General Information

The multi-disciplinary graduate certificate in Africana Studies is intended for currently admitted graduate students wishing to develop knowledge and skills necessary to teach survey and upper-division courses in topics related to Africa and the African Diaspora.

Prospective candidates for the certificate may take up to 6 credit hours of certificate classes before making formal application to the Office of Graduate Admissions for admission to the certificate program. Once admitted to the certificate, they must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0. Application to the Africana Studies Certificate must be made to the Chair of the Africana Studies Program by submitting a letter of application and copies of undergraduate transcripts (and graduate transcripts, if applicable). A minimum of 18 credit hours is required. All courses must be selected in consultation with a program advisor, who must approve all courses for individual students prior to the courses being taken (with the exception of the 6 credit hours which may be accepted from candidates upon admission).

Candidates must complete 18 credit hours of course work, taken for graduate credit and chosen from at least two different departments. Students may choose from the following courses. Topics and independent study courses where appropriate, and courses in the Department of Child and Family Studies and in the Department of Public Health in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, may be applied to the Africana Studies certificate with the permission of the certificate coordinator. Six of the 18 credit hours may count towards both the student’s major and the certificate. All 18 credit hours must be completed within a five-year period.

Reach out to the Graduate Certificate Coordinator:

• Bayyinah S. Jeffries, Ph.D., bjeffri4@utk.edu