UC Berkeley Academic Offerings in African Studies
African Studies is available at Berkeley through many disciplinary departments. Three programs are of particular interest at the bachelors level.
- The Development Studies Program administered through the International and Area Studies Teaching Program;
- The Blum Center minor in Global Poverty and Practice also administered by IASTP; and
- The major in the Department of African American Studies.
Each semester, the Center compiles a list of African related courses taught on the Berkeley campus. Graduate students may also take courses for credit at Stanford University by participating in the Stanford-Berkeley Exchange Program.
Students pursuing an M.A. or a Ph.D. can, in most departments, declare Africa as a geographic area of study. In addition, there are three graduate programs of specific interest.
- The African Diaspora Studies Ph.D. Program in the Department of African American Studies. For further information, contact the Department at (510) 642-7084 or africam@berkeley.edu.
- The International and Area Studies (IAS) Concurrent M.A. Program for students already matriculated in a Berkeley professional or academic graduate program. For eligibility, courses and information on how to apply, contact Vida Prater of IAS Teaching Programs at (510)642-4466 or iastp@berkeley.edu.
- The School of Public Health offers a Masters program in Health, Environment, and Development. For further information contact the Environmental Health Sciences (510) 643-5160 or ehs_div@berkeley.edu.
Students wishing admission to U. C. Berkeley must be admitted to a degree granting department, school, or program. For graduate school information, contact the U. C. Berkeley Graduate Division. For Undergraduate admissions, contact the U. C. Berkeley Office of Undergraduate Admissions. General admission information is available on the main Berkeley home page. Foreign students may find further assistance at Berkeley International Office.
UC African Studies Multicampus Research Group
In July 2008, the University of California launched an initiative to re-conceptualize African Studies as a multi-sited post-colonial discipline in order to foment change in the study and engagement with the African continent. Over a five-year period, the African Studies MRG will organize an array of activities on the African continent that will include three international conferences on the African continent —in Ghana, Senegal, and South Africa. By combining resources among the ten University of California campuses, the MRG will arrange visiting fellowships for academics from the continent, performances of African cultural groups, as well as graduate student workshops and other events so that African Studies may be further integrated into teaching and research within the humanities and social sciences across the University of California system and beyond. The MRG is based at UC Santa Barbara campus and is co-directed by Peter J. Bloom (Film and Media Studies) and by Stephan Miescher (History). E-mail africanstudiesmrg@ihc.ucsb.edu for more information.
A Member of the Greater Community can take a regular UC Berkeley Course.
Through UC Extension, it is possible for a member of the community to take a regular UC Berkeley course under concurrent enrollment. To be accepted in a concurrent course you must meet all prerequisites for the course you choose and obtain the consent of the instructor, the head of the campus department, and, in some cases, the dean of the department's school or college. You must meet all course requirements, which may mean showing transcripts from previous studies. You must enroll for credit. Records of your study are maintained by Extensions's Registrar. Foreign students will need an I-20 Visa and will need to show a TOEFL score. Contact UC Extension at (510) 642-4111 and ask for concurrent enrollment materials. For more information on Current Enrollment, visit this site: http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/info/concur.php.