Academic Programs

About the Department

The Department of Africana Studies is a well established academic unit of the University of Cincinnati's College of Arts and Sciences. From Dr. William David Smith's appointment as the first director in 1970 to the present day it has evolved into a comprehensive degree-granting department aimed at providing a first-rate education while maintaining a balanced relationship between academic excellence and social responsibility. The department was originally called the Department of African and African American Studies. The name was changed to the Department of Africana Studies in 2009 to reflect the growing interest and emphasis of the African Diaspora and the migration of Africans around the world to the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean.

The Department of Africana Studies is a scholar-activist department that encourages research and scholarship in many dimensions of African Diaspora experiences. Students enrolled in the department as majors receive the Bachelor of Arts degree. In addition to the major program, the department has also developed a number of other important academic and culturally-based programs, including a minor and more specialized African, Global Health and Minority Health certificates. Additional information on these programs is included within this website.

The faculty and staff of the Department of Africana Studies are dedicated to enabling students to receive the best education possible. Moreover, since we also believe that learning is a two-way process and that there is no substitute for "Brain Power," we are dedicated to the kinds of research that will be beneficial to each student and the larger community.

Our Programs

The senior capstone course in Africana Studies is offered annually each spring semester for senior majors. The capstone course focuses on knowledge and issues important to the discipline.

It is designed to help our 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 Africana 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 the major core coursework.
  • 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 two 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 Africana Studies conference room 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 Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary major, poetry, fiction, artwork, photographs, video, music, etc. have all been submitted in senior portfolios.