A Different World is an American television sitcom which aired for six seasons on NBC (from September 24, 1987 - July 9, 1993). It was a spin-off series from The Cosby Show originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in the state of Virginia. Later seasons of the show focused on other characters, including mathematics whiz Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy). In reality, Spelman College was the campus primarily seen during the show. The series frequently depicted members of the major historically African American fraternities and sororities (along with the fictional Kappa Lambda Nu Fraternity and Alpha Delta Rho Sorority).

While it was a spin-off from the Cosby Show, A Different World typically addressed issues that were avoided by the Cosby Show writers (race and class relations, the Equal Rights Amendment). One episode that aired in 1990 was one of the first American network television episodes to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.