Certificate in African American Studies

The certificate is ideal for students who want to incorporate African American Studies with their elected major in other departments, schools, or colleges. Also, students who often use AASP courses to fulfill their GenEd requirements, elective courses, and supporting sequences in other disciplines will consider the certificate option.

There are three segments of the AASP certificate program: foundation courses, AASP upper-level elective courses, and an AASP seminar. All certificate requirements must be taken under the regular grading method and must be completed with a grade of C- or higher.

Overview of Program Requirements | 21 credits 

  • Certificate students will complete the following foundation course requirements:
    • *AASP100: Introduction to African American Studies
    • *AASP101: Public Policy and the Black Community, and
    • *AASP200: African Civilization, or *AASP202: Black Culture in the United States
  • Students will select 3 AASP upper-level (300/400) courses of their choice
  • See testudo.umd.edu for the full schedule of AASP courses or contact the program advisor during the early registration period for more information
  • Students will choose one seminar option as they near 85-90+ credits: 
    • *AASP400: Directed Readings in African American Studies
    • AASP402: Classic Readings in African American Studies
No course with a grade less than C- may be used to satisfy requirements for the certificate program, and an overall GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation. 
*Course fulfills GenEd requirement, see testudo.umd.edu for details.
For more information about the Certificate in African American Studies or to declare the program contact the academic advisor, lahsram9 [at] umd.edu
For more information on the Double Major in African American Studies or to declare the program contact the academic advisor, lahsram9 [at] umd.edu
Schedule a virtual “general advising” appointment here