Release

UAlbany's Africana Studies Graduate Program Maintains Ranking as Second in the Nation
Undergraduate and graduate programs both rank in top 10

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (June 20, 2006) -- The University at Albany's Africana Studies programs rank in the top 10 in the nation according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine. The graduate program ranked second, behind Columbia University, for the second consecutive year and the undergraduate program ranking moved from 10th to 6th.

Other schools in the top 10 included Yale University, Temple University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State University, the University of California-Los Angeles and Berkeley campuses, Cornell University and Boston University.

"The strength of our program is realized through having an excellent and diverse faculty and increasingly more rigorous academic standards," said Leonard A. Slade Jr., professor and chair of the Africana Studies Department. "We keep accepting and graduating a stronger and more diverse pool of students from around the world including applicants from Canada, France, Russia, and Japan, which continues to strengthen and grow our programs exponentially."

UAlbany is the only school in the SUNY system that offers a master's degree in Africana Studies. The department was created in 1969 as a result of the civil rights movement, and the master's degree program, which has approximately 25 students, has attracted a growing number of international students. Graduates of the program can be found working as lawyers, government officials, and Foreign Service employees.

The top-10 ranking is based on a synthesis of data from the U.S. Department of Education and National Center for Education and Statistics by Diverse analyst, Victor Borden. An on-site evaluation by outside professors was also conducted. The magazine also looked at the number of graduating students, diversity of the program, and quality of faculty.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education (formerly Black Issues in Higher Education) is the nation's only news magazine dedicated exclusively to minority issues in higher education. Published bi-weekly, Diverse carries in-depth and up-to-date coverage of the diverse education community, including African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans, as well as Americans with disabilities and women.