The 24 credit hours of African and African American Literature, History, and Sociology should be taken upon entry into the major. These are 200 and 300 level courses designed to prepare students for more advanced work required during the junior and senior years. Core courses will be prerequisites for upper level courses and students will not be able to enroll in upper level courses without taking the basics.

Students can fulfill their 24 core credit hours through a variety of courses. Many of these core courses can be used either toward the major or to fulfill A&S distribution requirements.

Junior and senior majors take advanced courses consisting of topic courses, seminars, individual study credit, teaching assistantships, honors courses and other specialized coursework that helps prepare them for graduate school and/or employment.

Topics Course: (Offered in Fall or Winter)

Seminars (Offered in Fall or Winter)

Majors are required to take one 3 credit hour course from the following:

• Seminar in African World History (508)
• Seminar in African and African American History (509)
• Seminar in Major African American Writers (530)
• Seminar in Black Community Development (535)
• Seminar in Black Sexual Politics (576)

Full-time African & African and African American Studies faculty members teach topics courses and seminars, typically on a theme reflecting their research interests. Topics courses and Seminars offer smaller classes and provide opportunities to work with faculty in small group settings.

Ideally, majors should take topics courses and seminars, preferably during the junior year. This allows faculty to get to know majors and to have sufficient time to advise them concerning graduate school and/or employment options.

Junior and senior African and African American Studies majors get first priority in enrolling in topics courses and seminars. With permission of the instructor, officially declared African and African American Studies minors, as well as graduate and advanced undergraduate students from other areas may also enroll in such courses.

Because a significant writing project is required in all seminars, majors are strongly encouraged to take AFAM 401 Research and Writing Workshop in African and African American Studies. Designed to prepare majors for the seminar and capstone, this course should be taken no later than the beginning of the junior year. AFAM 401 will be offered once each year during fall quarter.

Seminar Prerequisites:

1. GPA of 2.0 or higher both overall and in the major
2. 24 credit hours of African and African American Studies coursework
3. 9 credit hours of preparatory core courses for seminar, e.g., 9 credit hours of history for the topical seminars in history, etc.
4. Permission of the instructor

Please Make a Note: Students must complete one seminar (508, 509, 530, 535, 576) before the capstone(597). Students who have not completed the topics course and seminar requirement will be ineligible for the capstone seminar. Students must receive a grade of C or above in the capstone for it to fulfill the requirement for the major.

The Capstone

The Capstone in African and African American Studies (597) is offered annually each Spring for senior majors. The capstone is small and focuses on knowledge and issues important to the discipline.

It is designed to help senior majors reflect back on what they have gained from the major, any learning experiences as well as special area of expertise that they may have developed through their choice of electives. It also aims to prepare students for graduate school and/or employment.

Capstone Prerequisites

• GPA of 2.0 or higher both overall and in the major
• 36 credit hours of African and African American Studies coursework.
• 21 credits of the 36 credits of required core courses e.g., history, literature and Sociology.
• A grade of C or above in one of the following seminars: AFAM 508, 509, 530, 535, or 576.
• Permission of the instructor

Senior Portfolio

As part of the capstone requirement, senior majors prepare a portfolio of their work in the major. A portfolio is a notebook or folder that contains documentation of your accomplishments. Having a polished portfolio, with evidence of your achievements, strengthens students’ application to graduate school and/or employment.

The portfolio is designed to document what students have learned both in this course and throughout the major. All majors are encouraged to save copies of their best papers and other coursework for their senior portfolios.

Senior majors prepare 2 copies of their portfolios, one to keep, and the other to be kept by the department. Senior majors can continue to add to their portfolios until they graduate. Portfolios are displayed in the African and African American Studies office after graduation.

Portfolios contain the following five elements:

• A resume suitable for submission to employers
• An intellectual autobiography (8-10 pages)
• Copies of the research paper originally written in a topics course or seminar (10-12 pages)
• At least three additional samples of what the student considers his/her best work accomplished during the major.
• Other items that demonstrate expertise in the field. Senior majors have been creative and have included a variety of samples of their work. Because African and African American Studies is an interdisciplinary major, poetry, fiction, artwork, photographs, video, music, etc. have all been submitted in senior portfolios.

Other Courses and Activities for Junior and/or Senior Majors

The following options are available for declared majors who have completed at least 30 hours of African and African American Studies coursework.

