Degrees & Majors

Africana Studies is a growing discipline. An increasing number of employers are seeking to fill positions with people who possess a cultural and historical analysis of Black people in the U.S., the African diaspora, and around the globe. As a discipline that is interdisciplinary and diasporic, African American ​Africana Studies specifically educates students in:

• Black political, cultural, philosophical and artistic thought and practice
• Black popular and mass culture
• Race in relation to the study of gender and sexuality
• Social justice through community engagement

This certificate program allows master’s and doctoral students in other disciplines to amplify the Africentric analysis in their own course of study. Some may simply want to explore a specific area reflected in their course of study. Others may wish to pursue employment for which a certificate in African American Studies is deemed an advantage.

Graduate students who want to engage in the interdisciplinary study of Black people in the United States, Africa and in the African diaspora will work closely with our faculty in this program.

Our faculty have expertise in the domestic and global study of race and Blackness in the traditional disciplines of African-American Studies, Anthropology, Art History, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Social Work and Public Health. There are few departments or programs that match our strengths in:

• Scholar-activism
• Diasporic studies in Black popular and mass culture
• Culturally relevant pedagogy
• Community empowerment
• Gender, sexuality and social relationships

While we have particular emphasis on Social Justice and Community Responsibility in the United States, we support and encourage the study and liberation of Black people everywhere in the world.

Africana Studies offers a master’s degree with competitive funding, which includes a tuition waiver and moderate stipend.

The Certificate in Ethnography is ideal for M.A. and Ph.D. students in a range of fields, including anthropology, sociology, community psychology, education, nursing, linguistics, communication, business and area studies. For students who plan to pursue careers in academia, private business or the public sector, the certificate offers applied and marketable skills in culture- and people-focused knowledge production and communication.

Ethnography is a field-based research method for the study of social and cultural patterns and practices. Ethnographers use participant-observation, direct observation and interaction, focus group interviews, and other qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques to uncover detailed patterns of human behavior in their cultural context.

Ethnographic data analysis is especially productive in clarifying complex issues, informing policy and designing innovative, effective, data-driven solutions to organizational problems. This signature methodology of cultural anthropology has broad application in a variety of academic disciplines, creative industries, professional fields and employment settings.

Ethnography encompasses basic and applied research and informs project planning and implementation. Ethnographic data are also relevant and useful in assessing community needs, addressing concerns of personnel and enhancing cross-cultural communication.

The Concentration in Museum Anthropology is an option for students enrolled in the M.A. in Anthropology program. In adopting an anthropological approach to museums, this concentration is distinct from generalized museum studies in examining curation, exhibition and museum practice from a comparative and global perspective that sees museums as dynamic institutions embedded in particular social and cultural contexts.

In this concentration, students interrogate the ways in which museums not only represent but also construct notions of cultural patrimony, identity, nationalism and cultural meaning. Emphasis is on the role of museums in disseminating and producing anthropological knowledge, using anthropological theory to contextualize and critique museums' practices in diverse settings and working with a collection or exhibits to gain new knowledge.

The Concentration in Museum Anthropology offers theoretical tools and professional skills related to:

• Obtaining critical perspectives on anthropology and museums in the past and present.
• Gaining practical experience in museum collections/exhibition space/curation.
• Developing skillsets for curation and museum exhibition creation based on the interests of the student.

A highlight of the concentration is the course Museum Experience, which is tailored to the student’s interests. In Museum Experience, students critically engage in a hands-on opportunity at a museum, library, archive, lab or other institution or repository. Projects can also include principles of curation, display or analyses of  visual/virtual/material/aural culture, data collection at a museum or a museum internship. Students will develop an appreciation of how museum space is constructed, proficiency in data collection or other responsibilities as appropriate and working knowledge of museum materials, including curated and/or exhibited artifacts.

Students can save time and tuition dollars by earning bachelor's and master's degrees in Applied Linguistics in as little as five years. This dual degree opportunity enables qualified students to enroll in graduate courses late in their undergraduate program and apply the coursework toward both the bachelor’s and master’s programs.

Applied Linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of research and instruction that integrates aspects of fields such as linguistics, English, teacher education, speech communication, psychology, sociology and anthropology into a distinct field focused on issues related to the learning and teaching of a second/foreign language, such as the teaching and learning of English as a second language (ESL).

We are a multifaceted applied linguistics department that focuses on post-secondary/adult language learning, teaching and use.

Our faculty specialize in a number of sub-disciplines, including second language (L2) acquisition, L2 writing, sociolinguistics, language assessment, corpus linguistics, educational technology and L2 teacher education.