The African American Studies Department (AASD) at the University of Maryland College Park began in the 1960s under the leadership of Professor Mary Frances Berry and John Blassingame. The program established groundwork for building a tradition of excellence in teaching and research. Studies of racism, colonialism, and slavery as well as the art, music, and literature of blacks in Africa and the Americas were among the courses made available to scores of students who came to the program in the 1970s.

A new path emerged for AASD in 1983 when public policy analysis was introduced as a concentration within the major. The idea of combining the study of African Americans with rigorous training in analytical problem solving, policy research and public management evolved in a created response by AASD in the search of solutions to contemporary problems confronting the African American community.

Currently, AASD offers our students a choice of major in a cultural social concentration and a public policy concentration. Additionally, all University of Maryland students have the oppportunity to earn a certificate in African American Studies. We also offer graduate level courses, in collaboration with the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership.

The African American Studies Department works closely with various colleges, departments, programs and faculty on campus such as the Driskell Center, Woman's Studies and the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity, to provide our students with the most informed, up-to-date and innovation scholarly study available today.