African-American/Africana/Diaspora Studies/Fall 2017 Applicants

[ClassicalEducator]

Are there others who are considering applying to any of these programs for admission in the fall of 2017? I am mostly concentrated in the field of education, but have been contemplating applying to a strictly Af Am studies program. Many of the top programs however, do not cross-register with education and/or do not have educational departments at all. While I have taken courses in the more common areas - Sociology, History, Anthro, History of Art, etc. - and excelled in them, they are not my primary area of focus. Does anyone have any suggestions as to whether I should apply or consider strictly Af Am studies, or just give it up and head directly for education? Do other prospective students face these dilemmas? 

Thanks for your input!

[Sigaba]

2 hours ago, ClassicalEducator said:

Are there others who are considering applying to any of these programs for admission in the fall of 2017? I am mostly concentrated in the field of education, but have been contemplating applying to a strictly Af Am studies program. Many of the top programs however, do not cross-register with education and/or do not have educational departments at all. While I have taken courses in the more common areas - Sociology, History, Anthro, History of Art, etc. - and excelled in them, they are not my primary area of focus. Does anyone have any suggestions as to whether I should apply or consider strictly Af Am studies, or just give it up and head directly for education? Do other prospective students face these dilemmas? 

Thanks for your input!

Are you searching for departments of education or schools of education when you look at institutions with African American studies programs?

[ClassicalEducator]

I searched for both but realized that some of the top programs have phased out their educational departments. Schools with the better Af Am Studies departments that stand alone tend to allow students to cross register in their Sociology, Anthro, English or History departments. 

[NoirFemme]

San Francisco State appears to have an Ed.D program with a reputation in Ethnic Studies: http://edd.sfsu.edu/content/program-description

Harvard Graduate School of Education: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/course/fall-2015/t004-ethnic-studies-and-education-fall-2015

UCLA Department of Education: https://gseis.ucla.edu/education/academic-programs/social-sciences-comparative-education/ssce-sub-specializations/

[ClassicalEducator]

11 minutes ago, NoirFemme said:

San Francisco State appears to have an Ed.D program with a reputation in Ethnic Studies: http://edd.sfsu.edu/content/program-description

Harvard Graduate School of Education: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/course/fall-2015/t004-ethnic-studies-and-education-fall-2015

UCLA Department of Education: https://gseis.ucla.edu/education/academic-programs/social-sciences-comparative-education/ssce-sub-specializations/

Thanks for your response - I'm familiar with all of those programs. I was just wondering if others were considering applying to Af Am Studies but approaching it from the educational perspective. It sounds as though it isn't possible, which is what I suspected. Either I have to apply to a strictly Af Am Studies program and hope for the best, or go through an Ed department that already has a cross-curricular relationship established. 

[rising_star]

Can you say more about your research interests @ClassicalEducator? I ask because I know of various researchers who have studied things like the history of African-American education from within an African-American studies program, for example. 

[ClassicalEducator]

6 hours ago, rising_star said:

Can you say more about your research interests @ClassicalEducator? I ask because I know of various researchers who have studied things like the history of African-American education from within an African-American studies program, for example. 

Sure, thank you. I am focusing on the following in my research: opening/expanding the curriculum to include African American authors/literature, opening up the teaching profession to promote more African American/minority teachers, exploring funding of HBCUs and other African-American centered institutions, and exploring African American feminists and their perspective on literature/education. 

I have only considered educational programs for graduate school, but recently started looking into MBA/MAs (UMich and a couple of other schools offer this option) because I am still deciding whether I want to do research or open up my own educational consulting firm. I have yet to explore African American studies strictly by itself because I am not sure whether my research interests align with their usual combinations of Sociology, English, Anthro, etc.

Thank you again for your help and response. 

[NoirFemme]

19 hours ago, ClassicalEducator said:

Thanks for your response - I'm familiar with all of those programs. I was just wondering if others were considering applying to Af Am Studies but approaching it from the educational perspective. It sounds as though it isn't possible, which is what I suspected. Either I have to apply to a strictly Af Am Studies program and hope for the best, or go through an Ed department that already has a cross-curricular relationship established. 

