The graduate program in American Studies is currently being restructured. There is a hiatus on accepting applications for the 2010–2011 academic year.
Your interest is appreciated. Please revisit our Web site in the future, or notify us if you wish to be contacted with new information as it is available.
Celebrating 47 Years of
Excellence
in Interdisciplinary
Research, Teaching,
and Community Service
1962–2009
American Studies is the interdisciplinary analysis of the United States in a global context. American Studies plays a unique role in the College of Liberal Arts and in the University by bringing together faculty and students from a variety of disciplines to compare knowledge and gain perspectives on the United States.
The program offers a rich, rigorous approach combining the best intellectual insights from literature, historical studies, women's studies, ethnic studies, the fine arts, environmental studies, and the social sciences.
Rather than restricting students to a single department's offerings, the graduate program allows students the freedom to build their understanding of U.S. culture by combining knowledge from courses in more than a dozen departments across the campus, in addition to our own.
The Program in American Studies at Washington State University was founded in 1962 and is the recognized leader in this field in the Northwest. While our program was the only one in the Northwest authorized to offer all undergraduate and graduate degrees, budget constraints have hindered that effort and we have been forced to release the undergraduate B.A. program. We will continue with the graduate program for M.A. and Ph.D. degrees.
The Program in American Studies main office has been relocated to Wilson-Short Hall, Room 111. You may reach us by phone at 509-335-1560, or by email at amst@wsu.edu.
UNDERGRADUATES are no longer being accepted to our program as the B.A. has been eliminated. If you are a current undergraduate student, please call 509-335-1560 to discuss your options and complete your degree.
For information on the GRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.
News & Events
NEW Interim Director Named
Dr. Rory Ong, associate professor of comparative ethnic studies, has been named interim director of the American Studies Program.
Congratulations to Our Recent Graduates
- Hala Abu Taleb, Ph.D.
- Winona Beck, Ph.D.
- Sarah Bergfeld, Ph.D.
American Studies Alum Wins National Book Award
American Studies Program alumnus Sherman Alexie ('94) has been awarded the coveted National Book Award for his most recent novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. A poet, novelist, and filmmaker, Alexie employs mock autobiography in Absolutely True to tell a brilliant coming of age story about a young Spokane Indian moving from a reservation school to a school in an almost exclusively white world.
American Studies Program Ranked 8th in Nation
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published the results of its "faculty productivity" survey for Ph.D. programs in each field across the U.S. The WSU American studies graduate program ranked 8th in the nation among our peers in this measure of faculty productivity and impact. Congratulations are due to our hardworking, intellectually creative faculty.