Effective Fall 2022, the African and African Diaspora Studies MA has suspended admission.
This interdisciplinary program is designed to give graduates an understanding of the African and African diasporic experiences in both local and global contexts and incorporate culturally distinct perspectives in analysis of social and cultural phenomena. Upon completion of the program graduates will be able to analyze and compare knowledge systems and practices within African and African diasporic populations. MA graduates will gain skills in critiquing policies with respect to impacts upon communities of African descent both currently and in historical contexts. The MA will teach students to reflect upon and apply awareness of African and African diasporic experiences and theory to individual professional practices, communications, and interactions. Furthermore, MA graduates will gain quantitative and qualitative methodological skills for identifying and examining challenges affecting people of African descent as well as strengths and resources within African and African diasporic communities. Finally, students will utilize theoretical frameworks from Black Studies to design research-based strategies, programs, and recommendations to address challenges affecting people of African descent.
Admission Requirements
Effective Fall 2022, the African and African Diaspora Studies MA has suspended admission.
Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the application deadline chart for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
Credits and Courses
The MA in African and African Diaspora Studies is designed to be completed in two years and consists of 30 graduate-course credits. These 30 credits comprise 24 credit hours of advanced coursework, followed by 6 credit hours of thesis or project work. At least 15 credits of overall coursework must be taken at the 700 level or above.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Coursework | 12 | |
| Foundations and Theories in African & African Diaspora Studies | ||
| Theories and Methods in Empirical Research in African & African Diaspora Studies | ||
| Classic Works: Intellectual Production in Africa and the Diaspora I | ||
| Black Literary Theory and Cultural Studies | ||
| Additional Coursework | 12 | |
| Complete 12 credits from the following list: | ||
| Urban Violence | ||
| African Religious Thought and Social Organizations | ||
| African American Urban History | ||
| Black Workers in the 21st Century | ||
| Order and Disorder: The Quest for Social Justice | ||
| Africa/China Relations | ||
| Economic Problems of Black Business | ||
| Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa | ||
| Global Black Social Movements | ||
| The Black Family | ||
| Cultural Transmissions: Black Africa and Black America | ||
| Rites of Passage in Black Societies | ||
| Study Abroad: | ||
| Raising Children, 'Race-ing' Children | ||
| Selected Texts/Topics in African & African Diaspora Studies: | ||
| Classic Works: Intellectual Production in Africa and the Diaspora II | ||
| Critical Literary Theory II: Modern Concepts in the African World | ||
| Graduate Independent Study | ||
| Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in African & African Diaspora Studies | ||
| Qualitative Interviewing and Grounded Theory | ||
| Political Economy: Conceptual | ||
| Public Policies, Development, and Underdevelopment in Africa & the Diaspora | ||
| Political Economy of Development in African Countries | ||
| Political Economy of Development in African Countries II | ||
| Race Matters: Government and Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean | ||
| Political Economy of Income and Wealth Inequality | ||
| Race and Inequality | ||
| Seminar on Slavery | ||
| Comparative Social Institutions in African World Communities | ||
| Memory and Tradition: Identity-Making and Memory in the African Diaspora | ||
| Healing Traditions in the African Diaspora | ||
| Race/Ethnicity and the Psychology of Oppression | ||
| African-American Literary Theory and Criticism | ||
| Folklore in the African World: | ||
| Development of African-American Children in Urban and Rural Areas | ||
| The Quest for Pan-Africanism | ||
| Black Power Reconsidered | ||
| Problems in African American Urban History | ||
| Black Intellectuals and the Public Sphere | ||
| Seminar on Issues in African & African Diaspora Studies: | ||
| Thesis Research or Project | 6 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
Additional Requirements
Major Professor as Advisor
The student must have a major professor to advise and supervise the student’s studies as specified in Graduate School regulations. The Graduate Committee assigns a faculty advisor as a necessary prerequisite to admission.
Time Limit
Student must complete all degree requirements within five years of initial enrollment. It is expected that a full-time student will normally complete all of the requirements for the degree within two years.
Exit Requirement
Thesis
Students must prepare and defend a formal thesis reporting the results of their research.
Project
Students will, in consultation with their major professor, develop a significant research project, rather than a formal thesis as would be appropriate for a student continuing on to a PhD.
Comprehensive Exam
Students may choose to take the comprehensive exam as an option for attaining the exit requirement for an MA degree. Students seeking the option of using the Comprehensive Exam for the MA exit requirement are still required to fulfill the remaining six credits from graduate courses in African and African Diaspora Studies instead of the thesis or project credits.