Economics and Africa and Black Diaspora

Economics as a discipline asks how resources are allocated, how incentives shape behaviour, and how the rules governing markets and societies are made and remade. The Africa and Black Diaspora strand brings a distinctive intellectual perspective to these questions, drawing on the histories, cultures, politics, and intellectual traditions of African societies and Black communities across the world. Studying them together is not simply an exercise in applying economic tools to a particular region: it is a broader interrogation of how economic ideas have been shaped by colonial histories, how development is understood from different vantage points, and how African and diaspora thinkers have contributed to global intellectual life.

At SOAS, you will study economic theory and its application alongside courses that examine African history, culture, religion, literature, and philosophy, as well as the political and social dimensions of the Black diaspora in the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe. The programme includes a foundation year, giving you a carefully structured preparation for degree-level work if you do not yet meet the standard entry requirements. You will develop analytical and critical skills that are shaped by the genuinely diverse intellectual resources the university brings together.

The programme runs over four years in total when the foundation year is included, studied full-time.

Graduates from this combination of economics and African and Black Diaspora studies are well positioned for careers in international development, the civil service, policy analysis, NGOs, journalism, research, and organisations focused on equity, global trade, and social justice. The combination of quantitative economic reasoning and the deep critical and historical understanding that the SOAS environment provides makes graduates distinctive. Many go on to postgraduate study in economics, development studies, African studies, or related disciplines.