The University of Arizona's PhD in American Indian Studies – the first such degree in the U.S. – is an interdisciplinary program designed to:
The Ph.D. program is designed to be completed in 3-4 years (after completing the Master's degree).
The PhD program is based in a commitment to three interrelated concepts:
Taken together, these commitments distinguish PhD studies in American Indian Studies at UA as a discipline, and provide a theoretical model for the intellectual, pedagogical, and service work of the GIDP’s faculty and students.
Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs
The Graduate College sponsors several Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs (GIDPs) in addition to the many interdisciplinary possibilities available through regular graduate degree programs. GIDPs transcend departmental boundaries by facilitating cutting edge teaching and research at the nexus of traditional disciplines. The high value placed on interdisciplinary research and education is indicative of The University of Arizona's enthusiasm and commitment to fostering innovation and creativity among its faculty and students.
Graduate College/GIDP
University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
Checklist for Online Application Material
A Master’s degree or equivalent from an accredited institution is required for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy program in AIS. The Master’s degree must be completed before the applicant begins in the AIS program, August for fall admissions. All application materials must be received by January 15th for the following fall semester admissions. A minimum grade point average of 3.2 is required for admissions. GRE scores are recommended, but not required. At the discretion of the Admissions Committee, exceptionally qualified applicants who do not hold a Master’s degree may be considered for admission. AIS accepts a limited number of new Ph.D. students each year. Student selection is very competitive. The Admissions Committee will not consider incomplete application files.
Required test(s): none
Recommended tests: GRE
Minimum TOEFL: 550
AIS GIDP strives to assist all students accpeted into the PhD program meet the financial demands of their studies through a variety of sources. Internal funding sources include:
See American Indian Studies website at http://www.ais.arizona.edu/content/financial-aid-resources for more funding opportunities. All students are encouraged to seek outside sources of funding such as scholarships, fellowships and/or tribal financial aid,
Domestic Applicants:
International Applicants:
International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.
4832
66
Minumum credits: 66
Core coursework: 48 Core Coursework Hours
18 Dissertation Hours
REQUIRED UNITS:
The equivalent of at least six semesters of full-time coursework (including dissertation units) is required for the Ph.D. Completion of a minimum of 66 units with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (comprised of 48 units of coursework and 18 units of dissertation credits) in American Indian Studies and related fields, are compulsory. All Incompletes in any AIS doctoral core course must be converted to a grade prior to the comprehensive exam; students may have one Incomplete on the grade record (in an elective course) and proceed to the Comprehensive exam, as long as overall GPA and credit requirements are fulfilled.
CORE & ELECTIVE COURSES: 48 Units
Please NOTE: The AIS GIDP is currently re-organizing the MA and PhD programs to offer students more options and the ability to take advantage of the fact that the AIS GIDP consists of more than 40 faculty members from colleges and departments across campus. We hope to have the new structures announced by the end of 2020. In the interim, we are encouraging students to work closely with their advisor to customize a plan of study. Students are still required to complete the minimum number of credit hours, as well as a methods course, but pending re-organization, we are permitting flexibility regarding the other requirements. Students are also required to complete the teaching methods course prior to serving as a Teaching Assistant.
Minumum credits: 66
Core coursework: 48 Core Coursework Hours
18 Dissertation Hours
REQUIRED UNITS:
The equivalent of at least six semesters of full-time coursework (including dissertation units) is required for the Ph.D. Completion of a minimum of 66 units with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (comprised of 48 units of coursework and 18 units of dissertation credits) in American Indian Studies and related fields, are compulsory. All Incompletes in any AIS doctoral core course must be converted to a grade prior to the comprehensive exam; students may have one Incomplete on the grade record (in an elective course) and proceed to the Comprehensive exam, as long as overall GPA and credit requirements are fulfilled.
