There was never a semester without interesting African Studies courses. As for graduate students , they are all dedicated and enthusiastic. Recently a group of students put on a conference for African studies graduate students. More importantly, the talks given by students from all over the the United States and part of Europe, were interesting, professional, and, frankly, very impressive. Language is another key aspect to the African Studies Program.
Few universities have courses on an African language.
IU offers or has offered in the past few years courses in Swahili, Bambara, Chindali, Kpelle, Fula, Hausa, Twi, Ndonga, Wolof, Chichewa, Oku, Zulu, Shona, Sotho, and Lingala . Almost all of the courses are taught by native speakers, which provides for an excellent learning environment. Grants are also an important consideration for incoming students. Students have opportunities to apply for numerous grants throughout their degree program, including language grants, travel grants, and pre-dissertation and dissertation grants. Let me conclude by stating that the African Studies Program is clearly one of the best in the country.