Terminal Degree for each discipline taught in African-New World Studies

Department Information

and
Typical Discipline-Specific Academic Degree and Qualifications¹
of faculty within

African and African Diaspora Studies

General Description of the Department

The African and African Diaspora Studies Program seeks to foster greater understanding of the experiences of peoples of African descent, internationally.
The Program attracts those who are interested in subjects as diverse as national and transnational policy analysis, cultural studies, international relations with and within continental Africa, African and African diaspora literatures, the history and contemporary experiences of descendants of Africans in the United States, pre-national, national, transnational, and post-national processes such as pre-colonial African history, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the movement of “returnees” to what is today’s Liberia, Ghana and Ethiopia, European colonization of Africa, the Caribbean contributions to the “black movement” in the United States, Panafricanism, the Caribbean presence in colonial Africa, the Caribbean migration to the U.K. in the mid-20th century, Caribbean popular culture and cultural politics, the processes of creolization in the Caribbean and beyond, the struggle of Afro-Latinos for the recognition of their collective rights in different national contexts, the migration of Eastern Africans to Australia, the current migration of Central Africans to South Africa, the migration of Western Africans to France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, and the escape of Sudanese “ethnic Africans” from Darfur to Chad.

Degrees offered

The African New-World Studies Department offers these programs:

MA in African New-World Studies

Terminal Degree² for each discipline taught in African-New World Studies

Ph.D. in African-American/Black Studies

Related Disciplines³

African Studies (05.0101)

Anthropology (45.1101)

History (54.0101)

Related Disciplines³ for specific courses

International/Global Studies (30.2001) – all AFA prefix courses

Other Teaching Qualifications (Description of Required Academic Degree and Justifications⁴ for the programs in African and African Diaspora Studies)

Consideration of other teaching qualifications in lieu of academic credentials is made on a case-by-case basis and accepted in special cases where evidence of exceptional experience, research or other qualifications can be documented and are directly applicable to the course being taught.

¹	Whenever instructors are not credentialed by their advanced degree or by an approved CIP relationship, they must be credentialed through a narrative justification of the instructor’s qualifications to teach this/these course(s). Such credentialing is based on the proposed instructor’s academic and professional preparation; diplomas, certificates, or relevant licensures; publications and presentations in the field; honors, awards, and professional recognitions; and other demonstrated competencies, skills, and experiences which the instructor brings to the University. These must be clearly tied to the specific courses to be taught and should establish beyond doubt that the instructor is qualified to teach the specific courses they are to be assigned. The Office of the Provost reviews all such justifications and where the justifications warrant the instructor’s teaching the courses proposed, it will either approve the justification for the appropriate period (seven years for full-time faculty members, or four years for part-time faculty members) or employ one of two additional clearance categories beyond the advanced degree and related-discipline categories which it may use to credential some instructors where their accomplishments warrant this: Active Research Clearance in the Discipline or Active Artistic/Special Talent Clearance in the Discipline



²	The level and discipline of the terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D., MS, MFA, doctorate) that is required to teach graduate courses in the discipline

³	For each discipline, all strongly-related degree(s) and/or equivalent names for the discipline (include level) that would also be appropriate for teaching at the graduate level

⁴	(1)The appropriate academic degrees and justifications for each related degree above if not obvious; (2) the justification for why the terminal degree is not a doctorate in a discipline, e.g., specific examples of best practice in the discipline and accrediting association language; and (3) any other criteria used to determine appropriate academic qualifications to teach specialty courses in the program.