Students electing this program through participating departments will earn a degree with a dual-title at the Ph.D. level, that is, a Ph.D. in (graduate program name) and African Studies.
The following graduate programs offer dual-title Ph.D. degrees in African Studies: Comparative Literature, French, Geography, and Political Science.
The primary objective of the dual-title degree program in African Studies is to expand teaching, research, and scholarship on Africa and African societies at Penn State. This is accomplished by providing multidisciplinary training for Penn State doctoral students, who are undertaking graduate studies on Africa-related topics in a number of allied disciplines, such as geography, history, political science, sociology, comparative literature, public health, forestry, agricultural sciences, and international studies. The program complements training on Africa for graduate students in other areas such as business, law, and engineering. The program provides these various disciplines with an intellectual and physical location at which their African scholarship can be put to the most effective use. The program uses the research projects and institutional networks of core and affiliate African Studies Graduate Faculty to provide research opportunities and links in Africa for Penn State doctoral students. The program aims to produce Penn State doctoral graduates, who have a comparative advantage for African Studies-related employment in academia, bilateral and multilateral agencies and international think-tanks.
