College of Liberal Arts
skip to content The University of Texas at Austin

Graduate Portfolio

The NAIS Graduate Portfolio offers enrolled Masters and PhD students at UT Austin the opportunity to include Native American and Indigenous Studies in their academic training. We offer an intellectual path in the field that provides a rigorous scholarly training and a deep engagement in Indigenous methodologies and practices. 

MA Portfolio

The Master's Portfolio, aimed at students enrolled in terminal MA or MFA programs, requires the completion of nine credit hours in approved graduate level courses. Upper-divison undergraduate courses may also be substituted for up to six credit hours. The nine credit hours for the Master's Portfolio must come from content courses, and at least two of the courses must be taken outside the student's home department.

Doctoral Portfolio

The Doctoral Portfolio, aimed at students enrolled in Doctoral programs, requires the completion of twelve credit hours in approved graduate level courses. The twelve credit hours in the Doctoral Portfolio can include three hours from one independent study or directed reading with an affiliated faculty member, and at least two of the courses must be taken outside the student's home department.

Please note: Portfolio completion will be annotated on your degree as Graduate Portfolio in Native American and Indigenous Studies regardless of whether you are completing a terminal masters degree or a doctoral degree. 

Additional Requirements

Students completing both the MA and Doctoral NAIS Graduate Portfolio are required to participate in an annual culminating event, the NAIS Graduate Portfolio Colloquium, in late spring during the year they plan to graduate. Prior to the event, students will submit an abstract of their project to the Portfolio Committee. At the event, students will give a 10-15 minute public presentation of their scholarly research.

Requesting Credit for Non-Approved Courses

If you have taken a graduate-level course relating to Native American and Indigenous Studies that does not appear on the approved course list, you may petition to receive NAIS credit for the course. In order to qualify for review, the course must contain approximately 30% NAIS-related content. This percentage may include course materials and/or assignments, including final papers and projects. If you would like to request credit for a course, please send an email to nais@austin.utexas.edu. Include a copy of the course syllabus, any relevant course papers or projects, and a short description of why you believe the course should count towards the NAIS Graduate Portfolio.