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Program Description
American Studies at NYU is one of the country’s top-ranked programs in this dynamic field. An interdisciplinary program housed in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, it studies United States society in national, hemispheric, and global frameworks. It draws on faculty strength in a wide range of fields, including history, area studies, literature and film, gender studies, critical ethnic studies, political economy, and urban and environmental studies. The program interprets “American” in a broad sense to include assessments of the historical role of the United States in the Americas and, more generally, in world affairs. Students are exposed to a range of methodologies in the social sciences and humanities, including ethnography, textual analysis, archival research, and cultural studies.
The American Studies Program is designed as a transdisciplinary course of study, meant to prepare students for a wide variety of appointments and careers in academic, cultural and public institutions.
Interdepartmental by definition, the student’s course of study is arranged with the director of the program and the director of graduate studies (DGS) and includes seminars offered in the program and selected courses offered in the following departments, programs, and institutes: Anthropology, Cinema Studies, Comparative Literature, English, Fine Arts, History, Journalism, Media, Culture, and Communications, Music, Performance Studies, Philosophy, Politics, Sociology, Visual Culture.
Admissions
All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the general application requirements, which include:
See American Studies for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.
Program Requirements
To qualify for the doctorate, a student must satisfactorily complete graduate studies totaling at least 72 credits, with a minimum of 32 credits at the doctoral level in residence at New York University; pass qualifying examinations; and present an approved dissertation. Students who have completed relevant graduate courses elsewhere may request that such courses be credited to degree requirements within the second semester of study. Credits may be earned through courses, independent study, and group study.
Course List
| Course |
Title |
Credits |
| AMST-GA 3301 | American Studies Seminar | 4 |
| AMST-GA 3303 | Strategies for Social and Cultural Analysis | 4 |
| AMST-GA 2306 | Dissertation Proposal Writing | 4 |
| 60 |
| Total Credits | 72 |
Additional Program Requirements
Fields of Study
Doctoral students choose to concentrate their course work in two of these fields and are examined in each. Under special circumstances, fields can be constructed for students with extraordinary interests. If they wish, students may concentrate their work in specific disciplines, although the chief purpose of the field structure is to encourage transdisciplinary study. The program offers a range of six fields of study:
- Culture, work, and consumption;
- Identity, citizenship, and social formation;
- Media, communications, and expressive culture;
- Social and political theory;
- Science, technology, and society; and
- Urban and community studies.
Foreign Language Proficiency
Every student must satisfy the doctoral foreign language proficiency requirement. This may be done in one of three ways:
- Demonstrate proficiency at an intermediate level in a second foreign language as described in the Degree Requirements section of this bulletin;
- Demonstrate advanced proficiency in the same language offered at the master’s level in the Graduate School foreign language proficiency examination; or
- In special cases, complete a yearlong course (with a grade of B or better) in statistics, computer methodology, or a technical skill related to the student’s research, in addition to demonstrating proficiency in a first foreign language at the master’s level.
Qualifying Examinations
Matriculated students who have completed or are completing the appropriate courses and have already demonstrated knowledge of a foreign language must pass the qualifying examinations. Each candidate for the Ph.D. must satisfy the requirements set by the faculty committee in two fields. For each field, the candidate prepares a substantial review essay dealing with a wide range of literature in the field, considering questions and topics central to a course of reading set in consultation with field examiners.
Matriculated students are required to submit a Degree Completion form and Field Exam Proposal form to the Director of Graduate Studies for approval once completing 32 points of course work, and by the fourth semester of matriculation,
Dissertation Defense & Submission
When the student has completed at least one year in residence and all course and language requirements, passed the qualifying examinations, proposed an acceptable subject for the dissertation, and been recommended by the program, he or she is formally admitted to candidacy for the doctorate, and an advisory committee is appointed. While most committees are comprised of members from the program faculty, students are permitted to work with any appropriate member of the NYU faculty. Approval of the dissertation by the committee and a defense of the dissertation examination complete the requirements for the degree.
Departmental Approval
All Graduate School of Arts & Science doctoral candidates must be approved for graduation by their department for the degree to be awarded.
Sample Plan of Study
Plan of Study Grid
| 1st Semester/Term |
|---|
| AMST-GA 3301 |
American Studies Seminar |
4 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
| | Credits | 12 |
| 2nd Semester/Term |
|---|
|
4 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
| | Credits | 12 |
| 3rd Semester/Term |
|---|
| AMST-GA 3303 |
Strategies for Social and Cultural Analysis |
4 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
| | Credits | 12 |
| 4th Semester/Term |
|---|
|
4 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
| | Credits | 12 |
| 5th Semester/Term |
|---|
| AMST-GA 2309 |
American Studies Exam Preparation |
4 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
| | Credits | 12 |
| 6th Semester/Term |
|---|
| AMST-GA 2306 |
Dissertation Proposal Writing |
4 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
| | Credits | 12 |
| | Total Credits | 72 |
Following completion of the required coursework for the PhD, students are expected to maintain active status at New York University by enrolling in a research/writing course or a Maintain Matriculation (MAINT-GA 4747) course. All non-course requirements must be fulfilled prior to degree conferral, although the specific timing of completion may vary from student-to-student.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, students will display:
- Development of literacy in a range of transdisciplinary research methods appropriate to the field of American Studies:
- Textual Analysis
- Ethnography
- Historical Analysis
- Data Analysis
- Ability to critically analyze, apply and discuss theories, concepts and critical issues in the field. Specifically, to provide students with substantive training in two of six broadly conceived areas of study that together encompass the concerns of the program as a whole:
- Work, Economy, and Everyday Life
- Identity, Citizenship, and Social Formations
- Media, Communication, and Expressive Culture
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Urban and Community Studies
- Social and Political Theory
- Proficiency in written and oral communication appropriate to the field.
- Demonstration of mastery of one or more research methodologies in the production of work of publishable quality.
- The ability to make a significant contribution based upon original research to the field of interdisciplinary American Studies, and specifically the production of a dissertation with particular emphasis on methods of historical, textual and ethnographic analysis.
Policies
NYU Policies
University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.
Graduate School of Arts and Science Policies
Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page.