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Programs

Frederick Douglass Institute and Department of Black Studies

The Frederick Douglass Institute and Department of Black Studies, originally named the Frederick Douglass Institute of African and African American Studies, was established in 1986 to promote the development of Black studies in undergraduate and graduate education and to advance research at Rochester.

Information about faculty and research can be found on the Frederick Douglass Institute and Department of Black Studies website.

AdmissionsLink to section

Applying to Advanced CertificatesLink to section

The Department of Black Studies does not offer graduate programs. However, it does offer a graduate certificate for which university students can apply.

AcademicsLink to section

Advanced Certificates and RequirementsLink to section

Students must successfully complete four graduate level courses in Black studies. At least two must be University of Rochester courses. Successful completion of the courses is determined by the departments or programs through which the courses are offered.

Graduate Course TitlesLink to section

  • BLST 412. Humanitarianism and Social Insecurities
  • BLST 424. Black Geographies: Race, Space, and Abolition
  • BLST 427. Singin’ a Black Girl’s Song: Black Women’s Sonic Cultures
  • BLST 444. Mutilated Bodies: From Traditions to Cutting-Edge Technologies
  • BLST 447. Biographies of Emancipation in the Black World
  • BLST 501. Photographing Black Lives
  • BLST 545. Black Sexual Worlds
  • BLST 580. Black Feminist Theory and Criticism