Best Graduate Programs in African Studies - Updated 2020

What do you learn in an African Studies graduate program?

African Studies is the study of African society through the lenses of art, history, language, literature, politics, and religion. Additionally, this program often spends a portion of time studying contemporary issues in Africa, including development, health, and the environment. Your program may also allow you the option to study the African Diaspora, therefore expanding your focus to include the societies of African descendents scattered throughout the world. A graduate in African Studies will have a deep understanding about Africa’s central role in world history, especially in relation to colonialism and globalization. This is a largely interdisciplinary degree, as it integrates many different fields into the study of a single continent.

With a Master’s in African Studies, you will be prepared for a career as a public relations consultant, international trade policy officer, social policy researcher, reporter, journalist, or foreign service officer. Additionally, you have the option to obtain a PhD in African Studies to become a specialist or historian.

There are 39 schools offering graduate degrees in African Studies. Ohio University-Main Campus had 10 international graduate students in its program, which is one of the highest counts in the country. University of California-Los Angeles had the most women graduates in this program.

Yale University

Ranked as: #3 in Best National University
Tuition: $42,100
State: CT
Acceptance: 6.35%
The African American Studies offers a combined Ph.D. in conjunction with several other departments and programs: currently, American Studies, Anthropology, English, Film and Media Studies, French, History, History of Art, History of Science and Medicine, Music, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Spanish and Portuguese.

African American Studies Yale University

Yale University GRE score and admission requirements for graduate programs in Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender And Group Studies

Cornell University

Ranked as: #15 in Best National University
Tuition: $29,500
State: NY
Acceptance: 10.61%
The Africana Studies Ph.D. Accordingly, since its inception, Africana Studies has profoundly shaped research and discourse in the humanities and social sciences by altering traditional epistemologies and methodologies. As a result, Africana Studies helps students to appreciate cultural and epistemological diversity, multidimensionality, multiple perspectives, and interconnectivity, which are essential for higher education and its production of knowledge and for the world in the 21st Century.

Graduate School

GRE score required at Cornell University master's degree programs in African Studies

Brown University

Ranked as: #16 in Best National University
Tuition: $54,320
State: RI
Acceptance: 7.67%
To better support the university current students through the global pandemic, admissions for the Africana Studies program will be paused for the 2021-2022 academic year. Graduate students in the program receive rigorous training in the discipline of Africana Studies and the theories and methods of interdisciplinary work, with an acute focus on race, class, gender, and sexuality, while being critically conversant with the methods and theories of other academic disciplines.

Africana Studies Ph.D.

GRE score required at Brown University master's degree programs in African Studies

University of California-Berkeley

Ranked as: #20 in Best National University
Tuition: $26,544
State: CA
Acceptance: 14.84%
Degree has been offered in African American Studies since 1973. The African American Studies graduate program focuses on the life, culture, and social organization (broadly defined) of persons of African descent. The study of Africa, North America, and the Caribbean are central components of the program.

African American Studies

University of California-Berkeley GRE score,GPA for masters degree in Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender And Group Studies

University of California-Los Angeles

Ranked as: #23 in Best National University
Tuition: $26,544
State: CA
Acceptance: 14.04%
The School of Public Health and the African Studies Program have a concurrent degree program whereby students can pursue the MA degree in African Studies and the MPH with a specialization in Community Health Sciences at the same time.

Public Health MPH African Studies MA

University of California-Los Angeles GRE score,GPA for masters degree in Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender And Group Studies

University of Florida

Ranked as: #48 in Best National University
Tuition: $27,335
State: FL
Acceptance: 38.75%
Graduate fellowships provide a stipend of $15,000 per academic year and cover the cost of tuition and fees (12 credits per semester) and are offered for any one of the regularly taught languages (Akan Twi, Amharic, Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zulu). Applicants must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and be admitted to a graduate program at the University of Florida. Clear promise of completing a graduate degree with a concentration in African language and area studies.

FLAS Fellowships Center for African Studies University of Florida

Fordham University

Ranked as: #58 in Best National University
Tuition: $33,696
State: NY
Acceptance: 46.02%
Statement from the African and African American Studies August 2020. As a student in the program, applicant will study the roots of African culture, history, and language. Courses cover African migration and culture around the world. Delve into the African American experience, with courses in history, politics, culture, the arts, and religion. The African African American Studies program is designed to prepare applicant for graduate study or a professional career.

African African American Studies

Fordham University GRE score,GPA for masters degree in Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender And Group Studies

Syracuse University

Ranked as: #58 in Best National University
Tuition: $37,416
State: NY
Acceptance: 49.86%
Degree in Pan African Studies is a 30-credit program offering students a comprehensive understanding of the global African experience. Two of the graduate courses that contribute to the core offerings in the program, AAS 611 Arts, Cultures and Literatures of the Pan African World and AAS 612 Histories, Societies and Political Economies of the Pan African World, are unlike any courses offered in similar graduate programs around the country. AAS 525 Research Methods in African American Studies 3 credit

Pan African Studies, MA

Indiana University-Bloomington

Ranked as: #76 in Best National University
Tuition: $31,932
State: IN
Acceptance: 76.91%
Origins: The African Studies collection began in 1965 with Indiana University first African Studies Librarian, Alan Taylor. African Writers Series is available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus). Human Rights Studies Online is available to authorized IU Bloomington users (on or off campus).

African Studies

Indiana University-Bloomington GRE score,GPA for masters degree in Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender And Group Studies

SUNY at Albany

Ranked as: #126 in Best National University
Tuition: $22,650
State: NY
Acceptance: 52.08%
Gain a Global Perspective on Peoples of African Descent. Curate their expertise on the cultures and histories of Africans and African Americans with a Master of Arts in Africana Studies. Students must choose a concentration in either African or African American Studies.

Africana Studies

SUNY at Albany GRE score and admission requirements for graduate programs in Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender And Group Studies