The African Studies and Research Program was established at Howard University in 1953 to offer a Master’s of Arts degree. In 1969, under the authority of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the unit began offering the Ph.D. degree in African Studies. In 1988, the Howard University Board of Trustees approved the recommendation of the Graduate School to transfer the African Studies Program to the College of Arts and Sciences and to establish a Department of African Studies (DAS) offering both graduate and undergraduate degrees in African Studies. Since 1991, both programs have been fully operational. The DAS offers the only undergraduate major in African Studies in the United States. Students graduating from the department typically go on to undertake further study and professional careers in African and international affairs as well as obtain employment in fields such as teaching, law, social work, communications, business, non-governmental and governmental organizations.

The mission of the DAS at the undergraduate level is to provide an opportunity for Howard students to acquire, through interdisciplinary study, a comprehensive understanding of Africa’s role and relations in the contemporary world. The department has specialists representing many disciplines who expose students to an integrated approach to studying a range of African political, historical, economic, social and cultural issues and to the critical skills for analyzing and addressing Africa’s challenges.