PLEASE NOTE: Students applying for Fall 2027, the plan of study for the Interdisciplinary Studies BA concentration is still being finalized, but it is expected to closely resemble the current African American Studies plan of study, which provides a helpful preview of the curriculum.
The mission of African American Studies is to provide an interdisciplinary education, which prepares students to be astute readers, clear writers, and critical thinkers. Our courses allow students to engage complex social problems with the tools of historical resources and theoretical perspectives. African American Studies is building an intellectual community for the 21st century, as students are equipped to adjust to the nuances of our ever-changing world.
By choosing to major in Interdisciplinary Studies- African American Studies Concentration or minor in African American Studies, you will enjoy an exciting and challenging array of courses focused on the experience of African Americans and their connections to the African Diaspora in the Caribbean and Latin America. You will develop a solid theoretical and research basis to pursue either graduate professional study or employment in business or industry. Coursework addresses such topics as cultural practices, with reference to literature, history, and film as well as inequality as it relates to issues of nationality, race, class, and gender. Additionally, our faculty-led study abroad programs offer global engagement that will benefit you upon graduation.
The African American Studies is an interdisciplinary program offering an undergraduate major concentration and minor in African American Studies. Courses are taught by African American Studies faculty from several departments throughout Liberal Arts at Purdue. Students may seek a major or a minor in African American Studies, or may take courses as electives. Additionally, students have the option of a double major in African American Studies and another academic area such as Communications, English, History, Psychology, and Sociology within the College of Liberal Arts. Or earning a dual degree with another academic area such as Education or Public Health within Purdue.
Why should you take our courses?
You may be an engineering major from Gary, Indiana; a management major from Chicago, Illinois; or an English major from Detroit, Michigan. You may be planning a career in teaching, management, or technology. As a student in an African American Studies course, you will understand the history of interaction of peoples in a pluralistic society. This is essential for working in our diverse society, especially for those in government, journalism, human resources, business, law, education, engineering and public service.
Whoever you are and whatever you plan to become, you must have questions about yourself, your environment, your future, your culture, and society. African American Studies can provide engaging answers to these and other issues.
"Education is more than the mere imparting of information. Above all things, the effort must result in making one think and do for oneself. The only way one can function efficiently in society is to know oneself. In studying the records of others one becomes better acquainted with oneself and with one's possibilities to live and do in the present age."
Carter G. Woodson, 1933
Access archived events highlighting the program's engagement and accomplishments.
Program Coordinator of African American Studies | Ronald Stephens
Director of American Cultural Studies | Monica Trieu