Print this page.About the Program
The African American Studies major is designed for students who have a serious interest in learning more about African-American life. We enhance knowledge of the African-American experience through interdisciplinary approaches to the history, culture, and contemporary situations of African Americans in South Carolina, the South, the United States, and beyond. Your studies will be strongly based in the social sciences and the humanities in order to deepen your understanding of the culture, experience, and contemporary status of the African Diaspora. You’ll learn about the African background of New-World black communities, the consequences and implications of the African slave trade, and the social, cultural, economic, and political life of black people in the United States from the 17th century to the present. The program draws upon the insights of anthropology, English, history, religion, and other disciplines, and you’ll be taught by faculty members who specialize in the history and culture of the modern Civil-Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance and the 1930s, oral history and community studies, and film and literary studies. Early in your studies, you should consult with a member of the Faculty Curriculum Committee to ensure that your course of study will meet your specific needs and allow you to pursue some of your own intellectual interests.
Career Opportunities
The major in African American studies will provide you with the skills and knowledge needed for career pursuits, professional programs, or graduate study.
Career opportunities include:
• teaching and research
• state, federal, local, and private agencies
• international commerce
• international public service
• immigration services
• museums, historical associations, and historical societies
• genealogy, historical preservation and restoration.
The University Career Center is available to assist you in choosing a career direction and increasing your marketability upon graduation. For additional information, call the center at 803-777-7280.
Admission/Progression Requirements
To be admitted into the College of Arts and Sciences, you must meet all University admissions requirements, including (for freshmen) a completed application, nonrefundable application fee, high-school record complete up to the time of application (including record of at least 20 academic units of study earned as required by the University), and entrance examination scores (either SAT or ACT). Details for all applicant categories can be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin. To remain in your degree program, you must make satisfactory academic progress. In order to be eligible for graduation, you must meet all course requirements for your degree program, be in good standing, meet any departmental or program requirements, and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00.
Program of Study (120 hours)
This program requires 53 to 62 hours of general education requirements from the College of Arts and Sciences. This will include courses such as English, foreign language, history and cultural awareness, mathematics and analytical reasoning, natural sciences, and philosophy. Thirty hours of your degree requirements will come from major courses such as AFRO 201 and AFRO 202, Introduction to African American Studies before and after 1900; AFRO 330 Psychology and the African American Experience; and AFRO 498 and 499, Senior Seminar. Your studies will be rounded out by 12 hours of arts and sciences cognates and 16 to 25 hours of arts and sciences electives.
Of Special Interest
Our annual Robert Smalls Lecture Series brings leading-edge research and scholarship in African American Studies to the general public. The series is named after the Civil War hero and U.S. Congressman who represented South Carolina during the Reconstruction era. The African American Studies Program celebrated its 35th year in fall 2006 (1971–2006).
African American Studies Web site