Courses for community
Learn Black History. Honor Black Life & Culture. Study With Us—Anywhere.
The Department of Africana Studies is proud to offer a new series of online graduate courses in Black History and Culture. These courses invite learners of all backgrounds to engage the rich, complex, and living histories of Black people across the globe—from ancient civilizations to contemporary movements for justice.
Designed for accessibility and connection, our online offerings explore Black life across time and place—examining history, culture, resistance, creativity, and intellectual traditions that have shaped the world. Courses are taught by faculty who are deeply engaged in scholarship and community-oriented teaching.
Whether you are:
- Expanding your personal or professional knowledge
- Returning to learning after time away
- Seeking deeper engagement with Black history and culture these courses offer a meaningful and flexible way to learn while building community across distance.
Black history is foundational. Join us in studying it with care, depth, and purpose.
Graduate classes in Black History and Culture welcomes applications from persons who meet the following criteria:
- Have earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree from an accredited university
Students can apply at any time on a rolling basis – note class session start dates.
Learners must complete an application to the Department of Africana Studies for admission into graduate courses in Black History and Culture including the following materials:
- A 500-800 word letter stating your interest in the Black History and Culture graduate series
- Resume
After receiving an approval email from the Department,
- Register for the class(es) as a graduate credit non-degree (GCND) student through Professional and Continuing Studies, Apply Here
The Department of Africana Studies offers structured programming in Black History and Culture (BHC) that prepares engaged practitioner-scholars who wish to build knowledge and proficiency in the experiences, history, and cultures of Black communities.
This program of study is designed to deepen professional development in a range of careers where increased understanding of past and present Black communities is foundationally important. Included among these areas are education, health sciences, public health, public service, political advocacy, social welfare, museum curatorship, and digital media. This program of study will enhance the cultural competency needed to advance in any field.
This online curriculum incorporates curated paths for targeted study in areas that align with individualized, lifelong learning goals. Through this flexible approach, this program of study in Black History and Culture invites learners to engage with questions, methods, and practices that encourage adaptive thinking about Black communities in local, national, and global contexts.
After 15 credit-hours of coursework in Black History and Culture, you will be able to:
- Discuss foundational theories and issues within the study of Black life
- Evaluate structures of power, status, and capital within the context of Black freedom struggles
- Examine how race, class, sexuality, gender, and ability inform the expression of Black arts and culture
- Design projects that synthesize past, present, and future tools of Black flourishing in physical and/or digital spaces
You must complete at least one graduate course in Black History and Culture before applying for the program of study
Program of Study admissions requirements:
- Official copies of transcripts from all previous post-secondary educational institutions.
- Two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with your academic or professional work or potential for graduate study.
The Program of Study in Black History and Culture is a 15-credit hour program with 9 credit hours of required core coursework, 6 credit hours of connected electives, and a program integration statement that reflects how students will apply Black History and Culture learning in their field or profession. The results of this statement will be geared toward an audience of the student’s choice.
Enrolled students will have the option to take select courses from across the Department of Africana Studies in Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer sessions while completing the program of study in Black History and Culture. To support options for targeted study, the Program offers three curated learning pathways:
Path 1: Digital Culture, Media & Black Futures
Path 2: Teaching, Learning, and Black Education
Path 3: Individualized Study in Black History & Culture
Students will consult their faculty advisor about certificate completion options and available courses that align with specific learning outcomes for each path.
Core Program Courses
All learning pathways include three required core courses that explore the following topics:
- Foundations in Africana Studies
- Black Freedom Struggles
- Black Arts and Culture
Core courses ensure that foundational concepts and general certificate outcomes are shared between pathway. All other connected courses are individually curated to align with specific outcomes for each pathway. Core courses account for a total of 9 Credits in each path.
Teaching, Learning, and Black Education
For learners who wish to facilitate learning with intention and care while fostering collaborative practices that support different approaches to teaching and educational leadership in response to Black experiences across educational settings.
Upon completion, you will be able to:
- Explore and Analyze: approaches for fostering trust, psychological safety, active listening, and meaningful dialogue within diverse institutional settings.
- Synthesize and Adapt: applied research that models reflective facilitation practices in response to different teaching, learning, and educational leadership contexts.
- Design and Build: adaptive education toolkits that center the contributions of Black communities in history, literature, economy, politics, culture, and everyday life.
Elective Courses in Black Experiences in Education and Facilitating Learning and Leadership
Sample courses: Black Experience in K-12 Education, A People’s Curriculum
Digital Culture, Media & Black Futures
For learners who wish to navigate evolving digital environments while maintaining a focus on the historical perspectives, social systems, and human contexts that influence how Black communities engage with technology, broadly defined.
Upon completion, you will be able to:
- Explore and Analyze: the ethical dimensions of emergent technologies, including their impacts on individuals, communities, and global systems.
- Synthesize and Adapt: clear, compassionate, and informed communication practices that account for visual, audio, and written mediums.
- Design and Build: approaches for facilitating dialogue and connection with diverse audiences in digital and physical spaces.
Elective Courses in Black Digital Culture & Media and Black Traditions & Futures
Sample courses: Black Digital Cultures and Futures, Black Literary Imaginations
Individualized Study in Black History and Culture
For learners who wish to gain expertise in Black history and culture while following an individualized course of study that benefits from small collaborative environments with award-winning faculty. Students in this path will work closely with a faculty advisor to choose connected elective courses that align with their goals.
Choose 2 courses (6 credits) from available BHC graduate certificate courses
Completion
“Program Integration Form”: Submitted to Africana Studies Graduate Committee during the last semester of the Graduate Certificate coursework. This form asks the student to produce a statement (at 1200-1400 words) that integrates Black History and Culture into one’s profession.
