Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies

California State University, Fresno

The Africana Studies program (AFRS) at California State University, Fresno offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that illuminates the connectedness of the human experience and provides culturally-appropriate knowledge and skills. This helps students understand the experiences of African peoples all over the world and other ethnic groups in the United States.The program offers interdisciplinary courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies as well as multiple certificates and a minor in Africana Studies. Students with a B.A. in Africana Studies can pursue a master’s or doctoral degree in the humanities, social sciences, or health sciences. Students can also seek other professional degrees in such areas as business, human resources, teacher education, and law. The program teaches appreciation for the heritage of African peoples and their contributions to the shaping of the fabric of American life and history.Africana Studies emphasizes the study of the history and culture of African Americans as they relate to the experiences of Africans on the continent and other peoples of African descent in the Diaspora. The major in Africana Studies provides an epistemological basis for understanding issues that pertain to the experiences of African peoples and other minority ethnic groups in American society. The curriculum promotes an awareness of the African heritage of African Americans and others throughout the Americas. Opportunities are provided for students to engage in study abroad and service-learning in Africa and the Caribbean to stimulate intellectual interest in, and linkage to, contemporary Africa and the African Diaspora while enhancing global understanding of the varied social realities of the human experience.

College of Social Sciences