American Studies Program

Graduate Program: Overview

The Graduate Program in American Studies offers students a flexible, yet rigorous program in interdisciplinary scholarship on the United States and the Americas. By fostering a diverse and dynamic community that reaches across disciplinary boundaries into a wide range of departments, the Program encourages its students to develop intellectual resources that will sustain them in a wide variety of careers and avocations.

Graduate students work closely with their advisors to develop a program of courses and independent work that best reflects their interests, and best prepares them for original research and critical engagement with their fields. This individualized program is both coherent and flexible; it draws not only on the specialties of the program's core faculty, but on the broad resources of the College as a whole.

Full-time MA students finish their course work in two semesters; they are encouraged to finish theses during the following summer. PhD students normally take another three semesters of courses before they prepare for comprehensive exams. After this they begin dissertations. Personal experiences vary, but doctoral students should normally expect to complete the degree in five or six years.

Program faculty also take seriously the professional development and eventual placement of their students. Graduates currently pursue careers in higher education - serving particularly in History, English, Art History, and American Studies programs - as well as in museums, publishing, journalism, public history, and other areas requiring a capacity for rigorous, interdisciplinary investigation. Students can look forward to teaching as assistants in introductory American Studies courses, and offering their own courses in American Studies, English, History, Black Studies, and Women's Studies. The Program also has developed assistantships with The William & Mary Quarterly, Eighteenth-Century Life, the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, the National Park Service, and other area museums and libraries. All of these positions offer excellent preparation for future employment.

For more information about the Graduate Program, consult the Catalog and the Graduate Handbook on this site, or contact:

Charlie McGovern
Director of Graduate Studies
American Studies Program
PO Box 8795
The College of William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
cfmcgo@wm.edu