Academics


Graduate Study

In 1993-94, African American Studies developed a unique graduate program in cooperation with a number of other departments and programs across the University. This program–The Combined PhD in African American Studies–grew out of the Master of Arts program that African and African American Studies had launched in 1978. The program became a department in July 2000 and now offers a Joint Doctoral Degree in African American Studies with another field or discipline.

Learn more about the Graduate Program in African American Studies


Undergraduate Major

The African American Studies major examines, from numerous disciplinary perspectives, the experiences of people of African descent in Black Atlantic societies, including the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Courses explore the innovative, complex, and distinctively African American social structures and cultural traditions that Africans in the Diaspora have created.

Learn more about the Undergraduate Major in African American Studies


Non-AMST Certificate Programs

Some Yale programs and departments offer graduate certificate programs for students already enrolled in PhD programs in the university.  For example, many American Studies (AMST) graduate students are enrolled in the certificate program offered by the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program (WGSS).

Prospective students should explore the WGSS graduate studies web page (http://wgss.yale.edu/graduate-studies) and contact the WGSS Director of Graduate Study to discuss the program requirements that include course work to prepare students in feminist pedagogy for research and teaching.  

Students enrolling in such programs should make sure to inform the American Studies (AMST) Director of Graduate Study and discuss ways to balance the various coursework requirements