Africana Studies, B.A.

Offered by Africana Studies .

University Requirements

Completion of Minimum University Requirements for an Undergraduate Baccalaureate Degree .

Minimum 120 credits and minimum GPA of 2.0
Completion of 45 upper-level credits, the residence requirement, the Writing Intensive requirement, and the General Education requirement

Major Requirements

Students pursuing Africana Studies as their only major complete a minimum of 36 credits. Students pursuing Africana Studies and an additional major at UMBC complete a minimum of 30 credits.
Minimum grade of ‘C’ in courses applied to the major. Courses taken pass/fail may not count toward the fulfillment of the major.

Course Requirements

Core Requirements (15 credits)

Complete the following:

Track or Concentration (15-21 credits)

Standard Major Track

Complete 15 credits from the following upper-level courses, including a minimum of 6 credits from each category:

African History and Politics

Complete a minimum of 6 credits from the following:

African-American Culture and Experience

Complete a minimum of 6 credits from the following:

Senior Paper or Project

Students pursuing Africana Studies as their only major complete 6 credits from the following:

Community Involvement Concentration

The Community Involvement Concentration consists of the following 21 credits:

Core

Complete the following 9 credits:

Electives

Complete 6 credits from the following, including a maximum of 3 credits at the 200 level:

Community Internship Project

Complete 6 credits from the following:

AFST 490 - Community Internship Project (6)

Four-Year Academic Pathways

The Four-Year Academic Pathways webpage offers helpful sample pathways for students eager to explore their academic options and stay on track for a four-year graduation. These pathways provide a starting point for students to plan how to complete their degree in four years. However, it’s important to remember that these are just samples. In consultation with their academic advisor, each student will create an individualized degree plan that reflects their unique academic background, interests, and career goals.

Students must develop their personalized degree plan by the time they’ve earned 45 credits and regularly update it with their advisor as their goals and academic journey evolve. This approach ensures that students make thoughtful, strategic choices that set them up for success throughout their time at UMBC.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Programs

Qualified students may apply to an accelerated program, which allows them to take graduate courses as undergraduate students and later apply those courses to master’s degrees. A student may apply to participate in an accelerated program even if the desired graduate program is in a department other than the one in which they are majoring. More information is available from the Accelerated Program page of the Graduate School website.