Program Overview

Certificate of Graduate Study in Africana Studies

Program Description

The Certificate of Graduate Study in Africana Studies at UAlbany is designed to provide students with a nuanced understanding of the Black American experience, enabling them to make meaningful contributions to their field of work or study. The program covers relevant history, sociology, politics, and more, giving students a comprehensive understanding of Black Americans, as well as issues surrounding race, cultural competency, and racial justice.

Program of Study

The Africana studies graduate certificate program is designed for those interested in working skillfully and appropriately in diverse environments, especially in education, law, government, law enforcement, and globalization. The required coursework will give students familiarity with the essential social, historical, cultural, economic, and political background issues central to the Africana experience.

• Human Services and the Black Community
  • Seminar in African American History
  • Law in the Black Community
  • Economic Development in the Black Community
  • The Sociology of Segregation
  • Topics in African History
  • Seminar in African Diasporic Research: Migration and Citizenship
  • Africa in World Politics

Career Outcomes

With a Certificate of Graduate Study in Africana Studies, students will be equipped to intellectually engage with issues of racism, diversity, and inclusion in their current or future workplace. This certificate could be especially useful to professionals or students in the following roles:

• Teacher
• Civil service worker
• Manager
• Public or private sector administrator
• Post-baccalaureate student

Admissions Requirements

• Deadlines:
  • Fall: Rolling
  • Spring: Rolling
  • Summer: Not Available
• Required Application Materials:
  • Must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university
  • Minimum of 2.7 GPA and/or 5 years of work experience (any setting)
  • Resume/CV
  • Personal Statement setting out experience, interests, and expectations for the certificate program
  • Three letters of recommendation from supervisors or colleagues, setting out the applicant's qualifications, interests, and likely professional trajectory, including professional and/or academic references

Student Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate substantial cultural, political, and social knowledge of the major events and historical experiences of people of African descent in Africa and its diaspora.
• Understand the central role of race and its intersectional relationship to other socially constructed categories, such as gender, class, and sexual orientation, in the histories and lived experience of people of African descent.
• Deploy acceptable methods of inquiry in order to conduct, interpret, analyze, assess, and critique research in Africana Studies.