SAQA

All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.

SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED QUALIFICATION THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Master of Arts: Near Eastern Studies

SAQA QUAL ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE
15914	Master of Arts: Near Eastern Studies
ORIGINATOR
University of the Free State
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY			NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education			HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework
QUALIFICATION TYPE	FIELD		SUBFIELD
Master's Degree	Field 07 - Human and Social Studies		Religious and Ethical Foundations of Society
ABET BAND	MINIMUM CREDITS	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	QUAL CLASS
Undefined	120	Level 8 and above	NQF Level 09	Regular-Provider-ELOAC
REGISTRATION STATUS		SAQA DECISION NUMBER	REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		SAQA 091/21	2021-07-01	2023-06-30
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30		2027-06-30

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification.

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION

Apply educational knowledge, skills, principles and methods and integrate in a fundamental and historical manner dimensions of the Near Eastern and North African cultures with knowledge of contemporary societal institutions, thus contributing to the disclosure of relatively unknown knowledge, which supports the disciplines and relevant professions in the Humanities. Qualifiers will demonstrate knowledge, skills and applied competence in the field of study that provide opportunities for continued personal growth, gainful economic activity and rewarding contributions to society.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

Learners who register for this qualification can:

Learn from predominantly written material;

Communicate what they have learnt comprehensively in the medium of instruction;

Learn and take responsibility for their own progress.

Recognition of prior learning:

The qualification recognises formal and non-formal prior learning (incorporating experiential learning) at a Higher Education and Training Certificate Level 7.

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING?

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES

The planned combination of learning outcomes are integrated with critical cross-field outcomes for this Qualification:

Practical Competency
The demonstrated ability/skill to achieve the major Skills/Applied Competency of the qualification.

Foundational Competency
The demonstrated understanding, by the Learner, of the embedded knowledge that underpins the end result/outcome.

Reflective Competency
The demonstrated ability/skill to integrate or connect our performances and to reflect on, evaluate and adopt the above competencies.

The Leaner will be capable of:

1. Managing and applying advanced knowledge of societal institutions and religions of Near Eastern cultures, including North Africa, in a disciplinary manner, as well as in conjunction with issues of institutions of contemporary society.
2. Resolving scientific problems in the field and to contribute to professions with adjacent knowledge bases such as scientists of religion and translators.

The learner will be able to:

1. Apply scientific methodology and research procedures to the sub-disciplines in the field of Near Eastern cultures and religions
2. Integrate the Near East and North Africa with world history and culture
3. Give a nuance account of the origin and nature of the major religions, i.e. Christianity, Islam, Judaism;
4. Translate and annotate Biblical and other religious literature;
5. Apply the theory of language, literature, religion and cultural anthropology to fields of research in the field of the Near East.
6. Perform independent research in the field.

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Learners will demonstrate their knowledge and skills through:

1. Collecting and managing information pertaining to the field;
2. Doing proper research;
3. Showing insight in historical and structural links between Near Eastern cultures and contemporary society;
4. Producing assignments and/or a dissertation that reflect scientific and technical quality.

Integrated assessment:

Competence is achieved, through continuous assessment by demonstrating the ability to achieve the outcomes of the Qualification

1. Independent assignments.
2. External moderation and examination of papers.
3. External examination of dissertation

Assessment documents are moderated to ensure that:

They conform to the scope and context of the competency as stipulated in the qualification.

They are constructed in such a way that the Assessor assesses the critical outcomes applied, during the Learners activity performances, towards achieving an outcome.

Assessments are:

To include confirmation of the Embedded Knowledge component to ensure that the Foundational Competency is achieved.

ARTICULATION OPTIONS

Vertical: Access PH.D. degree.

Horizontal: General MA in Humanities.

MODERATION OPTIONS

A system of external peer review and evaluation of departments including evaluation of the standards and assessment practices per Department.

Qualifications: The minimum academic and workplace experience requirements at a level above the level of moderation.

Appropriate professional criteria will be drafted in the case of workplace assessment.

Mentorship: All junior and new members of staff are mentored by senior members as they work together in teams. All assessment done by external assessors is quality controlled by internal staff.

Any moderation criteria as determined by the ETQA.

All practical and written examinations are externally moderated.

Dissertations, articles and minor dissertations the examination panels consist of internal and external examiners with external examiners always in the majority; at least one external examiner is used in the case of examination papers.

CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS

The academic staff of the University of the Free State complies with standards set by Senate and will exercise their assessment within the approved quality assurance system of the University. Assessors will also meet all criteria as stipulated by the relevant ETQA.

Assessors are:

Subject matter specialists.

Registered with the awarding body.

Accredited by the awarding body after achieving competency against Unit Standards of competence for Assessors.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015.

NOTES

N/A

LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION:

NONE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

1.	University of the Free State