The Pan African Studies Department offers a unified, cross-cultural and humanistic approach to the examination of people of Africa on the continent as well as in its diaspora of North and South America and the Caribbean. The Department offers B.S. or B.A. degree options for its majors as well as a minor program. This course of study allows students to examine the history, culture, social structure of people of African descent as well as to examine its relationship to economic development, entrepreneurship, and public health issues locally as well as globally. Courses fulfill general educational requirements in the social sciences and humanities as well as statistics, WR courses and courses which fulfill the diversity requirements of the College. Additionally, the Department participates in the University's Cooperative Internship Program, where students are placed in local non-profit organizations for scholastic credit.
Fieldwork is an especially important component of the department's course of study.
The Department's Fieldwork course offers students the opportunity to conduct a fieldwork project under the auspices of another University or unit of the college internationally, or in the Louisville metropolitan area under the direction of one of its faculty. Graduates have pursued careers in the commercial and non-profit occupational sectors and enrolled in graduate programs in a number of degree areas.