MA Admissions Procedure

Applicants are admitted for the Autumn semester only. The Graduate Studies and Curriculum Committee, however, will also consider applications for the spring semester on a case-by-case basis. As an interdisciplinary unit, the Department will consider any applicant with a bachelor's degree in any discipline from an accredited college or university and with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a standard 4.0 scale). While an undergraduate major in African American and African Studies is not a requirement, applicants must have completed at least 4 courses in African American and African Studies or courses related to the global Black experience.

The following procedures for admission to the Master of Arts (M.A.) Program in African American and African Studies should be followed:

a) An online application form submitted through the Office of Admissions website at http://gradadmissions.osu.edu/.

b) Transcripts for all previous undergraduate and graduate-level course work; this includes any transcripts for study abroad, post-secondary education, etc.

c) TOEFL scores for international students. International students must meet the Graduate School’s TOEFL requirement of 650 on the paper-based test or 114 on the Internet-based TOEFL (IBT).

d) A statement of purpose (double-spaced between 800 to 1000 words) should explain why the applicant wishes to pursue a graduate degree in AAAS, identify a clear research interest, and identify the disciplinary or interdisciplinary fields with which the research is engaged and any relevant research or professional experience. The statement should relate the applicant’s research interest to specific areas of the AAAS program (e.g. a specific concentration, graduate courses, departmental strengths, etc.) and identify three faculty members with whom they hope to work. 

e) Three letters of recommendation are required. Unless the applicant has been out of school for 5 years or more, all three letters should come from faculty who can speak to the applicant’s strengths and areas of growth as a student, preparation for graduate studies, and the likelihood that the applicant will move through the program in a timely fashion toward degree completion. If the applicant has been out of school for 5 years or more, then at least two letters must be from faculty members that address the above criteria. These letters will be submitted through the online application system. Your references will receive an email asking them to submit their letters of reference after you complete your online application.

f) A writing sample should be between 15-25 pages (double spaced) and exemplify the applicant’s scholarly work. Ideally, the sample will relate to the applicant’s identified research interest and derive from previous undergraduate or graduate work, e.g., an honor’s thesis chapter, a research paper, an extended literature review, a review essay, or a historiographical essay. The writing sample may also be the product of a research project written in another setting that relates to the applicant’s proposed research interest. It should represent the applicant’s strongest writing

g) AAAS requires that applicants submit a resume or curriculum vita (CV) of no more than two pages. This document should highlight the relevant academic and/or professional experiences that have prepared the applicant for the AAAS graduate studies program. All university fellowships require applicants to submit a resume or CV to be considered for a fellowship. 

It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to verify with the Graduate Admissions Office that all application materials are submitted and application fees paid. 

NOTICE: Application materials submitted via email will not be considered and cannot be processed.

NOTE:  No decision on admission or financial aid can be made until an applicant’s file is complete. We, therefore, recommend that you follow up with your undergraduate institution and referees to make sure that the requested actions have been completed. Once applications are submitted students are encouraged to check the status of materials received by the department’s graduate program office, through the Graduate Admissions website indicated above on a regular basis.

Reinstated Students
Students who desire to be reinstated after a period of absence from the program must request reinstatement no later than three years from their most recent semester of enrollment, and must have been in good standing with the graduate school at the end of that most recent semester of enrollment. Students who are reinstated but who do not enroll before the end of the academic year in which they are reinstated, will be considered to have declined said reinstatement. A student who desires to return to the program after an absence of more than three years, must apply for admission as if he/she were applying as a new student.  

Transfer Students
Students already admitted to the Graduate School of The Ohio State University and registered in other departments who desire to transfer to the Department of African American and African Studies must submit petitions for change of department to the Director of Graduate Studies. Petition forms may be obtained from the Office of the Graduate School. Students enrolled at another university who wish to transfer to the Department of African American and African Studies must follow the regular procedures of admission for all new students.

Transfer Credit
The decision to grant transfer credit for graduate work completed at another university is made by the Graduate Studies Committee on a case-by-case basis, however candidates are not normally permitted more than 6 hours of transfer credit. Transfer of credit is not automatic and will be allowed only when the Graduate Studies Committee judges the previous work to be appropriate to the program of study in the Department of African American and African Studies. In all cases, no decision will be made on transfer credit until the Department has had sufficient time to assess all the relevant evidence.

Graduate Non-Degree Status
Students who are not working toward an advanced degree will be registered “Graduate Non Degree” in the Graduate School for the purpose of taking course work upon verification of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Should such a student later be admitted to a graduate degree program, no more than 6 hours of graduate credit accumulated while in the non-degree status may be transferred for degree credit.

Please note: No decision on admission or financial aid can be made until an applicant’s file is complete. Once applications are submitted students are encouraged to check the status of materials received by the department’s graduate program office, through the Graduate Admissions website on a regular basis.