African Studies at Columbia University

Columbia University students can pursue African studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Please refer to the appropriate Course Bulletins for additional information.

Columbia College and General Studies Regional Studies Major

The regional studies major is designed to give undergraduates the general mastery of a discipline and at the same time permit them to do specialized work in the history, cultures and politics of a particular geographic area through the associated regional institutes of the School of International and Public Affairs. An African Studies major is an interdisciplinary major in which students divide their work between a focus on African studies and an appropriate Arts and Sciences department. For African Studies, these departments are Anthropology, Art History and Archaeology, Comparative Literature, Economics, History, Music, Political Science, and Sociology.

Faculty Advisor: Students majoring in African Studies plan their programs in consultation with the faculty advisor:
Gregory Mann
Professor of History,
gm522@columbia.edu

Program of study: 36 points, of which 18 must be credited in African Studies, and an additional 18 must be in one of the College departments designated above. Six points of seminar work approved by the Institute are required of all majors and are included in the total of 36 points.

Related departments: Anthropology, Art History and Archaeology, Comparative Literature, Economics, History, Music, Political Science, and Sociology.

Language requirement: Two years or demonstrated knowledge of one of the following languages: French, Portuguese, Arabic, Pulaar, Swahili, Wolof, Zulu, or any other African language approved by the faculty advisor.

School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) Africa Program’s Regional Concentration in African Studies

Course Requirements: The Africa Program offers a Regional Concentration in African Studies to graduate students pursuing a Masters in International Affairs (MIA) or at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). During their two-year training at SIPA, MIA students pursuing a regional concentration are required to take six Africa-related courses (18 points). At least three of these courses (9 points) must be in the fields of Anthropology, History, and Political Science. Three additional courses (9 points) must be taken from approved non-language courses in the various disciplines.

Please note: For courses that do not focus exclusively on Africa, concentrators must meet with the concentration supervisor before the registration period ends and review a copy of the course syllabus – which the student should bring – to verify that the course will count for the concentration. In some cases students may be required to focus their class research on a topic related to Africa to receive concentration credit.

Language Requirement: Regional concentrators must meet a language proficiency requirement either by completing an intermediary language sequence, passing an oral and written proficiency examination, or being a native speaker. Approved languages are French, Portuguese or an African language.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Certificate in African Studies

A certificate in African Studies may be pursued simultaneously with an advanced degree at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or a professional school at Columbia University.

Course Requirements: For the regional certificate, students must take a total of nine courses (27 credits). At least two of these courses must be seminars for colloquia above the 6000 level (6 points). One course must be taken from each of the following disciplines: Anthropology (3 points); History (3 points); Political Science (3 points). Six additional courses must be selected from approved courses in the various disciplines (18 points). No more than six points of language courses may be counted toward the certificate and only indigenous African languages at the intermediate level or above are eligible. With the exception of language courses, credit toward the certificate is not given for undergraduate courses.

Language Requirement: Certificate candidates must pass a proficiency examination, both written and oral, in one of the following: French, Portuguese or an African language. With special permission of the IAS director, a language other than those mentioned above may be offered, provided it is relevant to the student’s research and there is a substantial body of research literature available. In no case may the foreign language offered be the student’s first language.

Essay Requirement: Candidates for the certificate must submit an essay for approval by the Institute. The essay must be an extended paper written for one of the certificate courses and reviewed by the IAS director.

Graduate Concentration and Certificate Advising:
Mamadou Diouf
623 Kent Hall
md2573@columbia.edu
+1 212 854 4083