About PhD Program,
Traditionally the social sciences and humanities have found their subject matter within the contours of the western nation-state system and the European and American lineage of western history and philosophy. The first wave of intellectual developments in Black Studies from the 1960s onwards challenged the neglect and exclusion of critical analyses of Atlantic slavery, western colonialism and American racism; and facilitated research in the expressive traditions of Black cultural and political movements and the racial dynamics of contemporary social life and public policy. This was an extremely important period of nation-centered and historiographic scholarship, opening up new fields of sustained inquiry, and underwriting the longevity and vitality of the Black intellectual tradition.
Consequently, over the last 40 years Black Studies with its emphasis on national intellectual inclusiveness and critique has to a considerable extent influenced, if not transformed, the epistemologies and methodologies of the social sciences and humanities in the U.S. At the same time, the scholarship produced by Black Studies has been disseminated through a dynamic transnational circuit of intellectuals, literary movements and knowledge production across the urban centers of Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.
However, at the turn of the 21st century, Black Studies, like many inter-disciplines spanning the social sciences and humanities, is becoming more responsive to and influenced by a contemporary world that is increasingly interdependent and subject to diverse representations and questionings. The world is no longer centered, if indeed it ever was, on the singular cultures of self-enclosed or autonomous nations. The multicultural, multi-ethnic, multi-faith and gendered dimensions of national spaces and histories are accelerating to prominence under the influence of economic and cultural forms of globalization. Intellectual orientations are increasingly being underwritten and overwritten by questions of trans-nationalism and deterritorialization.
Currently we are experiencing a new wave of diaspora-centered Black Studies where greater emphases on diversity and inter-disciplinarity are assuming greater prominence in dialogue with the changing complexity of the modern world. The latest developments in Black Studies are contributing to a new wave of intellectual and intercultural developments which are symptomatic of the changing vicissitudes of the world, where the recognition of worldly interdependence, cultural diversity and academic interdisciplinarity are now indispensable for the production of knowledge in the 21st century.
In this context our PhD program is very much a part of and contributes to this new wave of Black Studies, oriented both to the historical world that produced the African diaspora as well as to the contemporary world that continues to be shaped by the politics, popular cultures, and social movements of Black populations and their relations with various groups. Black Studies in the 21st century is a dynamic field characterized by a history of interdisciplinarity to develop new forms of intellectual work that arise because of trends towards interdependency and multilateralism within and across nations, particularly throughout the African diaspora. The scholarship of Black Studies is poised to respond and contribute to the intellectual debates that arise from these trends. It also provides for the continued development and expansion of fields of inquiry that explore the formation and intersection of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality.
The PhD program in Black Studies at Northwestern University is led by faculty with diverse interests in the histories, experiences, and cultures of people of African descent around the world. This is reflected in the depth and range of our scholarship as well as the courses we currently offer (and those we will mount in the future). The department is allied closely with other departments and programs within the university, including Anthropology, African Studies, American Studies, Art History, Asian American Studies, Comparative Literary Studies, English, Gender Studies, History, Latino/a Studies, Performance Studies, the Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Political Science, Sociology, and others. Black Studies PhD students may earn a graduate certificate in Gender Studies and in African Studies, or they may participate in the Interdisciplinary Cluster Initiative, a program designed to help graduate students during their academic career at Northwestern by fostering connections with students and faculty in other programs.
The Department of Black Studies’ administrative offices and faculty offices are housed on the 5th floor of Crowe Hall. General information on graduate study at Northwestern University is available on The Graduate School’s Website.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
The track is one of the three areas of research training in the Department of Black Studies:
Our intention is to offer a graduate curriculum that provides a range of graduate students with a firm grounding in a variety of essential texts, materials, methodologies, and traditions. At the same time, we have built in a degree of flexibility that would enable our own students to achieve a higher degree of proficiency within a specific sub-field. Consequently, we will require all our students to take eighteen (18) courses total over two years (all things being equal, an average of three courses per quarter).
- 6 core courses
- 4 track courses
- 4 courses within one’s chosen discipline of specialization
- 3 elective courses
- 1 research methods course
PhD Funding Coverage,
Students admitted to the Ph.D. program typically receive five years of funding, including a fellowship in the first year and teaching and research fellowships or departmental assistantships in subsequent years. Students will also receive summer support for five years. Fellowships and assistantships cover the full cost of tuition and provide a stipend. Ongoing funding is contingent upon the student’s satisfactory progress towards the degree (please see the Guide to Graduate Study for details).
Some Ph.D. students may be eligible for funding through the Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunity Program (ICEOP), a state-funded, need-based program awarding fellowships that provide a stipend, with tuition scholarships provided by the Graduate School. To be eligible, minority students must be Illinois residents and intend to seek faculty positions in Illinois upon degree completion.
Application Requirement,
- Graduate application: CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM
- Statement of purpose:Applicants will supply statements in which they describe their intellectual interests and the factors that have shaped them. Applicants should demonstrate why a degree in Black Studies at Northwestern is relevant for their professional aspirations. This essay will aid in the department’s assessment of each applicant’s fit for our graduate program given the research and teaching areas of the faculty. Be as specific as possible about your research interests and qualifications.
- At least two letters of recommendation:Reference letters should speak to students’ writing, research, analytical, and teaching skills where applicable, and all letters should comment on students’ intellectual creativity and enthusiasm. Students who are returning to academia after significant work experience must still include one academic letter of reference while the other may be from a professional supervisor, colleague, or community leader.
- Writing sample:Candidates will need to demonstrate a critical facility in their writing and in the analysis of intellectual problems. The writing sample of 15-25 pages can be in any area of study, but should address issues relevant to the Black community, nationally or internationally defined.
- Undergraduate and graduate transcripts:Please submit transcripts via online application.
- Exams:TOEFL scores will be required of non-native English speakers. GRE scores are not required.
TOEFL or IELTS test scores are required of most international applicants. Official scores must be taken no more than two years before the intended quarter of entry and must come directly from the Educational Testing Service (ETS). For example, to be considered valid for Fall 2025 admission, TOEFL scores must be no older than September 2023.
The Graduate School’s school code for TOEFL is 1565. Test takers may be asked by ETS to choose the “department” to which they want their scores sent. While you should choose the department most closely aligned to the program to which you are applying, we do not use this information to distribute scores. ALL scores sent to school code 1565 are made available to our programs, regardless of the “departments” selected on the ETS form. For more information regarding the TOEFL CLICK HERE.
Copies of your IELTS scores must be sent directly from IELTS to your admitting department. For more information regarding IELTS CLICK HERE.
You will also be asked scan and upload a copy of your score report (if you have it available) while submitting your online application. This uploaded version is not considered “official” and will be used only for preliminary review purposes until your official scores have been received from ETS or IELTS.
GRE scores are NOT required.
Application Deadline,
Dec 15, 2024
Application Fee,
To apply for admission, the application fee is $95 and is non-refundable.
