African American Studies

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

The undergraduate degree program in African American Studies exposes students to the social, political, and cultural history of African-descended people in the modern world. While its primary focus is on the United States, the program's conceptual framework places African Americans within a broader global, diasporic dialogue about the evolving function of race in history as well as in the contemporary moment. With its interdisciplinary strengths in history, culture, and social and political institutions, the major provides students with skills in research, criticism, and writing that our graduates have taken to a variety of professional paths, including teaching, government and policy work, employment in mass media, professional schools (law, medicine, business), and graduate study in multiple fields.

Declaring the Major

Completion of, or enrollment in, the three following courses is required in order to declare the major: AFRICAM 4A, AFRICAM 5A, and AFRICAM 5B. For details regarding how to declare the major, please see the department's website.

Honors Program

To be eligible for admission to the honors program, a student must have completed at least two semesters at UC Berkeley and have attained senior standing with a GPA of 3.3 or higher in all University work, as well as a 3.5 GPA or higher in the African American Studies major. Students in the program are required to take the AFRICAM 195 senior capstone course to be completed in the fall semester of their senior year and must complete the AFRICAM 100 and AFRICAM 101 prerequisites for AFRICAM 195 (to be taken prior to or concurrently with AFRICAM 195).  Students must receive a minimum of a B or above in AFRICAM 195 to enroll in AFRICAM H195 (Honors Thesis) the following semester culminating in the completion of a senior honors thesis.

Minor Program

The Department of African American American Studies offers an undergraduate minor in African American Studies. To apply for the minor, students must submit the departmental minor application once they have decided to minor in the program. The form may be obtained from 660 Social Sciences Building or online.  After completion of the minor requirements, students must submit a Completion of L&S Minor Program form, which may be obtained either at 660 Social Sciences Building or online. The Completion of the L&S Minor Program form should be submitted to the department undergraduate adviser the semester the student plans to graduate.  All minors must be declared no later than one semester before a student's Expected Graduation Term (EGT).  Please see the undergraduate adviser for advising while pursuing the minor program.

Visit Department Website

The African American Studies Department has a mission of developing the theoretical and analytical frameworks for the study of African Americans, Africans, and the African diaspora. We particularly bring together a wide range of scholars to anchor our interdisciplinary methods and projects. In addition to theoretical and analytical frameworks, we focus on problem-solving in relation to social and community organizations and institutions.

Learning Goals for the Major

1. Introduce students to the study of African American culture through the humanities by examining the production and social function of literature, music, visual arts, and performance. Explore the unique role that African American culture has had in defining and responding to larger constructs of American culture.
2. Trace the history of Africa from the earliest times (or prehistory) to the early modern period. Examine various aspects of precolonial African life and emphasize cultural and demographic themes. Equip students with the intellectual tools for intelligently discussing African history in both academic and nonacademic settings.
3. Gain a critical awareness about twentieth-century Africa and give due attention to postcolonial social, political, and economic processes in the general context of Africans' attempts to remake their world in the postcolonial era.
4. Examine the history (employment, migration, family life, culture, social institutions, and protest traditions) of African Americans since 1865. Acquire particular attention to the interplay between race, class, and gender.
5. Examine the political, social, and intellectual origins of the discipline and assess the disciplinary and institutional status of African American studies.
6. Acquire a range of research methods as they are applied to the study of African American communities with the main focus on qualitative methods.
7. Obtain familiarity with basic canon texts in African American studies.
8. Gain advanced knowledge of a particular area of specialization (either interdisciplinary or disciplinary).
9. For honors students, successful completion of an undergraduate thesis to demonstrate research, analytical, and theoretical skills related to an area of specialization.

Skills

1. Demonstrate clear writing and formulate persuasive arguments in the form of research papers and essays.
2. Development and improvement of critical thinking and analytical skills.
3. Demonstrable competence in theoretical and research methodological issues either from an interdisciplinary or disciplinary approach.
4. Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of course reading and lecture materials.
5. Use and develop analytical approaches to critical issues associated with the African diaspora.
6. Ability to analyze literature, visual culture, music, social, and political institutions critically.
7. Ability to conduct primary or secondary research in the field.

• finish secondary school and
• earn a certificate of completion, which allows admission to a university in their home country or country of graduation

In addition:

Students who have completed the IGCSE or O-level exams have not yet met the requirements for admission at UC Berkeley. The university requires further study, either completion of the two-year A-level program with a minimum of three academic exams, the IB diploma program, or another similar academic curriculum.

Students from countries requiring entry into military service upon completion of secondary education should not submit an application until the obligation has been met. UC Berkeley cannot defer admission to a later term.

Students may have to meet additional admission requirements and follow certain guidelines for filling out the undergraduate application, depending on country or educational system.

VèVè Clark Institute for Engaged Scholars Program

The VèVè A. Clark Institute is a small cadre of scholars majoring (or intending to major) in the discipline of African American studies who will form an intellectual community that will prepare them to meet the rigor and intellectual demands of top graduate programs, professional schools, and postgraduate careers. The program is open to students who have declared (or intend to declare) the African American Studies major and who have at least two years remaining in their undergraduate career at UC Berkeley. A complete application consists of:

• The informational form available on the department's website.
• A one-page (single-spaced) personal statement.
• A five-page (double-spaced) writing sample from your college-level coursework.
• In a one-page (single-space) document, please discuss how your academic interests relate to the field of African American studies, and why you are interested in the VèVè A. Clark Institute.
• An electronic copy of your unofficial transcript from Bear Facts (through summer 2016) and then starting in fall 2016 use CalCentral (transfer students, please provide scanned copies of transcripts from all of your previous college-level coursework or mail hard copies to 660 Social Sciences Building, MC 2572, Berkeley, CA 94720-2572, Attn: VèVè Clark Institute).

Study Abroad

Studying abroad is an alternate way to fulfill graduation requirements. Opportunities to enrich your studies can be found through the UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP). Countries that have been affiliated with the Department of African American Studies are Barbados, Ghana, and Kenya. Financial Aid can be applied to UCEAP programs, and there are scholarships available; for more information, please click here. If you have an interest in studying abroad, it is important to begin research on the UCEAP website to make sure that all deadlines are made. Applications for passports and visas may be required.

Department Lecture Series

The department offers an annual lecture series, open to undergraduates, graduate students, the larger campus and wider community. With one or more events per month, the lecture series brings established and emerging scholars, artists, and other thinkers in the fields of African American studies and African diaspora studies to share their research with our intellectual community.

St. Clair Drake Forum

The St. Clair Drake Forum is an annual research symposium organized by graduate students in African American studies. As scholars, the primary aim is to (re)search for meaning, create scholarship, and build dialogue that sustains community. This is precisely the aim of the annual St. Clair Drake Research Symposium. As such, we invite graduate students, faculty members, and community scholars in the Bay Area and the UC system to present research-in-progress, academic papers, and creative projects that interrogate the conference themes in exciting ways.

Berkeley Connect

The Department of African American Studies participates in Berkeley Connect. For more information, please see the Berkeley Connect website.

Apply to Berkeley by filling out the UC application. You can begin working on the application as early as August 1, and must submit the application November 1-30. You can apply to as many UC campuses as you like with one application, and each campus will receive your application and official test scores. If you have difficulties, contact the UC Application Center at [email protected] or (800) 207-1710.