Jamie Monson, Director
Founded in 1960, the African Studies Center promotes understanding of Africa on campus, in the State of Michigan, and throughout the nation. It’s one of the most prominent centers for the study of Africa in the nation with 150 associated MSU faculty in 54 departments. The center encourages teaching and research concerning Africa and partnerships with Africans and African institutions. The center does not award degrees; rather, it generates and promotes Africa-related perspectives through undergraduate and graduate teaching programs and through interdisciplinary programs.
Fellowships are awarded by the Center for African Language and Area Studies in departments with African studies faculty. The faculty represent the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Arts and Letters, College of Communication Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Human Medicine, College of Music, College of Natural Science, College of Nursing, College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Social Science, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
An undergraduate minor in African Studies and a Global and Area Studies major are available for interested students. For additional information, refer to the College of Social Science section of this catalog. More than 20 study programs in Africa are available for shorter periods and semesters.
The Department of Linguistics, Languages and Cultures currently offers courses in Arabic, Hausa, and Swahili. By special arrangement, instruction is available in 30 African languages including Acholi, Aka/Twi, Amharic, Babara/Dyula/Mandingo, Bemba, Fula (Fulfulde, Pulaar), Igbo, Kikuyu, Kinyarwanda, Kpelle, Krio, Lingala, Luganda, Malagasay, Mende, Nyanja/Chichewa, Oromo, Sesotho, Shona, Somali, Temne, Tigrinya, West African Pidgin, Wolof, Xhosa/Zulu, and Yoruba.
The center administers an Outreach Program including the African Media Program which evaluates instructional materials about Africa and brings Africa-related materials into schools, colleges and universities, adult education programs, youth groups, community institutions, businesses, and the media.
For more detailed information, call 1-517-353-1700, email africa@msu.edu, or visit
http://africa.isp.msu.edu/