WELCOME TO AASD!!! 

African-American Studies at the University of Maryland offers a truly interdisciplinary program of excellence focused on the Black experience in the U.S., Africa and the African Diaspora. Our national and internationally renowned faculty conduct research on women and labor, social inequalities and health, educational inequalities and policy, incarceration and victimization, and family dynamics and health in sub-Saharan Africa. Intellectually anchored in social sciences and humanities, we are uniquely situated to examine a range of historical and contemporary issues relevant to people of African descent and contribute to the development of meaningful social policy.


AASD offers our undergraduate students the option of emphasizing either a cultural-social concentration or one in public policy. We also offer graduate level courses, in collaboration with the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership.  Additionally, all University of Maryland students have the opportunity to earn a certificate in African American Studies.  AASD works closely with Women's Studies and Sociology, the Driskell Center, the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity and the Maryland Population Research Center.  We also have close ties to nearby off-campus resources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Library of Congress, the Museum of American History and National Institute of Health among others.