African Studies doctoral programs at University of Wisconsin-Madison

The mission of the African Cultural Studies is to provide research and teaching in the languages and expressive cultures of Africa and Africans around the world.

The department is the only one of its kind in the United States. For those learning to conduct research in African expressive cultures, it offers curricula leading to both the master of arts degree and the doctor of philosophy degree. For those learning to teach African languages, it offers a terminal master of arts degree with an emphasis on pedagogy. Its students come from all over the world, including many African countries.

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.

African Studies does not admit in the spring.

African Studies does not admit in the summer.

Admission to the graduate program requires a bachelors degree with substantial coursework related to the expressive cultures of Africa. Admitted students with an insufficient background in African cultural studies may be asked to complete additional coursework beyond the regular degree requirements. Applicants should have a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 grading scale or equivalent academic performance on other scales. The department will consider special cases, however, for probationary admission.

Admission into the Ph.D. program requires a master of arts in a closely related field (with the thesis or other substantive piece of graduate-level writing submitted as a writing sample).

All applicants to the program must apply online by 15 December. Please note, the $75 application fee is due at the time of application (an additional $6 will be charged to international students to cover processing). The department cannot review an applicant who has not met all Graduate School admissions requirements. Carefully review the instructions and other information the Graduate School provides most of the admissions questions we receive relate to the Graduate School requirements and are answered in their documentation.

If you are offered admission to the program, the Graduate School will request that you provide official copies of transcripts or academic records from each institution you have attended. These must be issued directly by the institutions with all official seals, stamps, and signatures. International academic records must be in the original languages and records in languages other than English accompanied by an official English translation. An accepted student may not matriculate or enroll for courses until the Graduate School has documented official transcript(s) matching or updating the application transcript(s).

The online application allows you to self-report scores, but we cannot consider your application until the Graduate School receives your official score report directly from the examination organization.

Give a detailed account of the reasons and circumstances that led to your decision to undertake graduate work in the African Cultural Studies. Include references to your academic work, your short-term and long-term goals, your personal relationship to or interests in the fields we study, and your knowledge of any African languages. If your transcripts reflect any any negative episodes in your academic career, e.g., a poor grade or a dropped course, you may explain them here.

The department will make secondary use of your purpose statement to assess the style and substance of your writing. We recommend a length of 500-1000 words. The scope of your discussion and the level of detail that you choose to provide will be part of our assessment.

We require three letters of recommendation, submitted directly by the referees. You must requests to all three of your references as part of the online application. Recommenders will receive a notice via email and will submit their letters accordingly.

Recommendation letters should discuss your overall scholarly ability. Please ask your referees to include specific examples of your academic achievements your independent thinking, analytical and critical thinking skills papers and presentations given in their courses and your merits relative to other students. For international applicants, the letters should also address English proficiency. If recommenders submit their letters via the Graduate School online application system, they will be asked to provide class rank information if they do not submit their letters through this system, they should include this information in the letter itself.

Strong letters of recommendation will provide the department with evidence that you will succeed in the study of African languages and expressive cultures at the graduate level.

Use the information to track the progress of your application. Please keep in mind that materials sent by post may take some time to appear on this progress report.

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

All admitted students are guaranteed five years of funding, typically in the form of TAships, as long as they are making satisfactory progress. Our top domestic minority students are typically nominated for, and often receive, Advanced Opportunity Fellowships. All domestic students are encouraged to apply for Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships. Many of our graduate students also pursue outside funding as their career progresses.

The department regularly funds teaching assistantships for both our language and literature culture courses. Opportunities and assignments vary by semester. All continuing graduate students in good academic standing must apply by 15 December to be considered for positions for the following academic year. All new applicants are automatically considered. Teaching assistants earn tuition remission, a stipend, and benefits.

The Ebrahim Hussein Endowment for research in African expressive cultures was established in the College of Letters Science in 2003 thanks to the generosity of Robert M. Philipson, alumnus of the College of Letters Science (Ph.D.1989). The college will award $7500 each year to one or full-time graduate students in L S to carry out research on African expressive cultures in Africa and or archives outside of the United States. The research must lead to a Ph.D. dissertation, an M.A. thesis, or a publishable-quality paper. Doctoral students may receive up to $7500 each M.A. level students may receive up to $3,750 each.

Timing of the proposed research in relation to degree requirements.

The Graduate School provides additional information helpful to graduate students in need of funding.

Javits Fellowship Program (US Dept of Ed).

Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students are able to complete a program with minimal disruptions to careers and other commitments.

Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.

Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats.

Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.

Ph.D. candidates should maintain a 3.5 GPA in all AFRICAN department courses and may not have any than two Incompletes on their record at any one time.

Doctoral students must pass a preliminary written examination to become dissertators, followed by a dissertation proposal oral defense. After writing the dissertation, candidates must pass an oral defense of the completed dissertation.Doctoral students must submit a short statement (2-3 pages) at the end of their third semester, discussing how the courses that they have taken so far, as well as those that they plan to take in the future semester(s), relate to their area of focus and inform their dissertation research and their envisioned career path.

Ph.D. students must complete one year of an African language beyond second year level.Students may petition for an exemption if they have received comparable African language training or have intermediate or higher proficiency in an African language.

One additional course in a language relevant to the student doctoral research and or geographic area of focus, other than English.

All doctoral students are required to complete a minor.

Ph.D. students must complete one year of an African language beyond second year level. Students may petition for an exemption if they have received comparable African language training or have intermediate or higher proficiency in an African language. One additional course in a language relevant to the student doctoral research and or geographic area of focus, other than English.

Within that area of study, students will take:.

Up to 6 credits of prior coursework may be counted toward the Ph.D. with approval.

At least one of the four members must be from outside of the Department and all doctoral committee members must be designated as readers.

For students who earned an M.A. elsewhere, coursework should be completed in six semesters. By the beginning of the sixth semester, the candidate proceeds to the preliminary examination. A student who has not attempted the written preliminary exam by the beginning of the their seventh semester, or passed it by the end of the seventh semester, will leave the program with a terminal M.A. (provided they have at least thirty credits).

By the beginning of the fourth semester, the candidate proceeds to the preliminary examination. A student who has not attempted the written preliminary exam by the beginning of their fifth semester, or passed it by the end of the fifth semester, will leave the program.

A candidate for a doctoral degree who fails to take the final oral examination and deposit the dissertation within five years after passing the preliminary examination may be required to take another preliminary examination and to be admitted to candidacy a second time.

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:.

Take advantage of the Graduate School professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.

(Content) Recognize canonical authors and texts, historical forms, genres, and structures, and recognize aesthetic and cultural concerns in Africa and its diasporas.

(Content) Develop in-depth knowledge in a sub-field of specialization within African cultural studies.

(Content) Demonstrate their understanding of major theories, approaches, concepts, and current and classical research findings in African and diaspora literary and cultural studies.

(Content) Develop knowledge of a secondary field of research from outside the African Cultural Studies.

(Research Skills) Effectively retrieve and comprehend primary sources in English and African languages, and secondary sources from a range of disciplines.

(Communication Skills) Develop or improve speaking, listening, writing, reading skills in an African language, and integrate these skills to communicate effectively.

(Communication Skills) Communicate effectively through essays, oral presentations, and discussion, so they may share their knowledge, wisdom, and values with others across social and professional settings.

(Analytical Skills) Demonstrate command of the terminology and methodology of cultural studies, construct complex arguments, and use primary and secondary sources to support arguments.