Broos Institute launches groundbreaking Master’s/MPhil program in African Culture

AMSTERDAM--The Afrocentric academic institute Broos Institute is proud to announce the launch of its part-time Master’s/MPhil program in African Culture and Development, beginning in January 2026. This modular program offers participants the chance to challenge dominant knowledge systems, explore African development perspectives, and contribute to urgently needed social change.

𝐀 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭

The courses will be taught at the Broos Institute’s office in Weesp, which functions as the official branch of the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies (MITDS) in Ghana. To the best of our knowledge, this marks the first time an African university has physically established itself in the Netherlands to deliver intercontinental training.

The Afrocentric program places African knowledge and perspectives at its core. It is modular in structure and designed for students across Europe. Participants can combine short, flexible modules into a full Master’s/MPhil degree, accredited by Ghana’s University for Development Studies (UDS).

This is the first in a series of program launched jointly by MITDS and the Broos Institute. Additional short courses will soon follow, blending cutting-edge knowledge with creative practice, online guidance, and workplace-oriented assignments.

𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

The program aims to build a sustainable bridge between Africa and Europe by connecting students, researchers, and professionals from diverse backgrounds. By focusing on African philosophies and indigenous knowledge systems, it breaks through Eurocentric frameworks and fosters mutual understanding.

Graduates will be equipped to combat inequality, racism, and discrimination, and to promote tolerance and resilience. They are envisioned as leaders and bridge-builders who can connect citizens, policymakers, academia, and activism.

𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭

“We turn the script around,” says Hokstam Baapore, founder and director of the Broos Institute. “Students experience Africa and Afrocentrism not as abstract study subjects, but as living intellectual, cultural, and social landscapes.”

Classes will begin in Weesp in January 2026, with hybrid components integrated throughout. All lecturers are affiliated with MITDS, and some modules will also be offered at MITDS’s Ghana campus—another unique feature of this program. Students will engage directly with African scholars and immerse themselves in African traditions of thought and practice.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬

• Study of African philosophies, indigenous knowledge systems, decolonial approaches, and culture as science

• Modules in the Netherlands combined with fieldwork in Ghana

• Six trimesters over two years (part-time), including lectures, seminars, field visits, a term paper, and a dissertation

• English-language instruction

• Tuition: €9,000 for the full duration

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲?

• Individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree and strong English-language skills

• Professionals and researchers seeking deeper knowledge of development issues, Pan-Africanism, and culturally grounded change

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬

Applications can be submitted via broos.institute/admissions-process. The process includes completing a registration form, paying a €30 registration fee, undergoing academic screening, possible interviews, and formal acceptance.

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞

The Broos Institute for Afrocentric Studies and Research is a non-profit organization in Amsterdam dedicated to embedding Afrocentric perspectives into European education. It develops academic programs highlighting insights and contributions from people of African descent, taught by African and Afro-diaspora scholars.

The Institute has a proven track record in educational decolonization. It previously launched the Africana Development course in partnership with Anton de Kom University of Suriname (AdeKUS) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana. That course brought together students from the Netherlands, Suriname, and Ghana in a virtual classroom, where they studied development, history, identity, culture, philosophy, and leadership from an Afrocentric perspective.

In 2024, the Broos Institute also initiated an archaeological research project at a former plantation in Suriname, investigating the influence of Africans on the plantation system. The next phase begins in a few weeks, when a Belgian researcher will travel to Toledo to examine who designed and constructed the water landscape.

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐞

The Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies (MITDS), based in Bolgatanga, Ghana, is an independent research and training institution linking transdisciplinary scholarship to sustainable development. MITDS works closely with universities, local communities, and international partners, educating students to become researchers and practitioners who bridge science and social change.

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘏𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮 𝘉𝘢𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 (𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢.

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