The Division of the Humanities serves as a catalyst to all divisions and departments within the School of Arts and Sciences. In addition, it provides cultural and academic experiences designed for the promotion of scholarship and the training of competent scholars in African American and Africana Women’s Studies, History and English. The humanities curricula relate African American experiences not only to the broader experiences of black people, but to those of other ethnic groups as well. In these instructional programs students are trained for careers as college and high school teachers of African American Studies, Africana Women’s Studies, History, English and Humanities.

These programs seek to provide students with the tools and motivations for scholarly research while preparing them for study toward more advanced degrees and for leadership roles in higher education and in their communities. For those students who aspire to careers in the creative arts, the Division of Humanities endeavors to provide the knowledge, skills, and stimuli essential to the realization of their creative aspirations.