African Studies

The African Studies Program certificate program is designed for students who desire a more intensive study of Africa and who wish to gain insight into issues of crucial importance to Africa’s development. The course schedule provided below pertains to all courses that meet the requirements for the graduate certificate in African Studies. Courses are offered by many departments and schools across the University of Pittsburgh throughout the academic year as shown in the course descriptions provided herewith. To verify course information and when a course is being offered, please visit the Office of the Registrar’s website at http://www.pitt.edu/~registrar/newindex.htm.

A graduate certificate in African Studies is available to all graduate students enrolled at Pitt who fulfill the basic requirements in African area studies within an existing degree program. It is a particularly useful certificate for students who intend to pursue careers in development, law, public health, education and management.

Requirements:

1. Four graduate level courses (12 credits): Students will complete four courses that contain African content in the student's area/academic program
2. Two additional graduate level courses (6 credits): Students will complete two additional courses in a related area/department. In some instances, with the consent of the student's academic advisor, approved upper-level undergraduate courses may be taken in fulfillment of the requirement in a related area. 
3. Two years (12 credits) of college study of an indigenous African language. This may be waived in cases of demonstrated competence in an African language, or equivalent proficiency in a European language (other than English) relevant to African Studies as a consequence of Africa's historical experience namely, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
4. Research Paper: Each student will be expected to complete an interdisciplinary research paper focused on the area of concentration under the supervision of an African Studies faculty member.  Each student who completes the requirements will receive approval of completion from the Director or Assistant Director of the African Studies Program and the student's faculty advisor before the certificate can be awarded.

Contact Dr. Macrina Lelei, Assistant Director, at 412-648-2058 or macrina@pitt.edu for more information.