Masters Programs in African American Studies

As one of the newer disciplines within the broader field of the Humanities, African American Studies offers students the opportunity to study race as a social construction rather than a fundamental aspect of an individual's identity. Graduate programs in African American Studies teaches students to examine various aspects of African American identity, including history, culture, and much else. The following four New York universities offer Masters degrees in African American Studies, and prepare students for careers in both the academic world and in other fields.

Syracuse University

The Masters Program in African American Studies at Syracuse University focuses on the Pan African experience in various parts of the world, especially the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean. The program at Syracuse University is unique in that it requires its students to complete an experiential component that requires students undertake residency at an external site, thus allowing students to understand the merging together of practice and theory. This Masters Program in African American Studies prepares its students to undertake careers in a number of fields or for further doctoral study. Their contact information is below:

African American Studies Department

Syracuse University

200 Sims Hall

Syracuse, NY 13244

315-443-4302

aas.syr.edu/index.htm

Columbia University

The African American Studies program at Columbia University allows students to focus on a number of important areas within African American Studies, while also exploring the ways in which these impact and are impacted by the larger world. The program is ideal for a number of career paths, including and especially social service and health professionals, professionals in a number of cultural areas, and for those who plan to pursue their studies at the doctoral level. The Masters Program in African American Studies also offers students the opportunity to partake in the numerous resources offered by the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. Their contact information is below:

Morningside Campus

758 Schermerhorn Extension, Mail Code 5512

1200 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10027

212-854-7080

www.iraas.com/node/5

Cornell University

The African American Studies program at Cornell University engages a multidisciplinary and comparative approach to the study of the lives of African individuals throughout the world. Typically, students within the program choose to focus on a major area (African or African-American Studies,) and a minor field (which can be outside the department, such as history, government, etc.) Students that graduate from the program typically pursue doctoral study (at institutions such as Yale University, UCLA, Indiana University, and Cornell University) or careers in a number of areas (in industry, government, and other areas.) Their contact information is below:

Africana Studies and Research Center

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY 14853

607-255-3822

asrc.cornell.edu/grad.html
Although it is a fairly new discipline in the Humanities, African American Studies is rapidly growing, and continues to prepare students to critically engage with their world and to undertake careers not only in the academic world (the usual path for those in the Humanities,) but also in a number of other growing and important fields. The above programs provide the perfect mix of academic and career preparation.

Sources
The website GradSchools.com offers a great deal of information about African American Studies and schools that offer programs.