Thank you for your interest in American Studies! We hope you find it to be an exciting and rewarding degree program.

Drawing on the expertise and resources of a variety of departments on campus, our goal is to provide you with many rich and challenging opportunities to explore American art, history, literature, and culture through an intellectually rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum.

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An Interdisciplinary Program

Combining the study of history, literature, and the arts, American Studies seeks to bring together various disciplines and modes of inquiry. Students explore the experience and values of the people of the United States as embodied in their history, literature, politics, arts, and other forms of cultural expression.

  • Explore the creative role of music, film, and popular culture in shaping American values, desires, tastes, and behavior.
  • Examine the ways in which the visual arts have shaped, and are a product of, the social, economic, and political developments that have defined the American experience.
  • Acquire a broad understanding of the interplay of culture, society, and political change in America's past, present, and future.
  • Explore how present day problems are contingent on past actions and belief systems.
  • Read poetry and prose, fictional and dramatic works of representative American writers.
  • Gain an understanding of critical approaches to the study of literature, and of the relationship between culture and literary studies.

American Studies BA/MA Degree Option

The American Studies Program is proud to offer the unique opportunity for qualified undergraduate students to enter the American Studies Master of Arts program after completing three years of undergraduate course work. Contact the Program Director to discuss this option.

Additional Information

The following links and are intended to assist both prospective and current students. Please don’t hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions or would like to discuss the program further.

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