undergradly.
Major · Area, Ethnic & Gender Studies

Read the diaspora through history, politics, and cultural production

African-American/Black Studies treats the history, sociology, politics, and culture of people descended from the African diaspora as a rigorous field of its own. About 563 degrees are awarded annually across 211 colleges — a small, research-heavy concentration where bachelor's completers report a five-year median around $52,000.

Schools offering
211
Annual completions
563
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$52k

About this major

African-American/Black Studies treats the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of people descended from the African diaspora as its own interdisciplinary field rather than a subspecialty of history or sociology. Coursework weaves US-focused material on slavery, Reconstruction, the civil rights era, and contemporary Black politics with literature seminars, cultural theory, and comparative work that extends into the Caribbean and Latin America. Most programs include a research methods sequence and a capstone — typically an archival paper, a community-based project, or a thesis that synthesizes disciplines the department draws from.

The major tends to fit students who read widely and like to hold primary sources, contemporary theory, and political economy in the same frame. It rewards close reading, patience with ambiguity, and an interest in how historical structures shape present-day institutions. Because the field is explicitly interdisciplinary, students with side interests in public health, policy, education, or law often pair it with a second major or a targeted minor.

At roughly 563 annual completions across 211 colleges, this is a small field with concentrated excellence. UCLA leads bachelor's production at 30 per year, followed by Georgia State (18), Cal State Northridge (17), Princeton (15), and Howard (14) — a mix that spans large public research universities, selective privates, and HBCUs. The only BLS occupation directly mapped to the CIP is area, ethnic, and cultural studies teacher, postsecondary, at a $84,290 median wage but requiring a doctorate. Most graduates work outside academia — in nonprofits, public agencies, journalism, K-12 teaching, and law — with bachelor's completers reporting a five-year median around $52,065.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary $84k +2.4% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$52k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$35k

Bachelor's

$52k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you read seriously and want a major that takes racial history, political economy, and cultural production as intertwined objects of study rather than separate ones, if you're comfortable sitting with contested interpretations rather than seeking a single right answer, if you already know you'll pair the degree with a concrete post-college plan like law, policy, public health, or teaching certification, if you like research writing and can imagine yourself producing a 30-page thesis from primary sources, and if you're drawn to institutions where the department has real weight — UCLA, Howard, Princeton, and Georgia State all carry long-standing programs with identifiable faculty research agendas.

Think twice if you're looking for a career that the major directly names on job postings — the five-year $52,065 median for bachelor's completers reflects that graduates mostly enter sectors that recruit across humanities rather than from this CIP specifically. Think twice also if graduate school is not in your plan and you need a vocational pathway: the one BLS occupation mapped directly to this major (postsecondary teacher, $84,290 median) requires a doctorate, and the field's 2.4% projected growth is modest. And think twice if you want a big-cohort experience — with 211 colleges averaging under three graduates each, most programs will give you small classes but thin alumni networks outside the top handful.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for African-American/Black Studies

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 30 30
Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 0 18 18
California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA 0 17 17
Princeton University Princeton, NJ 0 15 15
Howard University Washington, DC 0 14 14
San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA 0 12 12
University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA 0 12 12
Wesleyan University Middletown, CT 0 11 11
Amherst College Amherst, MA 0 11 11
University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC 0 11 11
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Women's Studies

1,479 completions/yr

Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other

686 completions/yr

Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies

394 completions/yr

American Indian/Native American Studies

355 completions/yr

Ethnic Studies

297 completions/yr

Deaf Studies

254 completions/yr

Latin American Studies

130 completions/yr

Disability Studies

85 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do African-American/Black Studies majors actually study day-to-day?
The curriculum is interdisciplinary by design — you'll move between history, sociology, political science, literature, and cultural analysis. Expect primary-source seminars on slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the civil rights era, and contemporary politics, paired with literature and theory courses that run from the Harlem Renaissance through Afrofuturism. Many programs also require methods coursework in research and writing, and capstones often take the form of an archival research paper or a community-based project. The Caribbean and Latin American dimensions of the diaspora show up too, so this is rarely a US-only field.
What jobs do African-American/Black Studies graduates actually end up in?
The only career directly mapped to this CIP is area, ethnic, and cultural studies teacher, postsecondary — a $84,290 median wage role that requires a doctoral or professional degree and shows 2.4% projected growth. Most bachelor's graduates do not take that path. They move into nonprofit and advocacy work, policy and government roles, K-12 teaching with a certification, journalism, public history, museum and archives work, and law school. Bachelor's completers in this major report a five-year median around $52,065, which reflects that mix of entry-level public-sector and nonprofit starting salaries.
Is a bachelor's enough, or do I need graduate school?
A bachelor's is enough to enter the nonprofit, government, K-12, and communications roles that absorb most graduates. The academic track is different — the occupation BLS maps to this major (postsecondary teacher, $84,290 median) requires a doctoral or professional degree, so anyone targeting a tenure-track college teaching role is signing up for 5-7 more years of school. Law and public policy master's programs are common next steps too, and the major's emphasis on close reading and argument-building prepares graduates well for them.
How competitive is this major compared to larger humanities fields?
Annual completions are modest — 563 bachelor's and associate degrees across 211 colleges — which means peer cohorts are small at most institutions and faculty-student ratios tend to be favorable. The tradeoff is that employers outside academia don't recruit from the major by name; you're competing against history, sociology, and political science graduates for the same roles. The 2.4% growth rate for the postsecondary teacher occupation is below most professional fields, so the academic end of the pipeline is narrow regardless of how well you do in the major.
What's the difference between this major and Ethnic Studies or the "Other" category?
African-American/Black Studies (CIP 05.0201) is specifically focused on the African diaspora. Ethnic Studies (CIP 05.0200) is the comparative version that covers African American, American Indian, Hispanic American, and Asian American experiences side-by-side — that field sees about 297 annual completions. The "Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other" bucket (05.0299) is a 686-completion catch-all that includes integrated women's, gender, and sexuality programs. If you know you want depth in African and Black diasporic experience, this major is the direct path; if you want the comparative view, Ethnic Studies fits better.
Where does this major show up at scale?
The leading completer is UCLA with 30 annual bachelor's degrees, followed by Georgia State (18), Cal State Northridge (17), Princeton (15), and Howard (14). The list is a mix of large public research universities with established Black Studies departments, small liberal arts colleges, and historically Black institutions — Howard in particular sits at the center of the field. Geographic concentration leans California and the East Coast, with strong programs at Ivies (Princeton, Wesleyan, Amherst) and a long bench of regional publics.