Program Requirements

Pre-service and in-service teachers accepted into the program will be required to complete a minimum of six credits of coursework and 10 contact hours of professional development in order to receive the certificate. All courses taken for credit in the program must have a primary focus on Africa and at least one course must have a predominantly historical perspective on a topic in African studies. All courses must be submitted to the Program Administrator for approval of certificate credit. Any course that has not been approved by the Program Administrator may be petitioned to the Program Board for approval. A list of recommended online courses that are affordable through our partnership with Primary Source and the National Humanities Center can be accessed here.

10/17/24 UPDATE *The program has reached maximum capacity and is no longer accepting applications. Email africa@bu.edu to be put on the list to be notified of program openings.

1. Content Knowledge – 6 credits of course work, transferrable from any institution. Participants in the program are encouraged to explore the myriad of topics offered concerning African Studies in order to improve their own content awareness. Teachers seek out their own courses at our partner institutions Primary Source, The National Humanities Center, and elsewhere if they wish. Teachers may also transfer courses taken up to three years prior to program start at any approved institution. Courses need to be graduate level courses in terms of rigor and scope of content although official graduate credit is not required. To facilitate the fulfilling of the courses program requirement, workshops beyond the 10 required count as courses.

2. Teacher Workshops – 10 Contact Hours of Workshops  sponsored by the BU African Studies Center or other approved Professional Development Provider. These teacher workshops take place at least once during each semester or during the summer and vary in length and topic. For more information on workshop offerings at Boston University, please visit here.

Please note: courses and workshops taken in the past three years are eligible for credit in the Teaching Africa Teacher Certificate Program.