Applicable only to students admitted during the 2024-2025 academic year.

American Indian Studies

Interdepartmental Program
College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The American Indian Studies Program offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in American Indian Studies.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

The M.A. degree program in American Indian Studies is supervised by an interdepartmental faculty committee. Upon admission, the committee assigns each student a faculty adviser or advisers based on the faculty’s interdisciplinary expertise. Together, the student and their adviser(s) formulate the program of study for the first year. Students are expected to meet with their academic adviser(s) before enrolling in classes for the following quarter for approval of their program of courses, and as often as necessary for review of their progress.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter of study, students are expected to select a guidance committee, which is subject to approval by the Graduate Advisory Subcommittee. The guidance committee (also referred to as the comprehensive examination committee, or thesis committee), which should be chosen based on the faculty’s interdisciplinary expertise, is responsible for supervising, reviewing, and approving the student’s comprehensive examination or thesis.

Areas of Study

The American Indian Studies M.A. program is an interdepartmental program, with formal linkages and connections to other disciplinary departments: African American studies, anthropology, art history, Asian American studies, Chicano studies, education, English, gender studies, history, law, linguistics, music, nursing, psychology, public policy, sociology, and world arts and cultures and dance.

Foreign Language Requirement

Not required.

Course Requirements

10 courses (40 units) taken for a letter grade are required, at least seven (28 units) of which must be graduate courses (200 or 500 series). 300 and 400 series courses cannot be applied towards the degree. A maximum of two courses (8 units) in the 500 series can be applied towards the degree, and only one 500-series course (4 units) can be applied towards the graduate-level course requirement.

Four core courses are required within the first year:

• American Indian Studies 201
• American Indian Studies 202
• Two courses selected from the following:
  • American Indian Studies 203
  • American Indian Studies 204
  • American Indian Studies 205
  • American Indian Studies 206
  • American Indian Studies 207
  • American Indian Studies 208

In addition to the four core courses, students must complete:

• Four additional elective courses with content relating to American Indian Studies
• Two additional courses chosen from other areas relating to the student’s research taught by faculty affiliated with the American Indian Studies Interdepartmental Program, or as approved by the chair of the American Indian Studies interdepartmental program

American Indian Studies, M.A./Law, J.D.
Only 12 units of law courses are allowed to be double-counted toward the M.A. degree by petition to the Graduate Division.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

By the beginning of the fourth quarter of study, students on the Capstone Plan must submit a proposed comprehensive examination committee—composed of three faculty members affiliated with the American Indian Studies Interdepartmental Program—to the Graduate Advisory Subcommittee. The comprehensive examination normally consists three ten-page written exam responses in three major areas of study, which are formed in conjunction with the examination committee. The comprehensive examination is designed and evaluated by the student’s examination committee. Students should work closely with their committee members in preparing for the examination.

Thesis Plan

Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.

By the beginning of the fourth quarter of study, students on the Thesis Plan must submit a proposed thesis committee—composed of three faculty members, at least two of which must be affiliated with the American Indian Studies Interdepartmental Program—to the Graduate Advisory Subcommittee. At this time, students must also submit a thesis proposal to their thesis committee. The master’s thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to define and solve a significant problem in their area of research. It should provide evidence of mastery of theory and methodology relevant to the topic, familiarity with literature in the field, competency in research techniques, and ability to make an original contribution to the field. Copies of the thesis must be submitted to each member of the committee by the fifth week of the quarter in which students expect to graduate.

Time-to-Degree

Students are required to be in residence for a minimum of four quarters and should normally complete the program in two years.

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.A.	5	7	12

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

The Graduate Advisory Subcommittee reviews a student’s program at the end of spring term and makes recommendations regarding continuance or academic disqualification. A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification in writing to this committee.