Applicable only to students admitted during the 2015-2016 academic year.

African American Studies

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of African American Studies offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in African American Studies.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The M.A. program is supervised by an interdepartmental faculty committee. Upon admission, students are assigned a faculty adviser, who assists them with the formulation of their program of study for the first year. Students are expected to meet at least quarterly with their academic adviser, usually at the beginning of the quarter to have their enrollment plan approved. At the beginning of the second year in residence, students are expected to nominate a three-person guidance committee which is subject to approval by the interdepartmental committee. The guidance committee, which is usually chaired by the student’s academic adviser, is responsible for supervision, review, and the final recommendation for acceptance of the thesis as partial fulfillment of the M.A. requirements. Students may, however, elect to complete the M.A. degree through the comprehensive examination plan.

Areas of Study

The M.A. in African American Studies is interdepartmental, with formal linkages to other disciplinary departments: Anthropology, English, History, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. Related courses are also offered in the following schools, departments, and programs: African Studies, Art, Economics, Education, Geography, Information Studies, Latin American Studies, Management, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Public Health, Social Welfare, Theater, and World Arts and Cultures.

Foreign Language Requirement

Students are required to satisfy the language requirement in one of the following ways: (1) documenting satisfactory completion of two full years of coursework in a foreign language at the undergraduate level, or (2) by successfully passing one UCLA foreign language course (one quarter) with a grade of “C” or better; or (3) by participating in a study abroad program, (4) other pre-approved course or equivalent that provides some exposure to language learning or (5) fulfill the language requirement via the alternate Research Methodology Requirement. Take one course from the African American studies approved Research Methods Courses. Students in the M.A. program prior to 2012, but who have yet to complete the degree, may be allowed to complete the program under this language requirement.

Course Requirements

A total of 12 courses are required for the degree. Of that number, only four may be selected from upper division listings; the remaining courses must be selected from graduate listings. The program has a structured core of six required African American Studies courses. Students are required to take one graduate-level course in research methods (for social sciences students) or in critical theory (for humanities students). The methods courses should be selected from the list approved by the interdepartmental degree committee (students may petition to substitute appropriate upper division courses if their outside department’s methods courses are closed to non-majors. At least nine of the twelve required courses should be taken in the first year of study. The second year is devoted to acquiring disciplinary competence in the student’s cognate field, and up to six courses must be selected from that discipline. Eight units of 500-series courses may be applied to either the total course requirement or the minimum graduate course requirement.

African American Studies, M.A./Law, J.D.

For this curriculum, 12 courses are required for the degree, of which eight must be at the graduate level. Only 12 units of Law courses are allowed to be double-counted toward the M.A. degree by petition to the Graduate Division.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

Students may elect to complete the M.A. degree through the comprehensive examination plan. The examination is administered by a committee consisting of at least three faculty members appointed by the program. The examination is offered on a periodic basis.

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.

Students may elect to complete the M.A. degree through the thesis plan. Before beginning work on the thesis, students should consult closely with their academic adviser and the thesis committee.

Time-to-Degree

Approximately six quarters in residence are required from the time of admission to award of the degree. This presumes full-time student status and normal progression through coursework. Students may view more detailed first and second year timelines on the program’s website.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
MA	6	6	8

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of 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 termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

None.