College of Arts and Sciences

Curriculum

Departmental URL: www.indiana.edu/~afrist

Program Information

The field of African Studies at Indiana University focuses primarily on Africa south of the Sahara. Attention is given, however, to developments and events In North Africa that have significance for other areas of the continent. The program is designed to give students a broad knowledge of the art, eth­nography, folklore, history, economic development, languages, literature, music, and politics of this region. Care is also taken to prepare graduate students who will specialize in this region as teachers, researchers, foreign service personnel, museum professionals, journalists, or business professionals.

M.A. in African Studies

The African Studies master’s degree program is intended for students who wish to: (1) obtain a graduate degree in African Studies in order to pursue careers in government, international relations (e.g., the Diplomatic Corps), international devel­opment, international business, or a professional field; (2) continue graduate work in a discipline; or (3) combine an M.A. degree in African Studies with another master’s degree in the arts, social and other sciences, or in one of the professional schools. The program normally takes two years to complete. It gives students the flexibility to tailor course work to their needs and interests while requiring them to develop competence on a particular topic or region as well as in research methods and at least intermediate proficiency in an African language.

Admissions Requirements

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education with evidence of superior ability, completion of the graduate record exam, a statement of interest, and a writing sample.

Course Requirements

Thirty credit hours of course work distributed as follows:

• AFRI-A731 African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A732 Bibliography of Sub-Saharan Africa (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A650 Interdisciplinary Research Methods (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A651 Independent Research / Directed Readings (up to 6 cr.); and elective courses organized around a topical or regional concentration to complete a total of 30 credits.

Elective courses are to be selected from the range of cross-list­ed African Studies offerings in the College of Arts and Sciences and several professional schools, with the approval of the student’s major advisor. Electives may include three additional credits of AFRI-A731 since the topic for the African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar changes every semester and is offered by different faculty members on a rotating basis.

Language Requirement

At least four semesters of an African language. Students may have the language requirement waived by demonstrating equivalent competence through an examination completed under supervision of the African Languages Coordinator. Up to three credits for the study of an African language beyond the second year level may count toward the electives.

M.A. Committee and Thesis

Students are required to constitute a committee composed of a disciplinary advisor and two additional members with relevant regional or topical expertise, approved by the direc­tor of the African Studies Program. Committee members must be selected from African Studies affiliate faculty with profes­sional experience on the African continent. The purpose of the committee is to provide consultation to the student as needed and to read/comment on the master’s thesis. There is no M.A. examination option.

The M.A. thesis should be an in-depth treatment of the chosen topic, interdisciplinary in nature and 70 to 100 double-spaced pages in length. It may be an expanded seminar paper or an entirely new project based on library, archival, field, or museum research, and should make use of relevant sources in a lan­guage other than English. All three committee members must approve the thesis but may agree to waive an oral defense.

Dual M.A./M.L.S. in African Studies and Library Science

The College of Arts and Sciences African Studies Program and the School of Library and Information Science jointly offer a three-year program that qualifies students for a dual master’s degree (M.A./M.L.S.). The program responds to the growing need for librarians with Africa-specific knowledge and research experience in the humanities and social sciences. The dual M.A./M.L.S. program requires completion of a minimum of 56 credit hours of graduate coursework and the two degrees must be awarded simultaneously. Students will be assigned a mentor/advisor from each unit. The student’s African Studies M.A. thesis committee should include a representative of the SLIS faculty or other means of including perspectives of both programs.

Admission Requirements

Same as for the College of Arts and Sciences Master of Arts in African Studies degree, except that students must also apply to the master’s program of the School of Library and Information Science and meet its established admissions criteria. Students must be accepted by both units in order to be admitted to the program.

African Studies Core Requirements

A minimum twenty-six hours of coursework distributed as follows:

• AFRI-A731 African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A732 Bibliography of Sub-Saharan Africa (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A650 Interdisciplinary Research Methods (3 cr.) At least twelve credit hours of elective courses organized around a topi­cal or regional concentration
• AFRI-A651 Independent Research/Directed Readings (up to 6 cr.) toward the M.A. thesis

Elective courses are to be selected from the range of cross-list­ed African Studies offerings in the College of Arts and Sciences and several professional schools, with the approval of the student’s major advisor.

