Founded in 1959, and the recipient of a Title VI grant award as a National Resource Center in African Studies, the institute has prepared generations of Africa practitioners for careers in development, diplomacy, business, governance journalism, law, human rights, academic research and teaching.
The distinguished Africanist faculty has contributed to the intellectual discourse on sub-Saharan Africa and visiting scholars have enriched an outstanding academic program that provides a well rounded offering of courses.
Undergraduate students may elect a course plan leading to a major or minor in African studies. Graduate students may either complete a regional concentration ro a certificate in African studies in conjunction with an advanced degree from one of Columbia's various schools and departments. The certificate requires proficiency in an African language such as Swahili, Hausa, Wolof or Zulu, courses which are all taught at Columbia.
A combined program with the Teachers College is also offered, leading to the Africa certificate and the Ph.D. in education or the Ed.D. degree.
The Seminars, Conferences and Events
In addition, a number of conferences and panel discussions -- on topics ranging from "Identity, Rationality and the Postcolonial Subject" and "Democratic Elections" to "Africa's Marginalization" and "AIDS in Africa" -- draw specialists from around the world. Each spring, students affiliated with the institute also have and opportunity to organize a conference on a theme of their own choosing.
In addition, the Institute of African Studies conducts an annual competition for summer research grants, which subsidize costs fro graduate students who want to travel to Africa.
Columbia in son of the country's foremost academic institutions and the Institute of African Studies benefits greatly from the university's renowned schools and departments, which include Anthropology, Applied Linguistics, Art History, Economics, Educations, English, French, History, International Affairs, Law, Political Science, Public Health and Sociology.
New York City -- the crossroads of the global worlds of commerce, diplomacy and culture -- is home to an overwhelming array of institutions with specific interests in Africa.
Human rights groups, such as Africa Watch, and a large number of cultural organizations, such as the African-American Institute, are found here. Aside from the major museums and libraries with African collections in New York, institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Schomburg Library concentrate specifically on African art and publications.
As home of the United Nations, and the international center of communications, New York offers limitless resources for the exchange of ideas, and information on Africa, and the Institute of African Studies provides a forum for this multitude of voices and concerns.