The Graduate Program of the Department of Africana Studies provides students with critical exposure to the multidisciplinary study of people and cultures of African descent in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. AFRA@UD Welcome Video
The graduate program consists of three branches:
Course offerings for each branch bridge the foundations of Africana Studies with multidisciplinary research methods that results in robust advanced study in the four pillars of the Department:
- Pan-African Consciousness
- Public Humanities
- Blackness, Gender, and Sexuality
- Visual and Material Culture
The M.A. degree is multifaceted, equipping students with foundational and experiential knowledge about black life in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Courses and professional training in the M.A. follow the above pillars. The M.A. also offers interested students the opportunity to continue in Africana Studies, History, Art History, English, or other related fields at the advanced graduate level. Funding packages are available for the M.A. degree.
The Graduate Certificate is available to current UD graduate students and community members as post-baccalaureate education.
All currently enrolled undergraduate students at UD who are majoring or minoring in Africana Studies are eligible to apply for the 4+1 B.A./M.A. 4+1 applicants should declare their interests in this option at the beginning of their junior year to successfully coordinate the coursework and thesis requirements.
The Department of Africana Studies also participates in the University's African American Public Humanities Initiative, an interdisciplinary program integrating the disciplines of History, English, Art History, and Africana Studies to train students for a broad range of careers in and beyond the academy.
Individuals with graduate degrees in Africana Studies hold professional positions in government, schools, community organizations, journalism, and museums as well as academic positions in colleges and universities.
ADMISSIONS
Applicants to the AFRA@UD Graduate Program must have a minimum of an earned baccalaureate degree. Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary field, so the discipline in which the applicant received their degree is not necessarily a decisive factor in admissions.
Admissions to the graduate program are competitive. Those who meet stated requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.
The AFRA@UD Graduate Program Committee makes all admission and funding decisions. Applicants are evaluated on several criteria: applicant's statement of objectives, grade point average, letters of recommendation, and writing sample.
Completed applications for the M.A. are due January 3 to be considered for departmental funding. We offer Fall admission only. Application deadline is May 1 — without guarantee of consideration for departmental funding.
Completed applications for the 4+1 are due February 15 of the student's junior year.
To apply for the M.A., the Graduate Certificate, and the 4+1, visit UD's Graduate College. For other information, email Dr. Monica A. Coleman, Professor of Africana Studies and Director of Graduate Studies, at colemanm@udel.edu.
