Master of Arts - American Studies

Program Description

ASU's MA program in American studies trains students in interdisciplinary approaches aimed at understanding the American experience in local and global contexts.

The array of disciplines spans the arts, humanities and social sciences, and faculty expertise covers a broad range of ethnographic, historical, literary and media studies as well as interdisciplinary and community-based approaches. Given its geographical location in the American Southwest, ASU's American studies program values an exploration of diasporic and transnational influences in U.S. cultures and social and political history.

The American studies faculty have strengths and expertise in the areas of critical ethnic studies, Indigenous studies, gender studies, Black studies, immigration studies, justice studies, disability studies, queer studies, Latino studies, transborder studies, Asian American studies, cultural studies, environmental humanities and sports studies, allowing students to focus their education around these areas.

Students gain expertise from working in a community of scholars dedicated to addressing critical questions of what America means, what American studies uncovers, and how to expand the boundaries of the new American conversation. Graduate students are immersed in conversations of how one develops, conducts and engages in research on the American experience in academia and beyond. Additionally, faculty and students include the role of other nations, cultures and communities in their study of the meaning of America and critically evaluate the United States in global matters.

American studies graduates can bridge a strong theoretical foundation with applied research to better equip them to enter national and international dialogues.