Curriculum
There are two parts to the Master’s (MA) degree in African and African Diaspora Studies: coursework and thesis (paper). The MA program in AADS is designed to be completed in two years for full-time students. Students are required to complete a total of 30 credits — 24 credits of coursework and 6 for thesis research/paper.
At least 15 credits of overall coursework must be taken at the 700 level or above
| Examples of 700-800 Level DAADS Course Offerings | |
| AFRIC 708 | Black Literary Theory and Cultural Studies |
| AFRIC 816 | The Political Economy of Development in African Countries |
| AFRIC 818 | Race Matters: Government and Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean |
| AFRIC 820 | Political Economy of Income and Wealth Inequality |
| AFRIC 834 | Seminar on Slavery |
| AFRIC 840 | Healing Tradition in the African World |
| AFRIC 845 | Race Ethnicity and the Psychology of Oppression |
| AFRIC 852 | Folklore in the African Word |
| AFRIC 862 | The Development of African American Children in Urban and Rural Areas |
To see a complete listing of DAADS graduate course offerings, please visit https://uwm.edu/african-diaspora-studies/graduate/graduate-courses/
Required Coursework
In the first-year full-time students are required to complete 12 credits of the forms of reasoning courses. These are:
- AFRIC 700 – Foundations and Theories in AADS
- AFRIC 701 – Theories and Methods in Empirical Research in AADS
- AFRIC 705 – Class Works: Intellectual Production in Africa
- AFRIC 708 – Black Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
In the second year, students are required to complete 12 credits as follows;
- 6 credits must be from the department’s graduate courses
- Up to 6 approved credits can be taken from other departments
Upon completion of this coursework, or beginning the summer after the second year of coursework, students will undertake a 6 credit Master’s Thesis.