In April 1929, the trustees of three separate schools, namely, Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Spelman College, drew up a contract of affiliation in which these schools agreed to cooperate in the development of a University center for the education of Negroes on both the graduate and undergraduate level. The contract states that "Morehouse College and Spelman College shall be colleges and shall not offer graduate or professional instruction. ... Graduate courses and professional courses shall be offered by Atlanta University as soon as they can be offered on a high plane."

In accordance with the foregoing statement, the first graduate degree, that of Master of Arts was granted in the year of 1931 in the Department of History. In 1938 the Atlanta School of Social Work became affiliated with the University and began granting the Master of Social Work degree.

A continuous strengthening and expansion of subject fields in which graduate work is being done is indicated by the following list of theses written in the twelve-year period 1931-1942. The date given for each thesis is the date on which the degree was conferred and does not necessarily agree with the date given on the title page of the thesis.

Mr Wallace Van Jackson, Librarian of Atlanta University, has been especially interested and helpful in the compiling of this publication I wish to thank those faculty members who assisted me in making the subject index and especially am I grateful to Mrs Minnie Rowe for her continuous aid in the assembling of the material.