African Studies Track

Basic Requirements: 12 courses (48 credits)

1. Required Courses:
   1. AFRAMER 11: Introduction to African Studies. Students should take this course by the end of their junior year. (Students who transfer into the concentration after their sophomore year will be permitted to substitute for AFRAMER 11 a course in African Studies they have already taken, but only if they can demonstrate to the Director of Undergraduate Studies that they have established a basic familiarity with the material covered in AFRAMER 11.)
   2. AFRAMER 10: Introduction to African American Studies. Students should take this course by the end of their junior year. (Students who transfer into the concentration after their sophomore year will be permitted to substitute for AFRAMER 10 a course in African and African American Studies they have already taken, but only if they can demonstrate to the Director of Undergraduate Studies that they have established a basic familiarity with the materials covered in AFRAMER 10.)
   3. Two courses of an African language. The language requirement is met by attaining a level of competence equivalent to two courses of African language study. Students who can show evidence at the beginning of their concentration that they have a level of competence equivalent to two courses of African language study will be required to substitute other courses offered in the department. Language courses taken outside of Harvard may be substituted upon approval by the Director of the African Language Program and the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
   4. A course in pre-20th century African history. (Students must select from a pre- approved list of courses available on the department’s website or petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies for a substitution.) A course in African history. (Students must select from a pre-approved list of courses available on the department's website or petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies for a substitution.)
   5. Five courses in African Studies, with at least one in the social sciences and one in the humanities. (These courses need not be given in the department.) In selecting these three courses, students should declare a focus. Some students will declare a disciplinary focus or more general focus in the humanities or social sciences; others will choose an area focus or thematic, methodological, or comparative focus (e.g., comparative literary or historical analysis, comparative economic and political development). These are not the only possibilities, but students are required to make a coherent case for the course of electives they choose.
2. Tutorials:
   1. Sophomore Tutorial: AFRAMER 97: Race, Class, and Colonialism in Africa and the Americas. (Restricted to concentrators and others by permission of instructor.)
   2. Junior Tutorial: AFRAMER 98A, an individual course tutorial that focuses on an African Studies topic.
3. Other information:
   1. Pass/fail: No course used for the concentration may be taken pass/fail, with the exception of AFRAMER 99
   2. Teaching: Concentrators may be eligible to obtain certification to teach in middle or secondary schools in Massachusetts and states with which Massachusetts has reciprocity. See information about the Undergraduate Teacher Education Program (UTEP) at https://utep.gse.harvard.edu/.
   3. Students can take AFRAMER 11 and AFRAMER 97 in succeeding terms starting in their freshman or sophomore year, and then proceed to do individual tutorials in the junior year. Nevertheless, the tutorial program is designed to allow great flexibility; students who declare late may take AFRAMER 97 concurrently with AFRAMER 11, for example. Concentrators may be permitted to substitute for AFRAMER 11, if they declare late.
   4. Study Abroad: Students are encouraged to explore the options available for study in Africa, either during the regular academic year or the summer. It is recommended that students study abroad in the spring term of their junior year. In either case, they must get approval of their Plan of Study from the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Requirements for Honors Eligibility: 12-14 courses (48-56 credits)

1. Required courses: Same as Basic Requirements.
2. Tutorials:
   1. Same as Basic Requirements.
   2. Senior year: One year of AFRAMER 99: Senior Thesis Workshop required.
3. Thesis: Required for eligibility for high and highest honors. A student who has not written a thesis but has attained a GPA of at least 3.9 in twelve concentration courses may be recommended for honors (but not high or highest honors).

As per the Harvard College Fields of Concentration Handbook 2023-2024

Basic Requirements: 12 courses (48 credits)

1. Required courses:
   1. AFRAMER 11: Introduction to African Studies.
   2. A course in African history. (Students must select from a pre-approved list of courses available on the department’s website or petition the Director of Undergraduate Studies for a substitution.)
   3. Two courses of an African language. Students who intend to conduct thesis research in Africa are encouraged to continue African language instruction beyond the first year.
2. Tutorials:
   1. Sophomore Tutorial: AFRAMER 97: Race, Class, and Colonialism in Africa and the Americas. (Restricted to concentrators and others by permission of instructor.)
   2. Junior Tutorial: AFRAMER 98A or junior tutorial equivalent in primary concentration if African and African American Studies is the allied concentration.
   3. Senior year: One year of AFRAMER 99 required, if African and African American Studies is the primary concentration. If African and African American Studies is the allied concentration, the student should register for the thesis tutorial in the primary concentration.
3. Thesis:
   1. Required. Thesis must be related to both fields. Both departments will participate in evaluating the thesis.
4. Other information: Same as Basic Requirements.

Concentration requirements for the Joint Concentration in History and African and African American Studies (African Studies track): 14 courses (56 credits)

1. Study of an African language (2 courses).
2. AFRAMER 11.
3. Sophomore Tutorial: HIST 97 and AFRAMER 97. (Restricted to concentrators and others by permission of instructor.)
4. AFRAMER 98A.
5. One History research seminar focused on Africa and resulting in a 20-page research paper based on primary sources.
6. Senior thesis tutorial: HIST 99 or AFRAMER 99 (full year).
7. Five courses in History and African and African American Studies which must include:
   1. One U.S. or European history course.
   2. One pre-modern history course.
   3. Three courses in African/African American history (one must be a modern African history course).

***Also note the following information:

1. 1. Two types of courses count automatically toward African and African American Studies/History joint concentration requirements:
      1. Courses listed in the course catalog’s “History’’ section and historical courses in the catalog’s “African and African American Studies” section, as determined in consultation with the History Director of Undergraduate Studies.
      2. Courses taught in the General Education and/or Freshman Seminar programs by members of the History or African and African American Studies department faculty. Students wishing to count such courses toward their concentration requirements should consult the Undergraduate Office, as they may need to file a petition requiring approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students may also apply to do an independent study, or HIST 91R, with a member of the department; HIST 91R can be used to fulfill one of the elective course requirements.
   2. The joint concentration also regularly accepts credit from Study Abroad toward concentration requirements. With the exception of certain Freshman Seminars taught by History or African and African American Studies faculty (see above), courses taken on pass/fail basis may not be counted for concentration credit.

As per the Harvard College Fields of Concentration Handbook 2023-2024

Please use this tool to find the most up to date classes of requirements for History, Humanities, or Social Science Courses for the 2023-2024 academic year. Please remember that any courses with a 20XX & 20X or above number are graduate level courses and will require the approval of the instructor.

Course Search Tool

• AAAS 98 or 98A Junior Tutorial Guidelines (.pdf) - to be reviewed by AAAS primary concentrators, some joint concentrators, and faculty or graduate student tutorial leaders in advance of enrollment in the junior tutorial
• Plan of study (.docx) - to be completed by pre-concentrators and secondary fielders before meeting with an AAAS academic advisor
• Thesis track declaration (.docx) - to be completed by thesis-track AAAS primary and joint concentrators during spring of junior year
• FAS concentration credit petition for cross-listed courses (PDF) - to apply for concentration/secondary field credit for approved courses taken outside the Harvard FAS. (Approved FAS courses do not require this form.)
• Step-by-step instructions on how to declare a concentration in my.harvard.edu
• Step-by-step instructions on how to access the Advising Report in my.harvard.edu
• Step-by-step instructions on how to declare a secondary field in my.harvard.edu
• Step-by-step instructions on how to apply to graduate in my.harvard.edu