Electives may include three additional credits of AFRI-A731, since the topic for the African Studies Interdisciplinary Gradu­ate Seminar changes every semester and is offered by different faculty members on a rotating basis.

Library and Information Science Course Requirements

Thirty credit hours of coursework consisting of:

1. 15 credits of M.L.S. foundation courses, with S552 Aca­demic Library Management to fulfill the management and leadership skills requirement;
2. 3 credits of either S521 Information in the Humanities or S522 Social Science Information; and
3. 12 credits of elective courses chosen in consultation with the student’s SLIS advisor. An internship related to African Studies is strongly advised.

Language Requirement

Same as for the M.A. in African Studies.

See also: www.slis.indiana.edu/degrees/joint/africa.html

Dual M.A./M.P.H. African Studies and Public Health

The College of Arts and Sciences’ African Studies Program and the School of Health Physical Education & Recreation (HPER) propose to jointly offer a three-year program that qualifies students for a dual master’s degree (M.A./M.P.H). The proposed program is a response to the growing need for public health personnel with Africa-specific knowledge and research experience in the humanities and social sciences. The dual M.A./M.P.H program requires completion of a minimum of 67 credit hours of graduate course work and the two degrees must be awarded simultaneously. Students will be assigned a mentor or an advisor from each unit. The student’s thesis committee must include a representative from each academic unit who will serve as Co-Chairs of the thesis project.

Admissions Requirements

Same as for the College of Arts and Sciences Master of Arts in African Studies degree except that students must also apply to the master’s program of the School of Health Physical Education & Recreation (HPER) and meet its established M.P.H admissions criteria. Students must be accepted for admission to both units in order to be admitted to the program.

Other Stipulations

Students must pass all routine requirements of the MPH program including satisfactory performance on the C650 Culminating Experience in addition to the completion of the master’s thesis.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS  (67 Credits)

Public Health Core Courses (15 Credits)

• HPER-C 589 Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (3cr.)
• HPER-C 591 Public Health Statistics (3 cr.)
• HPER-C 512 Environmental Health Science (3 cr.)
• HPER-C 611 Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• HPER-C 510 Organization and Administration of Public Health Programs (3 cr.)

African Studies Core Courses (9 Credits)

• AFRI-A 731 African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A 732 Bibliography of Sub-Saharan Africa (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A 650 Interdisciplinary Research Methods (3 cr.)

Public Health Required Courses (22 Credits)

• HPER-C 505 Public Health Foundations & Leadership (3 cr.)
• HPER-C 501 Assessment & Planning in Public Health (3 cr.)
• HPER-H 594 Health Program Evaluation (3 cr.)
• HPER-C 602 Intervention Design (3 cr.)
• HPER-C 529 Health and Disease in Diverse Communities (3 cr.)
• ­­­­HPER-C 650 Culminating Experience (2 cr.)
• HPER-C 644 Field Experience in Public Health (5 cr.) (prerequisite: GPA of at least 3.0)

Language (6 Credits)

Minimum six credits of African Language. Up to three (3) credits for the study of an African Language beyond the second year level may count toward the electives.

Electives (9 Credits)*

Either

• African Studies Electives (6 Credits Minimum)
• HPER Electives With Africa Focus (3 Credits Minimum) 

Or

•   African Studies Electives (9 Credits Minimum)
• Independent Research and Thesis (6 Credits)
• AFRI A-651 Independent Research (6 Credits)

*African Studies elective courses are to be selected from the range of cross-listed African Studies offerings in the College of Arts and Sciences and several professional schools, with the approval of the student’s major advisor. Electives may include three additional credits of AFRI A-731 since the topic for the African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar changes every semester and is offered by different faculty members on a rotating basis. HPER elective courses may include any elective within the School of HPER that complements an area of topical or methodological focus.

Dual M.A./M.P.A. African Studies and Public Affairs

Academic programs in African Studies continue to grow, with a corresponding need for scholars in Public Affairs who have knowledge and research experience in the humanities, social science, policy, and management aspects of this field. The dual M.A. /M.P.A. program requires completion of a minimum of 62 credit hours of graduate course work. Students must apply for admission to the master’s programs of both the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (Public Affairs) and the College of Arts and Sciences (African Studies Program), and meet the admissions criteria established for each. Students will be assigned a mentor from each unit until they form an M.A.-M.P.A. thesis committee which should be co-directed by a faculty member from each unit. The two degrees must be awarded simultaneously.

