Ph.D. Requirements

The Ph.D. degree requires the completion of 54 graduate credits–48 credits of coursework, and 6 dissertation credits. Students may count up to a maximum of six (6) credits in dual-level, undergraduate/graduate, courses toward the degree. A graduate student who enters the program with a baccalaureate degree and who is able to devote full time to academic study will ordinarily complete the degree in six years or less.

Students must have an outside field of concentration and must complete the following specific course credit requirements as part of their required 48 credits of coursework:

• 21 credits in the student’s declared African and African Diaspora Studies concentration (C&S or PE/PP)
• 12 credits in the other (non-declared) African and African Diaspora Studies concentration (C&S or PE/PP)
• 9 credits in a required outside field of concentration (approved by advisor)
• 6 credits of elective courses

Curriculum

The curriculum of the African and African Diaspora graduate program is divided into two fields of concentration: A. Political Economy and Public Policy; and B. Culture and Society: Africa and the African Diaspora. Listed below are sample titles of courses from each of the fields.

A. Political Economy and Public Policy

1. 1. The Political Economy of International Trade and Development Strategies in Africa and the Diaspora
   2. The Political Economy of the Urban Underclass
   3. International Capital, Macroeconomic Stabilization and Disorder
   4. Government and Politics in Latin America and the Caribbean
   5. Seminar on Slavery

B. Culture and Society: Africa and the African Diaspora

1. 1. Critical Literary Theory in the History of Ideas
   2. Healing Tradition in the African World
   3. Folklore in the African World
   4. The Development of African American Children in Urban and Rural Areas
   5. The Psychology of Oppression

Required Core Courses

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 African & African Diaspora Studies
• AFRIC 701 – Theories and Methods in Empirical Research in African & African Diaspora Studies
• AFRIC 705 – Intellectual Production in Africa and the Diaspora I
• AFRIC 708 – Black Literary Theory and Cultural Studies

After successfully completing 48 credits of coursework, students are required to take the preliminary examinations. After successfully completing the preliminary examinations, students will present their dissertation prospectus, followed by 6 credits of dissertation research. For more information on the preliminary examination process and dissertation prospectus, please refer to  Graduate Student Handbook.