The intellectual domain of Africana Studies (AST) consists of four major areas:
- The study of African and European American relationships beginning in the sixteenth century;
- The study of African/African American community building, i.e., African Americans' founding and organization of economic, educational, religious, and cultural institutions and related achievements of self-determination;
- Africana women's studies and the study of US women of Native American, Hispanic, and Asian descent; and,
- Africanity and diaspora studies in the Americas, Africa, and Europe.
Each of these areas may be examined further by focusing upon specializations in the humanities (e.g., literature, film, journalism), social sciences (e.g., research, public policy, health care), physical sciences (e.g., environmental studies), or interdisciplinary studies (e.g., women's studies, management, education). An AST major or minor is appropriate for students with strong interests in studies of Americans of color; the study of race, gender, and class in the humanities or social sciences; or one or more subject areas indicated above.