BA overview


The Department offers a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts), a B.G.S. (Bachelor of General Studies), a minor in African & African-American Studies, and a minor in African & African Diasporic Languages.

Within the AAAS major or minor, students can select coursework that concentrates in one of these areas: African Studies, African-American Studies, Arabic & Islamic Studies, and Haitian Studies. AAAS students can also choose a blended path, by taking courses from the various concentrations within the field. The minor in African & African Diasporic Languages is meant for students pursuing advanced language study in one of the following languages: Arabic, Haitian-Creole, KiSwahili, and Wolof.

African & African-American Studies Major Requirements

Students pursuing the either the BA or BGS degree must complete the following requirements:

CodeTitleHours
Introduction to African & African-American Studies6  
Choose one course from two areas: 
Arabic & Islamic Studies 
Arabic and Islamic Studies 
African Studies 
Introduction to Africa 
Introduction to African History 
Introduction to African History, Honors
Introduction to West African History 
African-American Studies 
Introduction to African-American Studies 
The Black Experience in the Americas 
The Black Experience in the Americas, Honors
African and African-American Studies Core Knowledge & Skills6  
Historical Context
(choose one course from the following):
African Traditional Religion and Thought 
Modern Africa 
The Black Experience in the U.S. Since Emancipation 
Introduction to Black Education in the U.S. 
Language and Culture in Arabic-Speaking Communities 
Contemporary Context
(choose one course from the following):
3
Popular Black Music 
Social Media & African Popular Culture 
African-American Culture 
Modern and Contemporary African Art
AAAS 415Women and Islam
Language and Society in Africa 
 or other pre-approved courses 

Required Electives

15 
Select five of the following courses not fulfilling a requirement above. One course may be numbered 100-299 for this requirement; the rest must be 300 or higher. Two courses may be Advanced Language courses.  

 

African Language Proficiency

(required for BA degree only)

Students pursuing the AAAS BA degree must complete proficiency in an approved African language. Satisfied by one of the following:

CodeTitleHours
ARAB 220Intermediate Arabic II3
HAIT 240Intermediate Haitian II3
KISW 220Intermediate KiSwahili II3
SOMI 220Intermediate Somali II3
WOLO 220Intermediate Wolof II3
or other approved African language 

Capstone Requirements

CodeTitleHours
Students must complete both of the following: 
AAAS 496Field Experience3
or AAAS 690Investigation and Conference
AAAS 550Senior Seminar in: _____3