Ok.

What do you hope to accomplish with a doctorate? That might help you decide whether to pursue an Ed.D or a PhD.

Are you hoping to move into education administration?

Are you just wanting to study your topics of interest?

Who's in the field that you would love to study with (or, who has your dream job)?

[ClassicalEducator]

On June 13, 2016 at 7:19 PM, NoirFemme said:

Ok.

What do you hope to accomplish with a doctorate? That might help you decide whether to pursue an Ed.D or a PhD.

Are you hoping to move into education administration?

Are you just wanting to study your topics of interest?

Who's in the field that you would love to study with (or, who has your dream job)?

Hi,

Thanks for your input. I guess I can keep doing my research on my own - I already know that I want a Ph.D and not an Ed.D (Dad has one and I have zero desire to go back into teaching formally). I already have a career trajectory in mind and am pretty far into researching programs and schools - at least from the educational side of things. I was essentially seeking input from those who have studied or will study African American History in some capacity, and was trying to gauge how they chose their programs and whether there were any who have been in a situation that is similar to mine.

Thanks anyway.  

[NoirFemme]

On 6/15/2016 at 9:50 AM, ClassicalEducator said:

Hi,

Thanks for your input. I guess I can keep doing my research on my own - I already know that I want a Ph.D and not an Ed.D (Dad has one and I have zero desire to go back into teaching formally). I already have a career trajectory in mind and am pretty far into researching programs and schools - at least from the educational side of things. I was essentially seeking input from those who have studied or will study African American History in some capacity, and was trying to gauge how they chose their programs and whether there were any who have been in a situation that is similar to mine.

Thanks anyway.  

Good for you and good luck.

I'm doing AA Studies (among other things), so hopefully you'll get into a program that fits your needs. 

[ClassicalEducator]

20 hours ago, NoirFemme said:

Good for you and good luck.

I'm doing AA Studies (among other things), so hopefully you'll get into a program that fits your needs. 

Thanks so much! My current research advisor keeps telling me to think broadly - so for right now, in her mind at least, Af Am Studies is a bit narrow. I'm considering combinations of English/Af Am or History/Af Am but I keep envisioning myself not touching the educational piece (at for example Yale or Princeton since their Ed schools are seemingly fazed out) and feel as though that would be doing myself quite a disservice. I'm leaning towards a broad program/school that allows for plenty of cross-registration and has a strong Af Am Studies dept as well as Ed. 

Thanks for your input, and apologies for the evasive comments - I get really antsy about the application process so I hate mentioning Ivies or big name schools even though that's primarily where I have studied. Good luck to you too!

[NoirFemme]

On 6/17/2016 at 4:38 PM, ClassicalEducator said:

Thanks so much! My current research advisor keeps telling me to think broadly - so for right now, in her mind at least, Af Am Studies is a bit narrow. I'm considering combinations of English/Af Am or History/Af Am but I keep envisioning myself not touching the educational piece (at for example Yale or Princeton since their Ed schools are seemingly fazed out) and feel as though that would be doing myself quite a disservice. I'm leaning towards a broad program/school that allows for plenty of cross-registration and has a strong Af Am Studies dept as well as Ed. 

Thanks for your input, and apologies for the evasive comments - I get really antsy about the application process so I hate mentioning Ivies or big name schools even though that's primarily where I have studied. Good luck to you too!

I know the deal! :-)

Have you looked at UT Austin's American Studies program? There's lots of cross-pollination in different fields, including Education. 

http://liberalarts.utexas.edu//ams/graduate/overview.php

[ClassicalEducator]

On June 22, 2016 at 11:00 PM, NoirFemme said:

I know the deal! :-)

Have you looked at UT Austin's American Studies program? There's lots of cross-pollination in different fields, including Education. 

http://liberalarts.utexas.edu//ams/graduate/overview.php

Thank you so much! I've been perusing the website for some time now and it seems like a solid program - just wish it had more of a focus in education that could be a better fit with my interests. I think I may continue to look at Af Am Studies programs to see whether they fit with Anthro or some other possible substitute for Education, in case I go in a different direction. 

