Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies

College of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: afrist@iu.edu

Departmental URL: https://africanstudies.indiana.edu/

Curriculum 

Curriculum
Courses
Crosslisted Courses
Faculty

African Studies at Indiana University focuses on the African continent and its integration into global networks, past, present, and future. The Program has faculty affiliates in a wide range of disciplines and professional fields with research experience in different parts of the continent and its diasporas. They offer courses in their areas of expertise and provide individualized mentoring. Graduate students interested in Africa have the option of pursuing a free-standing master's degree; a dual or joint master's degree with select professional schools; or a Minor in connection with a disciplinary Ph.D.

The African Studies Program is part of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, dedicated to providing Indiana University graduate students with the intellectual tools they will need to live, work, and thrive in the globalized world of the twenty-first century. Degree programs associated with HLS emphasize language proficiency, cultural competency, and in-depth training in qualitative and quantitative methodologies. HLS students enjoy access to a stellar faculty and unparalleled professional development opportunities. For further information regarding the mission, structure and resources of the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, see http://hls.indiana.edu/.

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

M.A. in African Studies (30 credit hours)

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 a 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-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 year and is offered by different faculty members on a rotating basis.

Language Requirement

At least four semesters of an African language. The credits accrued for the four semesters of language study are not counted toward the total credits required for the degree. 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 or Project

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.  The committee chair and at least one additional committee member must be selected from the African Studies affiliate faculty with professional experience on the African continent. The purpose of the committee is to provide consultation to the student and to read and comment on the Master’s thesis or Project. There is no M.A. examination option.

Thesis

The thesis option is strongly recommended for students intending to pursue a Ph.D. following completion of the Master’s degree. The thesis should be an in-depth treatment of the chosen topic, interdisciplinary in nature and at least 8,000 to 10,000 words of substantive narrative text (not counting footnotes/endnotes, bibliography, or tabular material). 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. 

Project

The project option is designed for students wishing to pursue a non-academic career in a variety of fields. A “project” may be: an internship related to African issues in an organization, government agency, museum, or other institution in Africa or elsewhere (including the United States); or a media project (thematic video or other media production).

The plan for the project must be approved by three committee members. The plan should include: a brief description of the internship or media project; and a brief definition of the internship portfolio or media project’s analytical essay that will be submitted for evaluation by the MA committee. After endorsement by all committee members, the plan must be approved by the African Studies director before the student begins the project.

An internship (in Africa or elsewhere) should be at least six weeks in duration and culminate in a portfolio, including an abstract, an analytical essay of at least 30 double-spaced pages, and an addendum of at least 30 pages. The analytical essay should include: a description of the internship; a discussion of internship activities; and a rigorous analysis of the internship experience based on engagement with cross-disciplinary insights gained through relevant courses taken for the MA degree. The addendum might include: a journal, reports written during the internship, and other relevant items.

A media project must be accompanied by an analytical essay of at least 30 double-spaced pages. The analytical essay should include: a description of the media project; a discussion of the process of producing the media project; and a rigorous analysis of the media project based on engagement with cross-disciplinary insights gained through relevant courses taken for the MA degree. An addendum might include materials related to the project, such as a script, storyboards, and other relevant materials related to the thematic video or other media production.

No formal defense is required, but an MA review must occur after the student submits the internship portfolio or media project’s analytical essay to the MA committee. Once the committee evaluates and approves the internship portfolio or media project’s analytical essay, students are encouraged to make a presentation to the African Studies Program community in a venue such as the Friday colloquium, the annual Graduate Students in African Studies conference, or another program-supported public event.

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

The College of Arts and Sciences African Studies Program and the Department of Information and Library 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/project committee should include a representative of the Information and Library Science 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 Department of Information and Library 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-A650 Interdisciplinary Research Methods (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A651 Independent Research/Directed Readings (3-6 cr.) toward the M.A. thesis/project
• Elective courses organized around a topi­cal or regional concentration to complete a minimum of twenty-six hours

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 year and is offered by different faculty members on a rotating basis.

