1 GRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING 9 May 2012 102 Kern Graduate ...

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D. Potential Student and Employment Opportunities
1. Graduate Student Recruitment and Program Constituency
Recruitment for the proposed dual-title degree program will adopt several specific strategies:
development of a web page, advertising on the web pages of partnering major programs,
recruitment of students who are enrolled in the program’s classes and seminars, and recruitment
of students at professional meetings. Since capacity-building is a strong emphasis of the African
Union, the program will try to devote attention to the possible recruitment of students from
African universities and African government agencies. The most direct method of recruitment
for the program will be, however, through its courses and seminars and those offered by allied
programs. As shown on Table 1, above, a number of 400 and 500-level Africa-related courses
are already being offered at Penn State. Table 3, below, shows that some of the courses have
enrollments that demonstrate a significant level of interest in Africa-related courses at Penn
State. These courses will provide recruitment opportunities for the proposed program and its
own seminars.
Table 3: Recent Enrollment in Africa-Related Courses at University Park
Course FA 09 SP 10 FA 10 SP 11
AAAS 440 Globalization and its Implications 18 21
PL SC 440 15 15
AAAS 443 Ethnic Conflicts in Africa 14 8
PL SC 443 11 18
AAAS 454 Government and Politics in Africa 18 18
Pl SC 454 15 15
AAAS 464 Petroleum, Extractive Industries and Politics in Africa 7 12
PL SC 464 13 20
CED 497C: E. Africa Agricultural Systems 7 6
CSA 502: Org & Admin Structures of Africa 13 10
CSA 504: Rsh & Asmnt/Stu Africa 10
CMLIT 523: African Literature 10
GEOG 436: Ecology, Economy and Society (high Africa content) 15 12
GEOG 454: African Resources and Development 26
*GEOG 454 has an enrollment of 36 in Fall 2011
2. Enhancement of Graduate Student Research
Doctoral students in the proposed dual-title degree program will develop skills in integrative,
comparative, cross-disciplinary analyses. This goal will be achieved through coursework and
input from African Studies faculty who serve on the student’s dissertation committee. As already
shown on table 2, the core African Studies Program faculty has ongoing projects and research
links with institutions on the continent. Doctoral students will be encouraged to participate in
these and other faculty research projects as research assistants. This will create opportunities for
students to undertake actual field work in Africa and to start to establish their own career
networks on the continent. Doctoral Students will also be encouraged to participate as co-
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