American studies doctoral programs

Individuals who seek to explore professional opportunities within American Studies may also pursue internships with these institutions. They fill teaching positions in institutions of higher learning throughout the region, across the United States, and around the globe including Yale University, Dartmouth College, the University of North Carolina, and Sophia University in Japan.

Other alumni hold significant curatorial and administrative positions at leading museums, public history sites, and cultural institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Museum, the New York State Historical Association, the Shelburne Museum, and Mystic Seaport.

Wherever scholars gather to discuss and analyze American culture and history you are likely to find individuals trained at Boston University. Faculty and students interact formally within the classroom setting, but also gather to hear visiting scholars, produce academic conferences, mark seasonal events, and even annually attend baseball games. We foster the scholarly careers of doctoral students who wish to think broadly, work independently, engage diverse audiences, and pursue innovative approaches to questions both new and old.

We actively support scholars from historically marginalized communities and scholarship that is accountable to those communities. The resources available to students in American Studies are as broad as Harvard University itself. Our program is guided by a core committee of 15 to 20 faculty members and about 40 additional affiliated faculty members drawn from across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and several professional schools.

Our students are free to take courses and pursue dissertation projects with virtually any combination of mentors on campus, creating new constellations of expertise and new approaches to scholarship as they do so. The students come together in the American Studies Colloquium two core courses, one taken in each of the first two years , in a required seminar on professional development in the third year, and in twice-annual gatherings for the presentation of prospectuses and dissertation chapters.

A common study space provides a welcoming home base for mutual support and collegiality. Reading copies of the dissertation must be distributed to members of the committee at least 10 working days prior to the oral examination and must conform to the university requirements set forth in the Thesis Manual.

Two copies of the completed dissertation are submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies and one to the Department of American Studies for its records. No later than the first week of their final semester, students should consult with Interim Director of Graduate Studies Nancy Mirabal about the forms to be filed with the Office of Graduate Studies and Research in order to receive their degrees.

In addition to developing their interdisciplinary research expertise, students should gain mastery of the history, formative and current theories and interdisciplinary content of American studies literature and demonstrate an understanding of multiple dimensions of diversity. It is expected that students will work on these goals from arrival to graduation. Satisfactory Progress toward the Ph. The Department of American Studies expects students to make steady progress toward the completion of their degrees; this document summarizes those expectations.

In addition to using the guidelines in this document, the department strongly recommends that students meet with their program advisors a minimum of once a semester to discuss their progress and plan for the next steps. Students who have not yet selected a program advisor should meet with the director of graduate studies each semester.

Our graduates are placed within some of the best colleges, universities and cultural institutions worldwide. Program U. Program Ph. Program Dual-Degree M. The remaining hours of coursework develop two areas of concentration. Additional Requirements After the first year of residency or its equivalent, the student should meet with his or her advisor to discuss selection of a dissertation topic and the makeup of the dissertation committee, consisting of five faculty members from American studies and related departments.

A topic drawn from one of the thematic areas of the cultures of everyday life or cultural constructions of difference and identity B.