Program of Study: Guidelines for Majors and Minors

Department advising and student success strategies will be updated here.

Sample Pathway Chart of an Africana Studies major. The best way to develop an individualized pathway for a timely graduation is to visit with your faculty advisers for major/ minor requirements as well as advising staff in the University Advising Center, to check your general education (GE) requirements and completion status.

If you are considering a major or minor, you must complete the Declaration Form:

Choose the form for the category that currently applies to you:

For more information, visit Change of Major

Faculty Adviser

Faculty advising policy will be updated here.

The Department of Africana Studies at San Francisco State is the first Black Studies Department established on a four-year college campus in the United States. The birth of Black Studies at SF State in 1968 was inspired by student-led opposition to Western intellectual hegemony and racist scholarship that characterized limitations found in traditional approaches to college education. In 2005, the Department changed its name to Africana Studies.

In an equitable world, every student would know about the unparalleled and unmatched contributions that Africana-identified people have made to human civilization. These contributions include

  • the formulation of the first system of government for a territorial state;
  • creation of the foundations of science, mathematics, and advanced technology;
  • the first written script, the foundations of philosophy and psychology;
  • the building of the great pyramids and such modern inventions as the first electric light filament, the cotton gin, the first gas mask, the double effect evaporator, and the first design of a three stage rocket capable of interstellar flight.

In Africana Studies, students are able to learn about, critique, and be inspired by the accomplishments of Africana-identified people who shaped and are shaping the moral conscience, artistic genius, scientific and technical achievements as well as political activism of their time.

The Department of Africana Studies continues in the vanguard of intellectual discourse pertaining to domestic and global freedom as well as development of Africana-identified people throughout the world. The maturation of the discipline has resulted in new and innovative alternatives to traditional paradigms of oppression and exclusion. In addition to learning aspects of human history that have been omitted and/or appropriated, students learn how to recognize and challenge intellectual hegemony and racist science. The discipline of Africana Studies not only provides students with the experience of challenging traditional Western orthodoxy, but also facilitates opportunities to explore new and alternative paradigms and theories. In Africana Studies, students acquire and develop an appreciation for the origins of knowledge, the philosophy of science, and the politics of knowing. Students develop a social character and personal outlook that gives them the ability to contribute to the well-being of themselves and humanity.

Curriculum in Africana Studies is designed to address the needs of the Africana-identified communities. That is, the community is situated as a classroom where lessons can be learned and taught. The discipline of Africana Studies prepares students to not only understand the world they live in but also to see where the world is wanting and to have the resources, skills as well as the desire to make it better.

Students majoring in Africana Studies are required to complete a 39-unit program consisting of core courses and electives that contain emphases in the areas of arts and humanities as well as behavioral and social sciences. Our majors engage courses that connect Africana Studies --as culturally-grounded, equity education-- to core concepts concerning STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) and environmental justice. Africana Studies is by definition interdisciplinary and our students engage community-grounded learning that provides work and service experience to better prepare graduates for careers and/or postgraduate education.

The core courses facilitate an appreciation of the historical developments and intellectual foundations of the discipline as well as the critical knowledge base, academic skills, and methodological techniques essential to the field of Africana Studies. The courses offered in the emphases provide opportunities for students to gain a deeper intellectual grasp of the field. For more, click "B.A. in Africana Studies" and "Minor in Africana Studies" to link to the SF State Bulletin, or keep reading to quickly see our core and elective degree requirements.

Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies (39 Units)

The Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies includes thirty units of core courses and nine units of elective courses from an areas of emphasis, for a total of 39 units.

The University Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) is satisfied in the Africana Studies major with the ETHS 300 GW "Writing in Ethnic Studies - GWAR" course. Double majors must check with Department chairs and faculty advisors concerning GWAR requirement for degree completion. The writing requirement units are not included in total units for the major.

Ask your advising faculty and the department chair about any possibility of substitutions or the status of transferred courses. Remember that community colleges do not offer "upper-division" courses, or courses numbered 300 and above.

Core Requirements: 30 Core Course Units + 9 Elective Units = 39 Total Units for Africana Studies Major

Core Courses for Majors

Title

Units

AFRS 101

Introduction to Africana Studies

3

AFRS 200

Introduction to Black Psychology

3

AFRS 210

Introduction to Africana Literature

3

AFRS 266

Black On-line: Cyberspace, Culture, and Community

3

AFRS 300

From Africa to Olmec America: Ancient African Prehistory and History

3

AFRS 303

African American History

3

AFRS 345

Blacks in Urban America

3

AFRS 375

Law and the Black Community

3

AFRS 515

Black Family Studies

3

AFRS 516

Research Methods

3

Minor Program in Africana Studies (18 Units)

Download Change/Add Minor Form from Registrar (PDF)

Download AFRS Minor Advising Form (PDF)

Core Requirements: 9 Core Course Units + 9 Elective Units = 18 Total Units for Africana Studies Minor

Select one course from each category A, B, and C. Additional courses completed in categories B and C count as electives. Electives may be chosen from any Africana studies course. Seek advising from faculty and/or department chair.

