The African Studies and Research Program was established in 1953 to offer the Master of Arts degree at Howard University. In 1969, the unit was placed in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, offering both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in African Studies. Howard University is the first university in the United States to offer a Ph.D. in African Studies. In 1988, the Howard University Board of Trust approved the recommendation of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to change the program into a full fledge department to offer the B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degree in African Studies. The newly created department was then transferred from the Graduate School to the College of Arts and Sciences. Since 1991 both the undergraduate and graduate programs have been functioning fully as components of the Department of African Studies at Howard University.