Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies

Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies

This certificate offers students the opportunity to develop a thorough grounding in the interdisciplinary field of Africana Studies. Africana Studies is the analysis of the lives, thoughts, and creations, broadly defined, of people of African ancestry on the African continent and throughout the world; this includes their histories, languages, literatures and arts, cultures, and socio-economic and political realities as they are manifest in the United States, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and indeed anywhere people of African descent are found.

The Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies offers interested master or doctoral students an opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary graduate concentration in Africana Studies, while at the same time earning a degree in a disciplinary major field. In addition to gaining knowledge of peoples and of issues with particular significance to the Africana world, students pursuing this certificate will also benefit from the interdisciplinary training that is the hallmark of Africana Studies. They will be exposed to the scholarship, methods, and theories of the multiple disciplines that contribute to the critical analysis and understanding of the Africana world.

Faculty Participation

The Graduate Certificate Program in Africana Studies is guided by faculty from a variety of departments throughout the University. It is recommended, though not required, that the Student’s Advisory Committee include one of the Africana Studies teaching faculty as a member.

Eligibility

Any Texas A & M University graduate student enrolled in a masters or doctoral program may apply for a Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies. To be eligible to pursue the certificate, a student must meet the following additional conditions:

• The student must be in good academic standing.
•  The student must submit all the application materials referred to in the Google Application form
•  The student must have her or his pursuit of the certificate approved by the Program Coordinator of Africana Studies after review of all the application materials.

Requirements

Certificate candidates must complete 12 hours of Africana Studies approved course work and receive a grade of at least a B in each course completed. Those 12 hours should include:

• 3 hours of humanities credits
• 3 hours of social science credits
• 3 hours of approved free elective (from any of the Colleges on the Texas A & M University campus)
• AFST 601 – This is a required course for all students pursuing the graduate certificate

Courses

The courses currently approved for this certificate program are taught in a variety of departments across the College of Liberal Arts, including Anthropology, Communication, English, Hispanic Studies, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. Please see the Graduate Catalog for a partial list of currently approved courses. Note that while senior-level undergraduate courses (400-level) are included on the list, only 3 credit hours of coursework may be taken at that level to count toward the Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies; the remainder of the credit hours must be at the graduate level. Also note that with prior approval, up to 3 of the 12 required credit hours may be taken through an Independent Study or a Readings Course in a Africana-content course in the student’s major department. If the student’s thesis or dissertation involves a substantial Africana Studies focus, up to 3 hours of the thesis or dissertation research hours may be counted toward the certificate provided that the research is shared through a public forum on the A & M campus (e.g., brown bag, Glasscock lecture, RESI lecture, etc.). It is understood that courses counted toward the certificate may also count toward the major degree requirements.

How to Apply

Student enrolled in a masters or doctoral program at Texas A & M University who want to earn a Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies should speak to the Africana Studies director and the appropriate departmental graduate advisor as early as possible in their program of study so that a plan of study can be worked out. Application materials for the certificate program will be accepted at any point during the academic year. Once the required 12 hours are completed, the Graduate Certificate will be awarded, usually at a Spring Africana Studies event.

Application Form

For more information on the Africana Studies Graduate Certificate, please contact Dr. Alain Lawo-Sukam at  lawosukam@tamu.edu