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Department of African American and Diaspora Studies

Graduate Certificate

The graduate certificate in African American and diaspora studies has been designed to complement students’ disciplinary doctoral training, expose them to the interdisciplinary trends in the academy, and broaden their career possibilities. The certificate provides graduate students with access to interdisciplinary scholarship in the dynamic and continually evolving field of studies in the worldwide African diaspora. The certificate also gives students a competitive edge and interdisciplinary training for the robust career opportunities in Pan-African studies as well as in the search for postdoctoral fellowships in the humanities and social sciences.

Overview

The Department of African American and Diaspora Studies offers an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and comparative curriculum of study of the histories, literatures, music, visual cultures, and politics of people of African descent around the world. To that end, AADS focuses on several geographic areas: Africa, the Americas (North and Latin America), and the Caribbean. We equally examine the interactions of those diverse geographic areas, whose African-descended multiracial and multicultural inhabitants make up the African diaspora, with Europe. We recognize as well that there is a growing population of Blacks dispersed throughout Europe, that is, Black Europeans; hence we are equally committed to exploring intellectually Black Europe and the particularities of the Black European experience.

The certificate in African American and diaspora studies attracts a broad range of graduate students with varying areas of interest. We welcome all graduate students whether they are interested in pursuing the certificate or merely enrolling in our courses for exposure to field.

Admissions

The graduate certificate in African American and diaspora studies is open to any student enrolled in graduate study at Vanderbilt University. Acceptance to the program requires the approval of the AADS graduate studies committee, which is comprised of the director of graduate studies, one faculty member from the program, and the department chair. All AADS faculty are consulted during the application review process.

To apply, students must submit:

  1. A one-page description of their interests in African American and diaspora studies
  2. A letter of support from their faculty adviser or the director of graduate studies in their home department. The letter should also speak to the student’s standing in the department.
  3. An Intent to Enroll form should be submitted to the graduate school.

Email the one-page description and the letter of support to the AADS director of graduate studies.

Courses taken at Vanderbilt University prior to admission to the program may be counted toward the certificate requirements with approval from the director of graduate studies. The conferral of the certificate requires an overall GPA of 3.3, satisfactory performance of B+ or better in AADS 5002: Theories of Diaspora, and completion of all distribution requirements (detailed below).

Requirements

The certificate in African American and diaspora studies consists of 12 credit hours of coursework distributed as follows:

  1. AADS 5002: Theories of Diaspora [3 credit hours]. Interdisciplinary introduction to materials, methods, debates, and theoretical terms of scholarly research in diaspora studies. Three class meetings will be devoted to course design and development in conjunction with the Center for Teaching. A resource bibliography of key interdisciplinary texts in the field will also be provided and students will produce a syllabus for Introduction to African American and Diaspora Studies.
  2. Three additional graduate-level courses [9 credit hours] on race and its intersection with gender, class, religion, power, and/or sexuality, which are appropriate to the student’s graduate program of study are eligible. Students may take independent study with a core or affiliated faculty member in African American and diaspora studies who shares their research interest. Diaspora studies courses must be approved for credit by the AADS graduate committee and include at least three courses outside the student’s home department. Students must receive a B+ or better in these courses.

In addition to coursework, completion of the graduate certificate also requires:

  1. Participation in a minimum of five extracurricular activities sponsored by the Callie House Research Center for the Study of Global Black Cultures and Politics. A short paper reflecting on the insights gained from participating in each activity must be submitted to the director of graduate studies.
  2. A cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher.
  3. A GPA of 3.3 or higher in AADS 5002: Theories of Diaspora.

See the AADS graduate certificate checklist.

ASWAD

The Department of African American and Diaspora Studies is an institutional member of the Association of the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora, a not-for-profit organization of international scholars seeking to further their understanding of Africa and the African diaspora. Students enrolled in the graduate certificate program who wish to attend the biannual conference may do so without paying the registration fee as long as they are a presenter. AADS and the Callie House Center will fund this attendance.

Contact

For questions about the graduate certificate program, please contact Gilman Whiting, director of graduate studies.