Graduate Program
Welcome to AMS!
American Studies at UT Austin offers dynamic classes with award-winning teachers and scholars who are dedicated to understanding the complexities of American culture. We ask questions about the history of the nation in a global context, the construction of borders, and the significance of representations in order to interrogate beliefs, policies, and structural inequalities.
Our classes draw on interdisciplinary approaches in a variety of fields, including Anthropology, Art History, Ethnic Studies, Film and Media Studies, Gender/Queer Studies, Geography and Urban Studies, History, and Sociology. Classes incorporate a variety of texts, including novels, music, dance, film, comics, and memes, to interpret ideologies about race, class, gender, sexuality, and dis/ability.
What's special about the AMS PhD program?
Our graduate students get to be a part of a small community of supportive professors and students, while also taking advantage of the many resources provided by a large university.
Students admitted to our PhD program are guaranteed funding packages of six years, through employment in the College of Liberal Arts as a Teaching Assistant or Assistant Instructor, with the possibility of full fellowship support when available. These packages include a monthly stipend, full tuition, and student health insurance. Additional funding to support research and travel to academic conferences is also available.
Our graduate students are also offered the opportunity to work as Assistant Instructors, where they can develop pedagogical skills and build their teaching portfolio. Unlike some departments where graduate students will teach a large introductory survey course, our students are able to design and teach a small, seminar-style course on a topic of interest to them. In addition, through the University’s excellent Career Engagement offices, students have opportunities to pursue paid internships, attend career workshops and alumni panels, and prepare themselves to be competitive for the job market.
Work in American Studies can lead to and enrich a wide variety of careers. The majority of our students become teachers and scholars at the college and university level, but significant numbers have gone into journalism, radio, TV and film work, museum curating, law, public relations, editing, advertising, government service, secondary school teaching and administration, and creative writing.
“I received a lot of guidance from AMS faculty members on my dissertation committee. Their willingness to go above and beyond when helping me strengthen my research, diversify my analyses, and apply for jobs helped me finish my dissertation and land a job that makes me so happy.”
Andi T. Remoquillo, PhD 2022
Lecturer in the History & Literature Program, Harvard University
“Many other departments would not have been as enthusiastic about my intention to pursue an alt-ac career, and for that, I will always be thankful for UT AMS. Faculty member connections helped me secure several positions at museums in and around the Austin area, which proved integral to building my career. Finally, the department supported my slightly unusual field of research, which has proven to be extremely useful in my current field of work.”
Gaila Sims, PhD 2022
Curator of African American History and Special Projects at the Fredericksburg Area Museum
How to Apply
The Graduate Program in American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin is dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of the myriad historical and contemporary cultures of the United States, in both domestic and transnational settings. We endeavor to produce sophisticated cultural analysts who are able to navigate a wide range of cultural texts and diverse sources--from Puritan sermons to reality television shows--to gain holistic insights into complicated and often disparate cultural phenomena and trends. As part of our desire to cultivate a thoughtful and engaged citizenry, we train our students to become solid writers, persuasive speakers, and expansive critical thinkers. We seek to instill in our students a broad understanding of our multicultural society's political, economic, cultural, and social complexity. We are committed to studying the influence of other nations and cultures on our society, and the impact of the United States--economically, politically, and especially culturally--on other nations and people.
Although the field of American Studies is too small to be included in national surveys that rank large departments or professional schools, the Department of American Studies at Texas is widely regarded as one of the top American Studies programs or departments in the United States. About half of the department's Ph.D. recipients since 1970 have published their dissertations as books. Most have entered college and university teaching, securing tenure-track positions in recent years at such institutions as Miami University of Ohio, New York University, Pennsylvania State University, Rutgers University, Tulane University, University of California, Davis, University of Illinois, University of Virginia, and the University of Wisconsin. Two graduates have served as college presidents, at least three as university deans, and several as department chairs. Although the majority of our graduate students pursue academic careers, significant numbers have gone into journalism, radio, TV and film work, museum curating, law, public relations, advertising, government service, secondary school teaching and administration, and creative writing. Many have won awards for their work, including a MacArthur Fellowship (“genius grant”) and a Pulitzer Prize.
The courses that American Studies students take outside the department train them in areas of expertise relevant to their central interests. With the approval of the graduate advisor in American Studies and in the area chosen, these courses may be in any University department (for example, Anthropology, Art, English, Government, History, Radio/ Television/Film, Sociology), or program (African and African American Studies, Folklore, Latin American Studies, Mexican-American Studies), or professional school (the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the schools of Business Administration, Architecture, Education, Law). Individual faculty are especially interested in: American intellectual, cultural and artistic life; the West and the role of the region in American culture; museum studies and material culture; religion, medicine, science, and technology in American life; the public arts and popular culture; the relations of American culture with Europe, Asia and Africa; environmental studies; women's studies, African-American and Mexican-American Studies.
Integrity and trust are fundamental to the Department of American Studies. They contribute directly to the quality of graduate education and they reach far beyond the campus to your overall standing within the academic community. Our department relies on The University of Texas Student Standards of Conduct for enforcement, but promotes ideals that are higher than merely enforceable standards
The University expects all to students to obey the law, show respect for other members of the university community, perform contractual obligations, and maintain absolute integrity and the highest standards in scholastic work and teaching responsibilities. In short, each graduate student is expected to work as a professional in every respect.
The faculty of the Department of American Studies, in turn, seeks to formulate a curriculum that will prepare you for advanced work in a wide range of scholarly fields. It is the responsibility of individual faculty, and of the department as a whole, to provide clear objectives and responsive feedback to all areas of graduate work. Ultimately, the student is responsible for seeking adequate academic advice, for knowing and meeting degree requirements, and for enrolling in appropriate courses to ensure orderly and timely progress toward a degree. Frequent adviser contact provides students with current academic information and promotes progress toward educational goals.