[PetiteFilleNoire]

Is anyone else struggling to decide between applying to two different programs in the same school? I was initially interested in Northwestern's African-American studies program, but now I'm wondering if Northwestern's Performance studies would be a better fit... Any advice? 

 

[rising_star]

On 6/17/2016 at 7:38 PM, ClassicalEducator said:

Thanks so much! My current research advisor keeps telling me to think broadly - so for right now, in her mind at least, Af Am Studies is a bit narrow. I'm considering combinations of English/Af Am or History/Af Am but I keep envisioning myself not touching the educational piece (at for example Yale or Princeton since their Ed schools are seemingly fazed out) and feel as though that would be doing myself quite a disservice. I'm leaning towards a broad program/school that allows for plenty of cross-registration and has a strong Af Am Studies dept as well as Ed. 

If you're thinking about cross-registration, then consider the consortia that many schools are a part of. For example, if you went to Princeton, you could potentially take classes in the education school at Rutgers or UPenn. I do think you'd be limiting yourself if you only applied to education schools, just because of the kinds of classes you'd then be asked to teach as a faculty member.

[ClassicalEducator]

On August 17, 2016 at 8:43 AM, rising_star said:

If you're thinking about cross-registration, then consider the consortia that many schools are a part of. For example, if you went to Princeton, you could potentially take classes in the education school at Rutgers or UPenn. I do think you'd be limiting yourself if you only applied to education schools, just because of the kinds of classes you'd then be asked to teach as a faculty member.

Thank you very much for bringing Princeton to my attention again - I was looking into their Art and Archaeology program (or something similar) and only saw the Certificate in Af Am Studies. I didn't know that cross-registration was allowed there, and Rutgers has a visual art professor who just transferred from Columbia and is my current favorite artist at the moment. I would love to take a class with her. And I hadn't seen any information about a consortium with UPenn - they mostly seem to mention their ties with Bryn Mawr and semester abroad study programs. I do know that Brown and Harvard are in a consortium and had wanted to look back into Cornell, but again they phased out their Ed program and I'm not entirely sure what I can do beyond their very strong Af Am Studies department. Do you have any more information on this Princeton program? I will look into it and others to see what else I might find. 

 

Thank you!

[caféconleche]

hey everyone! figured i'd get this thread started again now that applications are in. which programs did you end up applying to?

i applied to doctoral programs: yale (african american studies + american studies), harvard (african american studies), penn (africana studies), brown (africana studies), uc berkeley (african american studies), and northwestern (african american studies--did anyone else who applied here have a hard time recording the video interview?)

[PetiteFilleNoire]

@caféconleche We applied to a similar list of programs! For me, it's: Yale (american studies & african-american studies), Cornell (africana studies), UC Berkeley (african-american studies), Northwestern (african-american studies), UCLA (african-american studies - MA), UCSB (feminist studies), NYU (american studies), UMD (american studies). 

I decided not to submit a video interview for Northwestern (as did others I know who applied). 

[The Shade King]

Congrats on your choices. I ended applying to Yale, Cornell and Berkeley( I was going to apply to ethnic studies but was pushed to apply to African American Studies lol) as well for the same programs. I did not apply to NYU (american studies) or UMD(american studies). Many of my choices as I came down to the wire surprised me as I did not attend to apply to certain programs or I had attended to apply to other programs. I visited Northernwestern this summer as I was hoping to apply but ended up not finding a good fit. If u go there it is such a pretty campus and in a nice area of Chicago.

Edited January 4, 2017 by The Shade King

[The Shade King]

2 minutes ago, The Shade King said:

Congrats on your choices. I ended applying to Yale, Cornell and Berkeley( I was going to apply to ethnic studies but was pushed to apply to Afr

2 hours ago, PetiteFilleNoire said:

@caféconleche We applied to a similar list of programs! For me, it's: Yale (american studies & african-american studies), Cornell (africana studies), UC Berkeley (african-american studies), Northwestern (african-american studies), UCLA (african-american studies - MA), UCSB (feminist studies), NYU (american studies), UMD (american studies). 

