / fieldwork via selfservice at KUnet.
Written agreement and work plan
Written agreement for traineeship
Prior to a traineeship, a written agreement between the student and the host institution must be concluded stating the work assignments, plan for the traineeship and contact person. The agreement must be approved by the assigned supervisor before the student's departure.
Work plan for fieldwork
Prior to a fieldwork programme, a written work plan stating the location of the fieldwork programme, the topic of the fieldwork and a timetable must be submitted. This plan must be approved by the assigned supervisor before the student's departure.
Duration of stay
Traineeship and fieldwork should take place in the 3rd semester. In order to be credit-earning, a traineeship or fieldwork programme must have a duration of at least six weeks (10 ECTS points), nine weeks (15 ECTS points), twelve weeks (20 ECTS points) or sixteen weeks (30 ECTS points), followed by writing a paper.
More formal information
We recommend that you read the study curriculum
Exam
Registration for exam
When you register your traineeship / fieldswork you have automatically signed up for the exam. It is strongly recommended that you confirm your exam registration and correct if if needed in the direct registration period from 1 to 15 March and 1 to 15 October on KUnet.You can read more about registration for exams here.
However, if you are abroad in the exam registration period, the Exams Office will accept registration by e-mail or you may register before going abroad.
Syllabus
In addition to the material collected during the stay, the paper must be based on relevant source literature with a scope of 1,000-1,250 pages (10 ECTS points), 1,250-1,500 pages (15 ECTS points), 1,500-1,750 pages (20 ECTS points) or 1,750-2,000 pages (30 ECTS points). The syllabus must include material collected during the stay and literature on scientific methods, and must be approved by the supervisor.
For both traineeships and fieldwork programmes, the knowledge that is collected during the programme must relate to a topic that the student has agreed with his or her supervisor prior to embarking on the traineeship or fieldwork programme.
The student's syllabus must be approved by the instructor prior to the exam. The syllabus should be approved using the form Frontpage. If circumstances prevent the instructor from signing the frontpage a written approval by e-mail will be accepted.
The written exam paper
12-15 pages (10 ECTS points), 18-21 pages (15 ECTS points), 24-27 pages (20 ECTS points) or 30-33 pages (30 ECTS points) excluding front page, notes, bibliography and any appendices (with a standard page equalling 350 words).
Remember to enclose the approved official frontpage to all three copies of your written paper. If you have received the approval by e-mail then remember to attach a copy of the e-mail to every copy of your synopsis or written paper.
Submitting your exam paper
The written exam paper must be submitted to the Exams Office no later than 1 February or 1 September.
However, if you are abroad, you may inquire the Exams Office about the possibility of submitting your paper by e-mail, or the possibility of submitting your paper on an individually fixed date.
Examiner(s): Internal.
Assessment: Pass/Fail.
Weighting: 10/15/20/30 ECTS points.