Admissions Requirements

Same as for the College of Arts and Sciences Master of Arts in African Studies degree, except that students must also apply to the master’s program of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and meet its established admissions criteria. Students must be accepted by both units in order to be admitted to the program. The deadline for receipt of application materials for the African Studies component is January 15. Please contact the School of Public and Environmental Affairs for deadlines and information on the SPEA master's program requirements and deadlines.

African Studies Course Requirements (26 credit hour minimum)

A. Required Courses (9 credits)

• A731 African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (3 credits)
• A732 Bibliography of Sub-Saharan Africa (3 credits)
• A650 Interdisciplinary Research Methods (3 credits)

B. Electives (12 credits minimum)

• Students should take elective courses organized around a topical or regional concentration. These courses are to be selected from the range of cross-listed African Studies offerings in the College of Arts and Sciences and several professional schools, with the approval of the student’s major advisor. Electives may include up to three additional credits of A731 because the topic for the African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar changes every semester and is offered by different faculty members on a rotating basis.

C. M.A. Thesis

• A651 Independent Research (up to 6 credits)

D. Language Requirement

• At least two years (four semesters) of an African language (up to 6 credits). Up to three (3) credits for the study of an African language beyond the second year level may count toward the electives.

SPEA Course Requirements

The core requirements for the M.P.A. and a specialized SPEA concentration (36 credit hours) to include:

A. M.P.A Foundation courses (18 credits):

• SPEA-V 502 Public Management (3 cr.)
• SPEA-V 506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making (3 cr.)
• SPEA-V 517 Public Management Economics (3 cr.)
• SPEA-V 540 Law and Public Affairs (3 cr.)
• SPEA-V 560 Public Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)
• SPEA-V 600 Capstone in Public and Environmental Affairs (3 cr.).

B. Specialized Area

• Students may design and develop a program of specialization courses in consultation with SPEA faculty advisors (18 credits).

Language Requirement

Same as for the College of Arts and Sciences Master of Arts in African Studies degree.

Ph.D. Minor in African Studies

The African Studies program offers the Ph.D. Minor to students in the following fields: anthropology, archaeology, comparative literature, economics, English, education, fine arts, folklore, French, geography, history, instructional systems technology, journalism, law, linguistics, political science, public and environ­mental affairs, sociology, and Spanish and Portuguese.

Students selecting African studies as a minor should report to the program office (Woodburn Hall 221) as soon as possible after arriving on campus. The program director and staff will as­sist with orientation concerning courses, faculty, and students.

Course Requirements

Students minoring in African studies must complete AFRI-A732 Bibliography of Sub-Saharan Africa (to be taken, if possible, during the first year) and four other graduate-level courses in African studies outside their major field. The courses should be at least two different disciplines; must be taught by an African Studies Program affiliated faculty member; and must be ap­proved by the Program director.

The African studies Interdisciplinary Seminar AFRI-A731 may be taken twice for a total of six credits but variable credit is only allowed in addition to having taken it once as a three-credit seminar.

One language course in the third year of study, or higher, may be counted toward the Minor.

The program strongly recommends that Ph.D. candidates who minor in African Studies take two years of an African language in addition to their course work for the minor. Serious scholars of Africa are proficient in at least one African language. More­over, language proficiency improves opportunities for fieldwork and funding; in fact it is a requirement for important overseas study grants (e.g., SSRC and Fulbright-Hays awards).
Students preparing a minor in African Studies and a minor in another field may double-count only one course.

Students with special qualifications or previous course work at leading institutions may petition the Graduate Affairs Com­mittee to give credit for work that is comparable to specific courses at Indiana University. Petitions must include a formal letter of request from the candidate, as well as a syllabus from the course in question. The materials should be submitted to the Chair of the Graduate Affairs Committee or the Director of the African Studies Program.

The requirements stated above constitute a minimum level of expectation.

Examination

Although a 3.7 grade point average in African studies courses would normally exempt the student from having to take a written comprehensive examination, the decision in this mat­ter rests with the student’s major-field advisor and the faculty member representing African studies as the minor-field advisor. Certifying that the student has met the minimum requirements rests with a faculty member in the African Studies Program who is not in the student’s major department.