- Masters of Arts
Students must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours, with
30 hours devoted to course work and 6 to a thesis on an
African topic. Twenty-four of the thirty hours of course
work must be taken within the Department of African Studies.
Six hours may be taken in other disciplines. Students are
also required to complete all the appropriate courses of the
core program, to pass a comprehensive examination, and to
demonstrate proficiency in an African language.
- Doctor of Philosophy
Students must complete a minimum of 48 credit hours beyond
the Master's degree or 78 hours beyond the baccalaureate
degree, including 12 hours devoted to a dissertation topic
based on original research. Thirty hours of the thirty-six
hours of post-M.A. work must be taken within the department.
Students are also required to complete all the appropriate
courses of the core program, and to demonstrate proficiency
in basic computer literacy (statistics) and an
African
language or in two foreign languages, one of them an
African
language.
For both programs, the M.A. and the Ph.D.
program, students are required to take two mandatory Howard
University seminars. The first is the English Language
Proficiency and Expository Writing Program,
which is an examination of writing skills. Students who pass the
initial examination are not required to take the seminar.
However, students who fail the exam are required to participate
in further workshops. Additionally, each student must attend the Responsible Conduct of Research Workshop
and submit the Certificate of Attendance in order to complete
the M.A. or Ph.D. program.
Transfer of Credit
The Department of African Studies may approve transfer of
credits for graduate courses earned in other graduate programs,
where the grade is B or better. However, it must be the
considered judgment of the Department of African Studies that
the work is relevant and meets the objectives of comparable
courses. In no case may transfer credit hours exceed the limit
specified in Article V., Section 5 (Master’s degree) and Article
VI, Section 5 (doctoral degrees) of the Graduate School’s
regulations. Such transfer may not be used to satisfy the
residency requirement specified in Article V, Section 1A and
Article VI, Section 1A and must be approved by the Graduate
School.
