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2024-2026 Graduate Catalog
African American Studies (MA), Program Information
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 Return to: College of Liberal Arts
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Program Faculty
Department Chair Darryl Scott, Ph.D. Chair Professor Program Coordinator Lawrence Peskin, Ph.D. Professor BSSC, Room 322 Tel: (443) 885-1783; Fax: (443) 885-8227 E-Mail: lawrence.peskin@morgan.edu Program Faculty Brett A. Berliner, Ph.D. Associate Professor Dexter Blackman, Ph.D. Associate Professor Herbert Brewer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Jermiah I. Dibua, Ph.D. Professor Menika Dirkson Assistant Professor Francis Dube, Ph.D. Associate Professor Linda Noel, Ph.D. Associate Professor Alexander Pavuk, Associate Professor Lawrence Peskin, Ph.D. Professor Sara Rahnama Assistant Professor David Taft Terry, Ph.D Associate Professor Felicia Thomas, Ph.D. Associate Professor Program Description
The Master of Arts program in African American Studies concentrates on African American and African Diaspora history, society, and culture. There is a thesis or non-thesis option for the M.A. Program Objectives
The Master of Arts Degree in African American Studies is designed for students who plan to have careers in teaching secondary schools or community colleges; for students who plan careers in journalism, museum or information services, non-governmental organizations, business and industry, and/or for students who pursue doctoral studies. General Requirements
Candidates for the M.A. degree in African American Studies must complete a minimum of thirty (30) credit hours, at least eighteen (18) of which should be in History and twelve (12) can be from relevant courses in other fields. Students may write a thesis or follow a non-thesis option. The comprehensive examination is no longer required. Students have the option of retaking a course in which they earned a “C” grade. Students may not have in excess of 20% of grades (i.e., 6 credits) in C grades. These students will be asked to retake coursework to come within compliance. Admission
To be eligible for admission to the Master of Arts Program in African American Studies, an applicant should: -
Have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university, preferably in History, African American Studies, or related fields. -
Have a minimum of 18 credit hours of undergraduate history or fields related to African American Studies. -
Possess an undergraduate cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 3.0 or better to be considered for regular admission. Students who possess a cumulative undergraduate G.P.A. of between 2.5 and < 3.0 may be considered for conditional admission. -
Submit an application for admission to the School of Graduate Studies. All required documents must be submitted as directed by the School of Graduate Studies prior to program review and admission decision. -
Use the application system to arrange for three letters of recommendation to be placed with the application. These letters should be from officials or faculty members of institutions previously attended who are acquainted with the applicant’s ability for graduate study or from employment supervisors where applicable. -
Submit a narrative regarding the candidate’s personal academic and professional plans and the reasons for selecting Morgan State University. -
Students for whom instruction has not been in English must submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements and submitting all the required documents does not guarantee that an offer of admission will be made to the applicant. The decision of the Program Admissions Committee involves a review and analysis of all the elements of the application as well as the availability of positions in the program. The committee then recommends to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies that an offer of admission should be made based on that review. (See the MSU Graduate School Catalog for “General Degree Requirements.”) M.A. Non-thesis Option
Students may follow a non-thesis optin cours of study. Students following this option must successfully complete two research seminar courses. Thesis Option
Students writing a thesis achieve candidacy by successfully passing all credit hours courses and the thesis guidance course, HIST 797 . Once a student achieves candidacy, enrollment in any course other than HIST 797 is generally prohibited. Students seeking additional skills, knowledge, or a certificate must seek approval through the program up to the School of Graduate Studies. The request must be accompanied with a revised Plan of Study. Arrangements for thesis writing are made with the Graduate Coordinator and Thesis Advisor, who discuss the proposed thesis topic with the student. Once the Thesis Advisor and student decide on the thesis committee members and everyone agrees, the student must officially register the thesis topic and the names of the thesis committee members with the Graduate Coordinator. (The committee consists of three MSU graduate faculty members: the Thesis Advisor, who chairs the committee; at least one other graduate history faculty; and a third professor, who can be from the History Department or another department chosen with the approval of the Graduate Coordinator.) Once the committee has formally agreed to serve, the candidate works independently with the Thesis Advisor until releasing the approved draft to the committee to read. Students must register for HIST 797 Thesis Guidance (3 hours) each semester while writing the thesis. The Dissertation and Thesis Handbook, which contains guidelines for the preparation of the thesis, is available on the website of the Graduate School. Thesis Timetables: The School of Graduate Studies sets the deadlines for submission of theses each semester in which one is to graduate. These are hard deadlines. To meet the deadline, candidates should submit the first draft of their thesis to their Thesis Advisor at the beginning of the semester in which they wish to graduate. Once the draft is approved, it will then be submitted to the full committee for review. Thesis Advisors and committee members typically request revisions. It is thus imperative that the candidate submit the draft early in the semester to have time to revise and format the thesis and gain the approval of the committee before the Graduate School’s deadline for submission. Candidates must be registered for HIST 797: Thesis Guidance during the semester the thesis is submitted to the Graduate School. Faculty are not obliged to supervise thesis writing students who are not registered. Students should complete the thesis within two semesters of registering for HIST 797: Thesis Guidance. Candidates receive grades of “S” for HIST 797: Thesis Guidance until the thesis is completed and approved by the committee. When the thesis is approved and submitted to the Graduate School, the student will be withdrawn from Hist 797 and enrolled in Hist 799: Thesis Defense and will earn the grade of Pass (“P”). Additional Requirements
Students should refer to the university and College of Liberal Arts policies regarding academic integrity, expectation of professional ethics and behavior, accommodations for disability, and appeals and due process regarding grades and other relevant issues. Program Course Requirements
MA African American Studies 30 CreditsNon-Thesis Option 3 credits
Electives 18 credits
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Any 500-700 level HIST courses or targeted African American, African, African Diaspora or related topics** 12 credit hours -
General History Electives*** 6 credit hours of any 500 -700 level HIST courses ** NOTE: Student to take 12 credits of targeted coursework pre-approved by the Graduate Coordinator. *** NOTE: Student should target electives at the 500-700 level within the History department, but electives from other departments may be acceptable. History electives and electives from other departments must be pre-approved by the Graduate Coordinator. Suggested Elective Courses from other Departments: Note
1 700 level seminar courses can be fulfilled by the following courses: HIST 702 , HIST 705 , HIST 713 , HIST 715 , HIST 717 , HIST 722 , HIST 726 * NOTE: Upon achieving Master’s Candidacy, the student should continuously register in Fall and Spring terms for HIST 797 (Thesis Guidance) until the Master’s Thesis is completed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies for review. The course is used only when the curriculum is near completion, and the student is completing the research and writing of the thesis. The course registration maintains the student status as a matriculated, full-time student (student is registered for 3 credit hours and the system reports a full-time 9 credit hour load). After the Intent to Defend the Master’s Thesis form has been accepted by the School of Graduate Studies, this course registration will be changed to HIST 799 (Thesis Defense) for the given semester and count for 3 credit hours of curricular coursework (HIST 799 will also count for 9 credit hours of load). Other courses cannot be substituted for HIST 797 (Thesis Guidance). The only eligible grade for HIST 797 (Thesis Guidance) is the grade of “S” and the only acceptable grade for HIST 799 (Thesis Defense) is “P/F” (Pass/Fail). Suggested Curriculum Sequence
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Return to: College of Liberal Arts
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