Information and Library Science Course Requirements

Thirty credit hours of coursework consisting of:

1. 18 credits of M.L.S. foundation courses, with Z552 Aca­demic Library Management to fulfill the management and leadership skills requirement; must also complete the digital literacy requirement;
2. 3 credits of either Z521 Information in the Humanities or Z522 Social Science Information; and
3. 9 credits of elective courses chosen from information and library science courses. An internship related to African Studies is strongly advised.

Language Requirement

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

See also:

https://www.soic.indiana.edu/graduate/degrees/information-library-science/dual-degrees/african-studies-mls.html

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

The College of Arts and Sciences’ African Studies Program and the School of Public Health (SPH) jointly offer a three-year program that qualifies students for a dual master’s degree (M.A./M.P.H). The 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 60 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 Public Health (SPH) 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 (60 Credits minimum)

Public Health Core Courses (15 Credits)

• SPH-B 589 Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-E 651 Epidemiology (3 cr.)
• SPH-P 510 Organization and Administration of Public Health Programs (3 cr.)
• SPH-Q 501 Introduction to Statistics in Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-V 541 Environmental Health (3 cr.)

Public Health Required Courses (7 Credits)

• SPH-B 696 Field Experience in Public Health (4 cr.)
• SPH-B 698 MPH Culminating Experience (3 cr.)

 Concentration Coursework (12 Credits)

• SPH-B 501 Assessment & Planning in Public Health (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 529 Health and Disease Disparities in Diverse Communities (3 cr.)
• SPH-B 602 Intervention Design in Public Health (3 cr.)
• ­SPH-H 562 Health Program Evaluation (3 cr.)

African Studies Core Courses (9-15 Credits)*

• AFRI-A 731 African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (3-6 cr.)
• AFRI-A 650 Interdisciplinary Research Methods (3 cr.)
• AFRI-A 651 Independent Research/Directed Readings (3-6 cr.)

Electives to complete a minimum total of 26 credits in African Studies chosen from 100% Africa content courses or from cross-listed courses

African Studies elective courses may 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. AFRI A-731 may be taken for up to six credits because the topic for the African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar changes every year and is offered by different faculty members on a rotating basis. A student may take it for fewer than three credits after having taken it once for three credits. SPH courses may include any elective within the School of Public Health that complements an area of topical or methodological focus and has a minimum of 25% Africa content.

Language Requirement

Same as for the M.A. in African Studies

Dual M.A./M.P.A. in 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 sciences, 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 O’Neill 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 a M.A.-M.P.A. thesis or project 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 O’Neill 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)

1. Required Courses (9-12 credits)

• A731 African Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar (3 cr.)
• A650 Interdisciplinary Research Methods (3 cr.)
• A651 Independent Research / Directed Readings (3-6 cr.)

1. Electives to complete a total of 26 Africa-related credits

• 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.

1. Language Requirement

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

SPEA Course Requirements

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

1. 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-F 560 Public Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)
• SPEA-V 600 Capstone in Public and Environmental Affairs (3 cr.).

1. Specialized Area

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

Ph.D. Minor in African Studies

The African Studies Program offers the Ph.D. Minor to students in a range of fields including: anthropology, archaeology, art history, comparative literature, economics, English, education, ethnomusicology, folklore, French, geography, history, instructional systems technology, journalism, law, linguistics, political science, public and environ­mental affairs, public health, sociology, and Spanish and Portuguese.

Students selecting African Studies as a minor are encouraged to visit the Program office (Global and International Studies Building, GA 3072) as soon as possible after arriving on campus to discuss their interests. The Program director and staff will provide information about courses, faculty, and ways to connect with other African Studies students.

Course Requirements

Students minoring in African Studies must complete AFRI-A650, Interdisciplinary Methods in African Studies, and three other graduate-level courses in African studies. The courses should be in 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 requires that Ph.D. candidates who minor in African Studies take two years of a language spoken on the African continent (except English) with a strong preference for 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 research 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.