Students must apply separately to and be accepted into both the African American and African Diaspora Studies Master of Arts degree program and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs degree program. Indicate on both application forms that you are applying for the AAADS/SPEA dual degree.

Requirements for the M.A. in AAADS – 28 credit hours minimum

General Requirement (12 cr.) including:

• A500 Introduction to African American and African Diaspora Studies (3 cr.)
• A690 Core Readings in African American and African Diaspora Studies (4 cr.)

Proposed Graduate Internship Specialization (12 cr. minimum):

• Students would take a minimum of 9 graduate hours in one of the two tracks in AAADS. An additional 3 graduate hours should be taken in an elective.
• M.A. Thesis A698 Field Study Seminar (4 cr.)

Requirements for the M.P.A. of Public Affairs – 36 credit hours minimum

M.P.A. Core (21 cr.)

• V501 Professional Development Practicum: Information Technology (1 cr.)
• V502 Public Management (3 cr.)
• V503 Professional Development Practicum: Writing and Presentation (1 cr.)
• V505 Professional Development Practicum: Teamwork and Integrated Policy Project (1 cr.)
• V506 Statistical Analysis for Effective Decision Making (3 cr.)
• V517 Public Management Economics (3 cr.)
• V540 Law and Public Affairs (3 cr.)
• V560 Public Finance and Budgeting (3 cr.)
• V600 Capstone in Public and Environmental Affairs (3 cr.)

Specialized Concentration (15 cr.)

• Students are required to develop specialized concentrations comprised of courses approved by SPEA faculty advisors.

Students who are concurrently enrolled in two departments may qualify for two master’s degrees under a provision that allows credit earned to satisfy the major requirements of one department to count as elective credit in a second department. Dual master’s degrees require a minimum of 50 credits, with at least 21 credits earned in each of the programs.

To be eligible for this program, a student must be formally admitted by both departments and by the University Graduate School. All requirements of both degrees must be met, including passing any departmental examinations and satisfying foreign-language/research-skill requirements. If both departments require a thesis, the student may write a single thesis that meets the requirements of both fields. The thesis committee will comprise an equal number of representatives of both departments, and the thesis credit will be split between the two. All course work for the program must be completed within a period of six years.