Overview

The 9-credit graduate certificate in Africana Studies offers students enrolled in graduate programs the opportunity to complete their studies with an additional specialization in Africana Studies. It provides students in any discipline a concentration on the interrelated experiences of the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora, and the multiple methodologies of inquiry necessary to interrogate those experiences fully through comparative and global contexts. The Certificate in Africana Studies will help prepare students to teach and conduct research in Africana Studies, to enrich their current graduate work, and to develop an additional area of intellectual and academic expertise.

Eligibility

The Certificate in Africana Studies is open to masters and doctoral students enrolled in a graduate degree program at Rutgers University.

Requirements

9 credits total (3 courses, including writing requirement or scholarly equivalent)

  1. Successful completion of Graduate Seminar in Africana Studies (required course; currently offered every spring.  Next offering: SPRING 2023).
  2. Successful completion of two electives outside the student’s home discipline approved for the Africana Studies certificate; substitutions to be approved by the Certificate Director. Students may petition for previously taken courses to be credited towards the certificate pending approval by the Certificate Director.
  3. Successful completion of advanced research in Africana Studies, in conjunction with the Graduate Seminar in Africana Studies. For most students, this will be an advanced level seminar paper.

Students may also petition the Graduate Certificate Director for approval of other scholarly projects demonstrating the successful incorporation of the interdisciplinary methodologies and scholarship of Africana Studies such as a refereed journal article, an online portfolio, documentary video production, exhibition, etc. This project will be evaluated and graded by the student’s Africana Seminar professor and submitted to the Certificate Director for final approval and certification.

Upon completion of the requirements, the Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies will be awarded in conjunction with the major degree.

 

Director of the Africana Studies Graduate Certificate: Professor Kim Butler

 

Graduate Certificate Application