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Program Requirements for African Studies
Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.
African Studies
Interdepartmental Program
College of Letters and Science
Graduate Degrees
The African Studies Program offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in African Studies.
Master’s Degree
Advising
The M.A. program in African Studies is supervised by an interdepartmental faculty committee. The chair of this committee and of the program is also the graduate adviser. There is also a staff assistant to the graduate adviser. Students should remain in continuous contact with the graduate adviser and the staff regarding their program and academic progress. Students also have a faculty adviser in their area of concentration.
Areas of Study
Most concentrations are in the social sciences, arts, humanities, public health, or urban and regional planning. Sociology and anthropology may be taken as a combined specialization or area of study, as may interdisciplinary courses in development studies.
Foreign Language Requirement
Students are required to satisfy the language requirement by achieving elementary proficiency in an African language in one of the following two ways: (1) taking three courses (12 units) in an African language with an average grade of B or better (these courses may not be applied toward the nine-course minimum required for the degree); or (2) achieving an elementary rating on an oral proficiency examination arranged by the African languages coordinator. European languages spoken in Africa may be substituted by petition to the chair.
Course Requirements
A minimum of nine courses (36 units) is required for the M.A. degree, at least five of which must be at the graduate level. The courses must be distributed between disciplines as follows:
- African Studies 201A
- Major discipline: a minimum of five courses, of which three must be at the graduate level. Sociology and anthropology may be taken as a combined specialization or area of study. Other combined specializations must be approved by the graduate adviser.
- A minimum of three other elective courses outside the major area, of which two must be at the graduate level.
Except for 500-series courses, university regulations indicate that a student in an interdepartmental degree program may not apply courses taken on an S/U grading basis toward the master’s degree. By petition, the program will consider an exception for one of the nine required courses. Such petitions must be approved by a graduate adviser and the Graduate Division. No more than eight units of 500-series courses may be applied toward the graduate course requirement for the M.A. degree.
African Studies, M.A. / M.P.H. in Community Health Sciences
Students who are enrolled in the concurrent degree program with Public Health may use up to two Community Health Sciences courses (eight units) toward the minimum of three elective courses.
Teaching Experience
Not required.
Field Experience
Not required.
Capstone Plan
The capstone plan consists of a comprehensive examination, which involves the submission of three research papers (at least one seminar and two upper division papers). These papers are evaluated by the ad hoc committee chaired by the student’s principal adviser. Students have to submit their papers during the last quarter in residence. If the comprehensive examination is failed, it may be retaken only once via the resubmission of qualifying papers by the end of the next academic quarter.
Thesis Plan
Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.
The thesis option is available by permission of the graduate adviser. Upon obtaining permission, the student, in consultation with the graduate adviser, selects a faculty committee to supervise and assess the thesis. Two of the three faculty committee members, including the chair, must be from the area of concentration; a third member must be from another discipline. The thesis must reflect the major discipline or field of concentration. An oral defense may be required in some circumstances.
Time-to-Degree
Normal progress from graduate admission to award of the master’s degree is six quarters. Normal progress for students enrolled in the concurrent degree program with Public Health is nine quarters.
| DEGREE | NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters) | NORMATIVE TTD |
MAXIMUM TTD |
| M.A. | 6 | 6 | 9 |
Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification
University Policy
A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
Special Departmental or Program Policy
A recommendation for academic disqualification is first made by the graduate adviser to the interdepartmental program committee.