Africology and African American Studies

Learn to conduct research, think critically and facilitate conversations essential to understanding, appreciating and promoting African culture with the Bachelor of Arts in Africology and African American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University. 

This 123-credit multidisciplinary undergraduate degree program invites students to study the cultures, history and politics of Africa, its countries and its people. The curriculum is Afrocentric, so all courses explore academic topics from the standpoint of African agency in economic, political, psychological and social contexts, among many others. You'll engage in critical discourse on subjects like class, ethnicity, gender and race, and their relevance throughout history and in today's society. 

Students in the Africology and African American Studies Department have the unique opportunity to

• contribute to the Journal of Black Studies, the top peer-reviewed publication in the academic discipline; 
• connect with local, national and international African communities;
• learn from and research alongside highly esteemed faculty; and 
• study abroad in Ghana. 

Students can also see firsthand the topics they study in Temple's Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection–one of the most prestigious collections of African American artifacts in the United States. It houses over 500,000 items on the global black experience dating from 1581 to the present.  

The program will also delve into African American culture, examining how it has developed into a rich and unique community over the centuries.

Graduates are prepared to pursue master's or doctoral degree programs across an array of professions including the health sciences, law and the social sciences. Graduates have also gone on to work in arts and culture, primary and secondary education, social work and administration, research design, and more. 

Africology and African American Studies Department 

Temple's Africology and African American Studies Department is one of the oldest of similar programs in the nation and was the first to offer a doctoral degree in the field. Emerging during the Black Power Movement, the program was created to serve as an academic platform from which students could combat racism, discrimination and oppression. In the 1990s, the department initiated the Temple Circle, a team of scholars that defined the key theoretical and philosophical bases for the study of African phenomena.

Today, the Africology and African American Studies Department and Temple University remain as committed as ever to this mission. Temple is home to more African American students than any other university in the Northeast, and it's this diversity and sense of global community that sets the university apart. 

The skills gained from a liberal arts degree are highly relevant in today's rapidly evolving world. Apply the experience and knowledge acquired in the Africology and African American Studies BA program to your professional pursuits across many organizations and industries, including academics, cultural institutions, government agencies or the social sciences. The versatility of this program's curriculum helps you graduate with valuable skill sets sought by many employers.

Graduates are prepared to continue their education at the master's or doctoral level, or pursue careers in the following areas. 

• Law enforcement
• Local and national government
• Museums and other cultural and artistic institutions
• Primary and secondary education 
• Research 
• Social work and administration

1. Make an application plan.

If you’re a first-year applicant, you’ll first want to pick a deadline goal and decide if you’d like to apply Early Action (due Nov. 1) or Regular Decision (due Feb. 1).

2. Apply using the Common Application.

Temple exclusively uses the Common Application. When completing your application for Temple, be sure to indicate whether you’re applying Early Action or Regular Decision if you’re a first-year applicant. Even if you apply before or by the Early Action deadline, you still must indicate Early Action on your application to ensure you will receive an admissions decision early. Transfer applicants do not need to select a deadline preference.

There’s an application fee of $55, which you will submit at the same time as the Common Application unless you qualify for a waiver.