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Combined Ph.D. Program: Graduates

Combined Ph.D. Program - 90 credit hours (32 credit hours in American Studies)

Doctor of Philosophy, a combined degree program in American Studies and another discipline (including, but not limited to: African American and African diaspora studies, anthropology, art history, communication and culture, comparative literature, criminal justice, education, English, folklore, gender studies, history, history of education, journalism, law, philosophy, political science, religious studies, sociology, Spanish, telecommunications, theatre and drama). 

American Studies possesses rich intellectual resources that allow students to integrate their primary area of concentration with the interdisciplinary study of the American experience.

Basic Requirements

• 32 total credit hours in American Studies, including up to 12 from inside the student's "home" department.

Core Course Requirements (No substitutions for G603,G604, or G751 will be accepted.)

• G603 Introduction to American Studies (4 cr. hrs.) Representative readings in interdisciplinary scholarship; the origins and the development of American Studies and current trends.
• G604 Perspectives in American Studies (4 cr. hrs.) Survey of perspectives that have been and currently are significant in American Studies.
• G751 Seminar in American Studies (3-4 cr. hrs.) Intensive study of specific topics in American culture and history with emphasis on developing skills in interdisciplinary research. These seminars will culminate in a 20+-page research paper. Topics and instructors will change each time the seminar is offered. May be repeated once for credit.

Students must complete their remaining credits with courses in American Studies such as:

• G605 Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies (4 cr. hrs.) This is an introductory course in the interdisciplinary study of Native peoples, with primary focus on the study of indigenous peoples in the continental U.S., Alaska, and Canada.
• G620 Colloquium in American Studies (3-4 cr. hrs.) Readings, reports, and discussions on different aspects of American culture. Topics and instructors will change each time the course is offered. May be repeated once for credit.
• G697 Foreign Research in American Studies (1-6 cr. hrs.) The class will approach the study of the United States or the Americas from a hemispheric, transnational, or global perspective, with significant reading, writing, and fieldwork for each participating student.
• G753 Independent Study (1-4 cr. hrs.) P: consent of the director of American Studies and of instructor, who must be a member of the American Studies faculty. (Please complete the AMST-G753 Proposal and obtain appropriate signatures. This proposal must be on file with American Studies before permission to enroll is granted.) OR
• Cross-listed courses outside the student's home department (see Graduate Bulletin).

NOTE: Only those courses which are taught by American Studies faculty members *and* either cross- or joint-listed will count towards the 20 credits of core requirements.

PhD Qualifying Exams and Dissertation

• Students enrolled in the combined Ph.D. program must take an examination in American Studies in addition to the comprehensive examinations in their major department.
• The examination may be taken only after completion of the American Studies course requirements; it may be repeated once, if necessary.
• The dissertation should reflect interdisciplinary study and research. The hours for the dissertation are determined by the major department (minimum of 15 hours).

Research Committee

• The Graduate School requires that students pursuing a combined Ph.D. have at least four faculty members on their research committees, with two from each of the major fields (see the General Requirements section of the University Graduate School Bulletin for more detailed information).
• While AMST-affiliated faculty in a student's home department can serve as representatives of American Studies, the program additionally requires that at least one of the AMST representatives on the committee be from outside of the student's home department.