Graduate Program
Description
The graduate certificate in African American Studies provides an opportunity for students to complement doctoral studies in their home department with coordinated multidisciplinary training in African American Studies, and to take part in an intellectually stimulating interdisciplinary community. Students entering the program may come from any department in the Humanities and Social Sciences in which interdisciplinary training in African American Studies is desired. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact our Director of Graduate Studies Professor Daphne Brooks at (609) 258-4068 or via email at brooksd@princeton.edu.
Dissertation
Normally the dissertation should center on a topic of significance in African American Studies. Both the home department and the curriculum committee in African American Studies must approve the dissertation proposal and the approval process will follow the timetable of the home department. The principal advisor for the dissertation is a faculty member from the home department, with at least one reader from the Center for African American Studies who will act as a principal reader on the exam.
At the time of the receipt of a Ph.D. diploma in his or her discipline, the chair of CAAS will award the student a letter of certification.
Entrance Into the Program
Students interested in obtaining a graduate certificate in African American Studies declare their intention to do so when they accept their offers to come to Princeton at the end of their first year, or at the beginning of the semester in which they intend to take their general examination.
All students interested in the program should complete the graduate certificate program registration form and submit it via email or campus mail to April Peters at aprilp@princeton.edu.
Funding and Teaching
Students are normally supported by regular graduate fellowships from their home department. Once students are accepted into the graduate certificate program, they will be eligible to apply to the Center for African American Studies for up to $1000 in research funds. In addition, graduate students with sufficient background and training may have the opportunity to precept in courses in the Center for African American Studies (as available) during their regular period of enrollment, and teaching may also provide additional financial support in year six and seven for DCE students. Students holding outside, non-Princeton fellowships should consult with the Graduate School about the impact of accepting additional funds for teaching from CAAS.