I decided not to submit a video interview for Northwestern (as did others I know who applied). 

 

 

[NoirFemme]

Only Yale for AfAm Studies for me. I would have applied to others, except for realizing that a lot of AfAm programs seem to be more social sciences, education, and sociology oriented, and I'm very much a humanities person.

[caféconleche]

congrats to everyone on submitting! it seems from last year's thread that applicants started hearing back at the very end of january, which feels so soon. @PetiteFilleNoire, i didn't realize the video was optional! i wish i had known--i have no idea what i submitted because i wasn't ever able to watch what was recorded.

good luck to everyone! 

[The Shade King]

21 hours ago, caféconleche said:

congrats to everyone on submitting! it seems from last year's thread that applicants started hearing back at the very end of january, which feels so soon. @PetiteFilleNoire, i didn't realize the video was optional! i wish i had known--i have no idea what i submitted because i wasn't ever able to watch what was recorded.

good luck to everyone! 

Yep, I was looking at the results board from last year and I was thinking wow many things are going to happy in the next 8 weeks. 

[alouette]

hey all,

I'm currently overseas; I've been working in international development for a few years and I decided to send one application to an Africana Studies program that interested me. I've been a bit out of the loop---so I wonder if a few of you would mind talking a bit about your top choice for Africana Studies/ African-American Studies and some stats about your application.

I'll go first! I'm applying to Cornell's program because of their focus on engaged and project-based learning. I'm interested in China's increasing economic presence in afro descended communities in the Latin American/Caribbean region--particularly on women's economic organization in the informal economy. My undegrad record is strong, 2 great and 1 good LOR, 2 papers in undergrad journals and 2 research grants. My biggest worry is that i've been out of school for a few years and i'm applying without a masters!

Any chitchat about the programs you've applied to, your profile as an applicant and whatever you've gleaned about the various programs and what they look for in applicants would be a great way to pass the time as we wait for decisions.

Good luck to all!

[The Shade King]

2 hours ago, alouette said:

hey all,

I'm currently overseas; I've been working in international development for a few years and I decided to send one application to an Africana Studies program that interested me. I've been a bit out of the loop---so I wonder if a few of you would mind talking a bit about your top choice for Africana Studies/ African-American Studies and some stats about your application.

I'll go first! I'm applying to Cornell's program because of their focus on engaged and project-based learning. I'm interested in China's increasing economic presence in afro descended communities in the Latin American/Caribbean region--particularly on women's economic organization in the informal economy. My undegrad record is strong, 2 great and 1 good LOR, 2 papers in undergrad journals and 2 research grants. My biggest worry is that i've been out of school for a few years and i'm applying without a masters!

Any chitchat about the programs you've applied to, your profile as an applicant and whatever you've gleaned about the various programs and what they look for in applicants would be a great way to pass the time as we wait for decisions.

Good luck to all!

Well the most of the programs I applied to were american studies, but I rounded out my school lists by applying to a few African/Africana/Black Studies programs. Intially I was not going to apply to Berkeleys program. I wanted to apply to ethnic studies but a professor there nudged me in that direction. It definitely seems to be a push for ethnic studies to not really focus on black studies and I wonder if its because black studies have more PhD programs than say Latino or Asian American studies. Its subtlbe but I could see it in my interaction with faculty. So I ended up just applying to Berkeley, Cornell, and joint AMst/African AFam program at Yale. I was going to also apply to Umass but at this point I am so tired of applications I just decided not to.

As far as stats, I am nontraditional student slightly over than avg but not much. I have worked in public sector for the last 7 years.  My undergrad is social science based and I have shifted to a frame work that uses cultural studies informed by social science mind set. My undergrad record is meh but ended very strong and I have some graduate course work. I also have a few heavy hitter LOR writers so that helps a bit I think.