Required Courses for Minors

A- Foundations in the Academic Discipline of Africana Studies (3 Units)
Course Title
AFRS 101 Introduction to Africana Studies
B – Africana Behavioral and Social Sciences (3 Units)
Course Title
AFRS 200 Introduction to Black Psychology
AFRS 345 Blacks in Urban America
AFRS 515 Black Family Studies
AFRS 516 Research Methods
C – Africana Humanities (3 Units)
Course Title
AFRS 210 Introduction to Africana Literature
AFRS 266 Black On-line: Cyberspace, Culture, and Community
AFRS 303 African American History
AFRS 375 Law and the Black Community

Choose Three More Elective Courses (9 Units)

Electives: Select Nine Units in addition to Core for Major or Minor

Show details
Course ID Title, Units and GE Status - Check SF State Class Schedule for Current Offering and Course Details
 

General Studies Colloquium (3)

AFRS 101

Introduction to Africana Studies (3)

AFRS 110

Critical Thinking and the Black Experience (3) [GE]

AFRS 111

Black Cultures and Personalities (3) [GE]

AFRS 125

Black Community Involvement Workshop (3)

AFRS 200

Introduction to Black Psychology (3) [GE]

AFRS 201

Kemet, Afrocentricity, and the Dawn of Science (3) [GE]

AFRS 203

Black Social Sciences (3) [GE]

AFRS 204

Black Creative Arts (3) [GE]

AFRS 210

Introduction to Africana Literature (3) [GE]

AFRS 213

Science and Spirituality in Ancient Africa (3) [GE]

AFRS 214

Second Year Written Composition: Africana Studies (3) [GE]

AFRS 215

Introduction to Black Family Studies (3) [GE]

AFRS 221

African American Music: A 20th Century Survey (3) [GE]

AFRS 225

Images and Issues in Black Visual Media (3) [GE]

AFRS 256

Hip Hop Workshop (3) [GE]

AFRS 266

Black On-line: Cyberspace, Culture, and Community (3) [GE]

AFRS 290

Malcolm X in the Context of Black Nationalism (3) [GE]

AFRS 300

From Africa to Olmec America: Ancient African Prehistory and History (3)

AFRS 301

Africa in Global Perspective (3) [GE]

AFRS 302

Black Diaspora (3) [GE]

AFRS 303

African American History (3) [GE]

AFRS 304

Black People and the American Experience (3)

AFRS 305

Ancient Egypt (3) [GE]

AFRS 310

Anthropology of Blackness (3)

AFRS 312

Kalifia: The Black Heritage of California (3) [GE]

AFRS 320

Black Politics, Mass Movements, and Liberation Themes (3) [GE]

AFRS 326

Black Religion (3) [GE]

AFRS 335

The Black Woman: A Cultural Analysis (3) [GE]

AFRS 340

Economics of the Black Community (3) [GE]

AFRS 345

Blacks in Urban America (3) [GE]

AFRS 350

Black-Indians in the Americas (3)

AFRS 370

Health, Medicine, and Nutrition in the Black Community (3)

AFRS 375

Law and the Black Community (3) [GE]

AFRS 376

Government, the Constitution, and Black Citizens (3)

AFRS 382

African American Economic History (3) [GE]

AFRS 400

Black Arts and Humanities (3) [GE]

AFRS 411

African and African American Literature (3) [GE]

AFRS 450

African Philosophy and Cosmology (3) [GE]

AFRS 515

Black Family Studies (3) [GE]

AFRS 516

Research Methods (3)

AFRS 525

Black Child Development (3) [GE]

AFRS 600

Proseminar in Africana Studies (3)

AFRS 645

Literature of the Harlem Renaissance (3)

AFRS 646

Frantz Fanon's Psychology of Violence, Negation, and Liberation (3) [GE]

AFRS 660

Civil Rights Movement and Education (3)

AFRS 665

Black Journalism (3)

AFRS 678

Urban Issues of Black Children and Youth (3) [GE]

AFRS 685

Projects in the Teaching of Africana Studies (1-4)

AFRS 694

Community Service Learning (1-3)

AFRS 699

Independent Study (1-3)

AFRS 705

Seminar in Africana Studies (3)



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