American Studies

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.

M.A. with report: 33 hours required, including:

• 6 hours: AMS 385 (Cultural History of the Unites States to 1865, as part of this course, students must attend AMS 355) and AMS 386 (Cultural History of the Unites States since 1865, as part of this course, students must attend AMS 356)
• 3 hours: AMS 393
• 6 hours: two AMS 390 research seminars
• 6 hours: coursework outside the American Studies program
• 9 hours: electives (primarily American in content)
• 3 hours: report course (AMS 398R)

A bachelor’s degree3.0 GPA or higher on all upper-division and graduate courseworkOfficial GRE scoreThree letters of recommendation Statement of Purpose English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 TOEFL paper-based test score : 550 TOEFL iBT® test: 79

Graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin generally support themselves in one of the following ways: departmental aid in the form of scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships; fellowships administered by the Office of Graduate Studies; need-based financial aid administered by the Office of Student Financial Services (OSFS), and outside funding or employment.