student writing on her computer

What does it cost?

Check out our cost calculator or visit student financial services for information on estimated costs.

How long will it take?

A minimum of 36 semester hours of graduate coursework is required.

Where will I take classes?

Application Deadlines View Admissions Requirements

  • Fall: March 1
    • Priority deadline for funding consideration: February 1
  • Spring: Does Not Admit
  • Summer: Does Not Admit

Africana Studies, M.A.

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.

Program Highlights

Our urban location and the dynamic agenda of our faculty elevates our ability to explore issues relevant to the Atlanta community, the southeast region of the United States and the African diaspora.

Faculty publications and scholarship are producing tremendous impacts on the field. These include Dr. Akinyele Umojas's publications, including "We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement" and the "Encyclopedia of African American Studies," Dr. Maurice Hobsons's book, "The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta," Dr. Lia Bascomb's book, "In Plenty and in Time of Need: Popular Culture and the Remapping of Barbadian Identity," Dr. Lakeyta Bonnette-Bailey's books "Pulse of the People: Rap Music and Black Political Attitudes," "For the Culture: Hip-Hop and the Fight for Social Justice (with Adolphus G. Belk, Jr.)," Dr. Bonnette-Bailey and Dr. Jonathan Gayles forthcoming volume, "Black Popular Culture and Social Justice: Beyond the Culture." and Dr. Sarita K. Davis' book, "Black Women and Public Health: Strategies to Name, Locate and Change Systems of Power" (with Stephanie Y. Evans, Leslie R. Hinkson and Deanna J. Wathington).

Faculty member Dr. Maurice Hobson discusses why Atlanta is unique in the history of Civil Rights in the United States. Watch here:

Dr. Maurice Hobson

Program Details
  • A Statement of Purpose/ Personal Statement
  • A writing sample
  • Three letters of recommendation on letterhead
  • A minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA
  • Cost to apply is $50

The M.A. in African-American ​Africana Studies AAS) requires 36 semester hours of graduate course work, 18 hours of which are required with 12 hours consisting of (AAS 6000, AAS 6005, AAS 6010, AAS 6012) 3 hours from Gender and Sexuality Competency (AAS 6007, AAS 6032, AAS 6052, AAS 6110, or AAS 6285) and 3 hours from Global Competency (AAS 6050, AAS 6052, AAS 6065, or AAS 6460) and 12 hours of which may be taken from AS Africana Studies concentration (Culture and Aesthetics or Community Empowerment) courses or from approved courses in other departments.

Students holding graduate assistantships may be required to carry more hours (non-thesis hours), although this requirement does not alter the number of hours required to complete the master’s degree program.

The Department of Africana Studies awards a small number of graduate assistantships (GAs) each year.

There are two types: GRA (graduate research assistant) and WAC (writing across the curriculum consultants).  Students holding GRAs work with faculty members on research projects or classroom-related activities. Some GRAs may be assigned to the department and will assist with clerical and creative needs of the department.

Students holding work with faculty teaching writing intensive courses will assist faculty with reviewing and assessing written assignments as well as instructing students with rewrites. Students receiving WACs must participate in a one-time WAC training session the summer prior to the fall term. Unlike GRAs, WACs may be for one semester only and carry a variable stipend and tuition waiver.

As an interdisciplinary field of concentration, African American ​Africana Studies (AAS ​AS) offers critiques of knowledge presented in traditional disciplines and professions, scholarly and artistic accounts of realities of the lives of African-Americans and perspectives on social change. AAS ​AS provides students with the intellectual origins, concepts, research, tools and models of the discipline.  The department also provides the knowledge and skills necessary for the study of group cultures and a curriculum that contributes to the goals of multicultural education.  Faculty and courses are drawn from the department and from other departments and programs in the university.

Description

Careers

The M.A. in Africana Studies rests upon a broad field of study of the experiences of Black people and all people of African descent. The curriculum of Africana Studies is interdisciplinary and examines the Black experience through a culturally relevant and social justice perspective in the social sciences and humanities. As a result, students are prepared for an array of career choices.

Contacts

Graduate Director
Dr. Maurice Hobson
404-413-5136
[email protected]

African American Studies
1 Park Place
Suite 962
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

College of Arts & Sciences Lockup25 Park Pl NE #2500
Atlanta, GA 30303

The information shared provides an overview of Georgia State’s offerings. For details on admissions requirements, tuition, courses and more, refer to the university catalogs.