Program Overview

Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies

Program Overview

The Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies from UAlbany provides a multifaceted look at Africans, African Americans, and African Caribbean peoples, with careful attention to their ways of life, languages, literatures, religions, and societies.

Program of Study

• Engage in courses covering a diverse range of cultural and historical topics.
• Classes include African and African American Literature, The Economic Structure of the Black Community, The Geography of Africa, and the Psychology of the Black Experience.
• Perfect your research methodologies in the senior seminar through a culminating capstone paper exploring your experiences in the program.

General Program

• A minimum of 36 credits, including three of the following five courses:
  • Introduction to Africana Studies
  • African/African American Literature
  • Introduction to African/African American History
  • African Civilizations
  • Africa in the Modern World
• Senior Seminar for Africana Studies Majors
• Additional department courses, as advised, to include 6 credits at the 200 level and 15 credits at the 300 level or above.

Honors Program

• The Honors Program in the Department of Africana Studies is designed to enhance the academic excellence of its majors, to forge closer intellectual relationships between students and the faculty, and to prepare students for graduate studies and for their professional careers.
• To be eligible for a degree with honors, you must have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.25, with a 3.50 minimum GPA in the major.
• You may apply for admission to the Honors Program as early as the spring semester of your sophomore year.
• You will be required to take two of the following courses:
  • Introduction to Research Methods
  • African/African American Religion
  • The Psychology of the Black Experience
  • Introduction to African and African-American Poetry
  • The African/African American Family
  • Sub-Saharan Africa: Peoples and Cultures
  • The Law and African America
  • Developing African Nations
• In addition, you must complete the Senior Seminar for African/African American Studies and an Honors Project Thesis.

Accelerated Undergraduate/Graduate Option

• You can save time and money by beginning your graduate degree coursework while still enrolled as an undergraduate student.
• Up to 12 academic credits, billed at the undergraduate rate, will count towards both degrees – so you’ll complete your combined program in only 5 years and spend less than you would if you completed each program separately.
• Combine your Africana Studies degree with the MS in Information Science program.

Career Outcomes

• Your Africana Studies BA opens doors in fields ranging from education and law to business and social sciences.
• Potential job titles for an Africana Studies bachelor's degree include:
  • Teacher
  • Counselor
  • Human resources director
  • Public relations specialist
  • Paralegal
  • Education administrator
  • Community program director
  • Social Worker

Student Learning Objectives

• Africana Studies majors will demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the ways in which Africans and people of African descent have constructed and interpreted their own lives and culture.
• Africana Studies majors will demonstrate their knowledge of causes and effects of African peoples’ subordination and their struggle for liberation.
• Students will be prepared to continue their studies at the graduate level or seek careers that contribute to changing the subordination of people of African descent.
• Graduating seniors will demonstrate their ability to synthesize and apply knowledge acquired in the major (verbally and in writing).
• Africana Studies majors will demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the research methods used in the discipline of Africana Studies.