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Graduate Certificate in African Studies (GCAS)

Program Summary 

The Graduate Certificate in African Studies is designed to provide invaluable knowledge about Africa and an international perspective on the continent in the global scene. As an interdisciplinary program, it offers tremendous opportunities for UGA students across all fields to enhance their graduate education. The program is facilitated by the African Studies Institute with specific requirements for the duration of the studies. Before the completion of the program, candidates are required to make a presentation in the APERO Africana Brown Bag Lecture Series.  

Program Award

Certificate 

College

Franklin College of Arts & Sciences 

346 Brooks Hall 

Athens, GA 30602 

Department

African Studies Institute 

201 Holmes-Hunter Academic Building 

Athens, GA 30602 

Graduate Coordinator

Dr. Alexander Fyfe 

706-542-5314 

 


Objectives 

The GCAS program is a response to globalization and the interconnectivity of African societies with the rest of the world. This is what developed the need to instruct UGA students across different cultures and disciplines on the primal knowledge and thoughtful interactions about Africa. More so, the program is intended to provide students with adequate knowledge about African societies and prepare them for the business world.  

 


Course Requirements 

To earn the Graduate Certificate in African Studies, students must complete 15 credit hours across various courses provided below by the African Studies Institute.  

Required Courses - 6 hours  

Candidates must choose two required courses from three listed (3 credit hours each): 

  • AFST 6200, Critical Issues in Contemporary Africa (3 hrs) 
  • AFST 6465, Globalization and Indigenous Cultures in Africa (3 hrs) 
  • AFST 7010, Graduate Introduction to African Studies (3 hrs) 

Elective Courses - 9 hours 

Candidates must choose at least three elective courses (minimum of 9 credit hours) from the listed AFST courses and AFST cross-listed courses.

  • AFST(RELI)(LACS) 6620, African Religion in Diaspora (3 hrs) 
  • AFST 6700, Model African Union (3 hrs) 
  • AFST 7010, Graduate Introduction to African Studies (3 hrs) 
  • AFST 7950, Directed Research in African Studies (1-3 hrs) 
  • AFST 8960, Directed Reading in African Studies (3 hours) 
  • ALDR(AFST)(LACS) 6710, International Agricultural Development (3 hrs)  
  • ALDR(AFST)(LACS) 6710E, International Agricultural Development (3 hrs)  
  • ANTH(AFST) 6461, African Ethnography (3 hrs) 
  • CMLT(AFST)(ANTH) 6245, Oral Literature in Africa (3 hours) 
  • CMLT(AFAM)(AFST)(GEOG)(LACS) 6260, Black & Green Atlantic: Crosscurrents of the African & Irish Diasporas (3 hrs)  
  • CMLT(AFST)(LACS) 6545, Comparative Postcolonial Studies (3 hrs) 
  • CMLT(AFST) 6880, The Origins of African Literature (3 hrs) 
  • CMLT(AFST) 6890, Postcolonial African Literature (3 hrs) 
  • CMLT(AFST) 8020, Seminar in Literary Periods (3 hrs) 
  • CMLT(AFST) 8030, Seminar in Literary Genres (3 hrs) 
  • HIST(AFST) 6500, Studies in African History (3 hrs) 
  • HIST(AFST) 6515, African Slavery and Slave Trades (3 hrs) 
  • HIST(AFST) 6531, Africans in the Americas (3 hrs)  
  • HIST(AFST) 6540, Conflict in 20th-Century Southern Africa (3 hrs)  
  • HIST(AFST) 6550, Christianity and Colonialism in Africa (3 hrs) 
  • INTL(AFST) 8345, Comparative Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa (3 hrs) 
  • KINS(AFST) 6800, Education and Sport in Africa (3 hrs) 
  • MUSI(AFST) 6291, African Music (3 hrs) 
  • MUSI(AFST) 6861, Applied Ethnomusicology: African Music (1 hr) 
  • RELI(AFST) 6625, Eschatology in African Religion (3 hrs) 

Additional options for electives (limit of 3 units or one elective course). 

  1. Field-Specific Elective: Candidates may request permission to take one Africa-focused course in their home department as part of their graduate certificate academic program. 
  2. Directed Study: Candidates may enroll in a graduate-level directed studies course taught by an ASI faculty member. Such research must result in a publishable manuscript. 

APERO Requirements 

Before completing the GCAS program, each candidate must give a presentation in the APERO Africana Brown Bag Lecture series. Seven APERO presentations are scheduled each semester (approx. once every two weeks during the fall and spring semesters). 

The purpose of the APERO lecture series is to educate and inform the UGA community- students, faculty and staff as well as the Athens community about African-related research and activities on campus.  

 


Advising 

Further information about the program may be obtained by contacting:  

Dr. Alexander Fyfe 

Certificate Program Coordinator 

African Studies Institute 

201 Holmes-Hunter Academic Building 

Athens, GA 30602-1776 

(706) – 542-5314 

Alexander.fyfe@uga.edu  

 


Summary  

Students seeking the Graduate Certificate in African Studies must complete: 

  • Two required courses  
  • Three elective courses  
  • A presentation in APERO Africana Brown bag lecture series. 
  • Advisement by the Program Coordinator  

 


Application 

Graduate students interested in applying should pick up an application form at the African Studies Institute. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible in their graduate program.

 

 

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