Individual Study (Juniors & Seniors)

For junior and senior majors, who have demonstrated academic excellence and performed well in courses, the Department offers course credit for Individual Study (537, 538, 539) with members of the full-time faculty. Individual Study provides an opportunity for highly motivated and capable students to pursue a rigorous course of study that is not accommodated elsewhere in the curriculum. The Department recognizes two categories of projects appropriate for individual study:

Directed reading: offers an opportunity for students to pursue an independent reading project on subjects related to some aspect of the African or African and African American Diaspora experience.

Directed Research: upon invitation, a student may be asked to serve as a research assistant on a project of a full-time African and African American Studies faculty member. Valuable research experience and a more personal association with a departmental faculty member are provided.

Graduating with Honors (Juniors & Seniors)

Majors who distinguish themselves academically both in the university and the major may graduate with honors or high honors. Students aspiring to graduate with honors or high honors are strongly encouraged to identify themselves to faculty members during their sophomore and junior years. This will allow them to plan course work on their honors paper or projects over several academic quarters.

Criteria for Graduating with Honors:

1. an overall GPA of 3.00
2. a 3.20 GPA in African and African American Studies
3. complete a senior honors paper or project.

Criteria for Graduating with High Honors:

1. an overall GPA of 3.00
2. a 3.50 GPA in African and African American Studies
3. complete a senior honors paper or project.

The senior honors paper should be approximately 15-20 pages, reflect original ideas, and demonstrate competency in research methodology, critical analysis, creative thinking, and strong writing skills. In consultation with faculty advisors, majors wishing to graduate with honors are strongly encouraged to select topics that prepare them for graduate training in their area of specialization.

Honors candidates should identify a faculty advisor and notify the Department Chair of their intentions to pursue graduating with honors by the end of their junior year. Upon the approval of the faculty advisor, honors students write their senior honors paper and complete 6 credit hours of Senior Honors Project (595, 596).

Teaching Practicum (Seniors)

Upon invitation of the faculty, senior majors may earn 3 academic credits by serving as teaching assistants. Students work closely with faculty members who teach lower division core courses. This is a training situation for senior majors interested in pedagogical issues in African and African American Studies. Students will serve as teaching assistants in African Diaspora Cultures, African and African American History, literature and Sociology.

Prerequisites: A grade of B or above in the capstone and invitation of a faculty member.

Internship Program (Seniors)

Senior majors can choose to enhance their coursework with work experience. An internship is an unpaid work experience that allows majors to use their curriculum-based knowledge in African and African American Studies to prepare for employment and/or graduate school after graduation. Designed to provide a learning experience that takes place in a setting outside the University, the unpaid internship gives majors up to six hours of academic credit for practical experience.

In locating an internship in African & African and African American Studies, majors should search for settings that facilitate use of their curriculum-based knowledge in African & African and African American Studies. A variety of locations offer opportunities to apply the skills and knowledge learned within African and African American Studies. For example, some students might investigate internship opportunities in community organizations such as the NAACP, the Urban League, Cincinnati Neighborhood Community Councils, Advocacy Groups, the United Way, and similar fraternal and religious organizations. Other majors may pursue internships in public sector settings such as the Cincinnati Public Schools, and various agencies of city government. Still other majors might investigate internships in private sector settings such as local corporations and Black-owned and operated businesses.

Prerequisites: A grade of B or above in the capstone seminar and approval of internship application.

Getting Credit for Courses Taken Outside the Department:

Students are strongly encouraged to take all courses for the major through the Department of African & African and African American Studies in A&S. The Department will apply up to 6 credits of course taken outside the Department toward electives within the major.

Getting credit toward the major for all other courses taken outside the Department is at the discretion of the faculty. To receive up to 6 credit hours for courses that do not carry an AFAM Studies number, no later than two quarters before graduation, majors should submit to the Undergraduate Director (1) syllabi that demonstrate that the affected course(s) contain substantial African and African American Studies course content; and (2) a transcript demonstrating that you have received a grade of B- or above in the course(s). The Department will not accept courses taken during the last two quarters preceding graduation. Late requests will not be considered.

Eligibility to Major

All students wishing to declare a major in African & African and African American Studies must have either an overall 2.0 GPA or a 2.0 in previously taken A&S African and African American Studies courses or have received a grade of “B” or above in AFAM 101 Introduction to African and African American Studies.

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