Announcing a newly revised curriculum for The Department of American Indian Studies!
The AIS curriculum prepares students to understand the breadth, key content, methodologies, and theories in American Indian and Indigenous Studies, while developing the skills to write and think critically. The AIS degree prepares students to earn a JD, MA, or PhD in related fields, as well as to pursue careers that engage in critical thinking and knowledge of American Indian and Indigenous experiences.
The updated AIS major and minor requirements offer students a curriculum that has breadth, depth, and flexibility. The faculty focused on implementing areas of teaching that respond to the educational needs of American Indian communities and our UW student body, developments in the field of American Indian and Indigenous Studies, and the particular areas of expertise of our AIS faculty. Both the major and minor now require introductory courses AIS 102 “Introduction to American Indian Studies,” which is an introduction to the discipline, as well as the new course AIS 103 “The Indigenous Pacific Northwest.” We believe any AIS student needs to learn about the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest as we live, work, and study in their homelands.
This past December, the new curriculum was reviewed and approved and is now available to students starting this quarter, Winter 2018. Current AIS students will have the option to choose to complete the requirements for the program when they entered, or switch to the new requirements. Have questions? Contact academic adviser Kai Wise at kaiwise@uw.edu.