CORE & ELECTIVE COURSES: 48 Units
American Indian Education Concentration
American Indian Education courses offer students the opportunity to explore education of Native peoples from pre-contact to the present. Emphasis is on historical issues; contemporary political and legal implications; various pedagogical methodologies; curriculum development; and the relationship between tribal, community, national, state and local agencies and institutions involved in Indian education. Students may supplement the American Indian Education curriculum with the AIS Internship Program (AIS 693), which places students in internships in tribal governments or community organizations, and with related courses from the College of Education, or other departments, subject to approval by their committee.
American Indian Education Courses:
(3) AIS 565 Tribal Colleges
(3) AIS 676 Native American Curriculum Development
(3) AIS 677 History of Indian Education
(3) AIS 678 Contemporary Education & Research
(3) AIS 679 American Indian Higher Education
(3) AIS 696E Seminar in American Indian Education (may take twice)
American Indian Law and Policy Concentration
The Law and Policy courses focus on the development of Federal Indian Law and Policy from the American Indian’s first contact with Europeans to the present time. The selected courses offer students an interdisciplinary approach to the interactions between Native and non-Native peoples through historical, legal, and political analysis. Law and Policy courses expose students to the unique relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes, including litigation and policies, how those relationships are presently maintained, and the development of contemporary tribal governments. Students may supplement their study in Law and Policy with the AIS Internship Program (AIS 693), which places students in tribal governments or community organizations; and with related courses from the College of Law, Department of Political Science, or other departments, subject to approval by their committee.
Law and Policy Courses:
(3) AIS 525 Native Economic Development
(3) AIS 575 Contemporary Federal Indian Policy
(3) AIS 584 Development of Federal Indian Policy (3) AIS 585 American Indian Gaming
(3) AIS 596H American Indian Law & Policy Seminar (3) AIS 631A Federal Indian Law
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(3) AIS 631B Tribal Courts & Indian Tribal Law
(3) AIS 696D Indigenous Peoples Law Clinic
(3) AIS 697B Globalization and Preservation of Culture
American Indian Literatures Concentration
American Indian Literature courses offer students the opportunity to explore American Indian literatures from Native American perspectives. Through the courses, students will gain an understanding of how Native American literatures are used in a cultural context. Students will be exposed to a variety of American Indian writers and will examine the relationship between oral and written traditions. Students may supplement their study with courses in other departments, subject to approval by their committee.
Literature Courses:
(3) AIS 524 Studies in Southwest Literature
(3) AIS 549A Folklore
(3) AIS Indigenous Activist Literature
(3) AIS 452A Mixed Media Story Telling
(3) AIS 577 American Indian Literature
(3) AIS 596M Studies in Oral Tradition (may repeat up to 9 units)
(3) AIS 646 Ancient & Contemporary Voices
(3) AIS 696F Seminar in Languages & Literature (may repeat up to 6 units)
Societies and Cultures Concentration
Societies and Cultures courses are designed to give students an understanding of the worldviews, institutions, and socio-cultural characteristics of Native life in North America. Students will examine Indian communities before and after contact with other societies from around the globe, and will study the exchanges between European and other immigrants and the societies and cultures of Native North America. Students may supplement their study with the AIS Internship Program (AIS 693), which places students in internships in tribal governments or community organizations, and with related courses in other departments subject to approval by their committee.
Societies and Cultures Courses:
(3) AIS 502 Dynamics of American Indian Societies
(3) AIS 513 Ethnology of the Southwest
(3) AIS 515 American Indians and the Urban Experience
(3) AIS 516 Contemporary Indian America
(3) AIS 518 Southwest Land and Society
(3) AIS 521 Ethnology of North America
(3) AIS 541A Natural Resource Management in Native Communities (3) AIS 535 Mexican Traditional Medicine: An Overview of Indigenous
Curing Cultures (3) AIS 537A Nation Building I
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(3) AIS 571B Space: A Social Cultural View/American Indian Landscape and Architecture
(3) AIS 589 Areal Survey of Native North American Languages
(3) AIS 597A Descriptive Linguistics for Native American Languages (3) AIS Issues of American Indian Language & Policy
(3) AIS Globalization and Indigenous Peoples
(3) AIS Cultural Preservation: Oral Histories
(3) AIS 637A Nation Building II
(3) AIS 696C Seminar in Societies and Cultures (may take twice)
Natural Resources Management Concentration
Natural Resources courses train graduate students to be conversant with the problems of managing natural resources on American Indian reservations and off-reservation areas. These courses are designed for students to understand current natural resource and environmental issues affecting American Indian nations, and understand current issues affecting the administration and management of natural resources on tribal lands, as well as understand federal environmental and natural resource policies impacting American Indian tribal nations. Students may supplement their study with the AIS Internship Program (AIS 693), which places students in internships in tribal governments or community organizations, and with related courses in other departments subject to approval by their committee.
