Program Overview

African Studies, Graduate/Professional Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in African Studies is awarded to students at the graduate level at the University of WisconsinMadison to certify advanced training in African studies. It is awarded by the African Studies Program and the Graduate School.

Admissions

• Application for Certificate in African Studies at the Graduate Level:
  • All Graduate School students must utilize the Graduate Student Portal to add, change, or discontinue any graduate/professional certificate.
  • Professional students in the careers of Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Veterinary cannot add the certificate in the Graduate Student Portal.
• After the student has completed the requirements for the graduate certificate in African studies, the African Studies Program director or designate will inform the major department that the student has earned the certificate.

Funding

Information about funding through the African Studies Program is available. Students are also encouraged to explore funding options available through the Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) Awards Office.

Requirements

• Complete at least 12 credits of African Studies Program core courses or extended core courses taught by an African Studies Program faculty member.
• Graduate credit is available only for courses numbered 300 or higher with the Grad 50% attribute.
• Maintain a grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
• Fulfill the requirements for a masters or doctoral degree at the University of WisconsinMadison.
• Include 9 credits outside of the major department. No more than 3 credits will count from the major department.
• Complete at least one graduate-level seminar in African studies with a grade of AB or better.

Additional Terms

• Include no more than 3 credits of directed reading and research or independent reading.
• No thesis/dissertation credits may be included.
• Only one course in a single language may satisfy certificate requirements, but two languages courses may be applied if they are in different African languages.
• All African Cultural Studies courses may satisfy requirements for the graduate certificate within the limits set by the distribution requirements.

Learning Outcomes

1. Regional expertise: advanced knowledge of the societies and cultures of the region through in-depth understanding of the principal historical, social, political, cultural, and scientific forces and conditions that have given rise to the unity and diversity in the region today.
2. Multi-disciplinarity: analyzing contemporary political, economic, and cultural realities in the region from at least two disciplinary perspectives, ideally including humanities, social sciences, and sometimes natural science approaches.
3. Depth of knowledge: advanced knowledge of particular facets of life in the region by taking courses on particular sub-regions or countries, by studying a regional language, or by taking at least two courses on the region in one discipline.
4. Research and methods: Students must demonstrate the ability to conduct interdisciplinary research that shows knowledge of research methodologies, demonstrates analytical skills, and the ability to articulate and elaborate research findings.