Natural Resources Courses:
(3) AIS 541A Natural Resource Management in Native Communities (3) AIS 526A Principles of Indigenous Economics
(3) AIS 531A Traditional Ecological Knowledge
(3) AIS 595A Globalization, Natural Resources & Indigenous Peoples (3) AIS 575 Contemporary Federal Indian Policy
(3) AIS 584 Development of Federal Indian Law
(3) AIS 603 Nation Building I
Theory and Research Methods Requirement: 12 Units
All students are required to complete 12 units of Theory & Research Methods coursework:
*(3) AIS 602 Interdisciplinary Research: Theory and Methods *(3) AIS 697A Workshop: College Teaching Methods
(6) And 2 approved Methods Course from a discipline appropriate to the dissertation. (See “Other Methods Courses” below, AIS 548 may not be used to fulfill this requirement).
*require a minimum grade of B/3.0 to count toward the degree
Suggested Methods Courses
Courses listed below, or other courses not on this list, must be approved by the student’s Faculty Comprehensive Exam Committee.
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(3) ANTH 607 Anthropological Research Methods & Design (3) ENGL 596K Methods & Materials of Literary Research (3) ENGL 596L Theories of Criticism
(3) HIST 695K Historiography
(3) IRLS 552 Instructional Methods for Librarians
(3) IRLS 601 Theory of Classification
(3) LRC 605 Qualitative Methods in Education
(3) LRC 696D Language Research Methodology in Education (3) POL 582 Research & Methodology
(3) SOC 569 Basic Quantitative Methods
(3) SOC 570A/B Social Statistics
(3) SOC 575 Advanced Social Research Methods (3) WS 684 Feminist Research Methodologies
Other AIS Courses:
(3-6) AIS 595A Special Topics in American Indian Studies
(1-6) AIS 693 Internship
(1-6) AIS 694 Practicum (may be repeated once)
(1-6) AIS 699 Independent Study (may be repeated once, maximum of 6 units) (1-2) AIS 791 Preceptorship (may be repeated once, maximum 2 units)
(1-12) AIS 900 Research (not related to dissertation preparation)
(1-9) AIS 920 Dissertation
(3-6) AILDI summer courses, topics and courses vary
9 Units; See Guidelines for Ph.D. Minor in American Indian Studies for more details.
Please NOTE: The AIS GIDP is currently re-organizing the MA and PhD programs to offer students more options and the ability to take advantage of the fact that the AIS GIDP consists of more than 40 faculty members from colleges and departments across campus. We hope to have the new structures announced by the end of 2020. We expect that this re-organization may also impact the PhD minor. In the interim, we are encouraging students to work closely with their advisor to customize a plan of study. Students are still required to complete the minimum number of credit hours, as well as a methods course, but pending re-organization, we are permitting flexibility regarding the other requirements. Students are also required to complete the teaching methods course prior to serving as a Teaching Assistant.
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
Program-level Information | |
---|---|
Application Acceptance Rate | 66.67% |
Avg. Time-to-degree (years) | 7.15 |
Department-level Information | |
Enrollment Percent Male | 26.09% |
Enrollment Percent Female | 73.91% |
Enrollment Percent International | 13.04% |
Enrollment Percent URM | 65.22% |