Overview

Majors of the American Studies program from Vassar College develop a rich understanding of the complex histories that have resulted from the conflict and confluence of European, Indigenous, African, and Asian cultures throughout the Western hemisphere, and explore U.S. nation-formation in relation to global flows of American cultural, economic, and military power. An individually designed course of study, which is the hallmark of the program, allows students to forge multidisciplinary approaches to the particular issues that interest them.

The American Studies Program offers both core program courses and crosslisted electives via the following interrelated rubrics:

The United States in a global context: the role of the United States outside of its national borders, the flow of peoples, ideas, goods, and capital both within and beyond the United States; explorations of historic and contemporary diasporas; contexts and cultures of U.S. militarism and anti-militarism.

Spaces, places, and borders: explorations of particular places and processes of place-making in the U.S.; focus on borders and borderlands as contested geographical and figurative spaces of cultural, political, and economic exchange.

U.S. cultural formations: investigations of literary, visual, audio, and performance cultures, and their interaction; U.S. popular culture, music, and media.

Identity, difference and power: the contest to extend the promises of abstract citizenship to the particular experiences of embodied subjects; shifting politics of U.S. immigration; explorations of the production, representation, and experience of race and ethnicity in the U.S., including structural dimensions of race and racism; investigations of the intersections of race with gender, class, sexuality, and other systems of difference.

U.S. intellectual traditions and their discontents: explorations of American religious, cultural, and political thought; traditions of social and political protests; discourses of sovereignty, liberty, federalism, individualism, rights.

The program also offers a correlate sequence in Native American studies which enables students to examine Indigenous cultures, politics, histories, and literatures, in a primarily North American context.

The American Studies Program values close faculty-student interaction. Courses employ a range of collaborative learning strategies; mentored independent senior work is an integral component of the major.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

American Studies

Native American Studies

Critical Approaches to American Studies

Multidisciplinary Research Methods

Senior Thesis Intensive

These American Lives: New Journalisms

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 48 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-08-31 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-01-01 00:00:00

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

100

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Credits

120 SCH

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

Poughkeepsie, United States

Disciplines

American and Australasian studies View 538 other Bachelors in American and Australasian studies in United States

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

Prepare for Your English Test

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AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

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98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Common Application
$65 application fee or a fee waiver
School Report with the Counselor Recommendation and High School Transcript: To be completed and sent by your school counselor.
A Teacher Evaluation
Mid-year Report: Your school counselor or another school official must submit your mid-year grades to us. Early Decision applicants must submit a fall progress report and will be asked to provide their first-term grades as soon as they become available.
If English is neither your first language nor the primary language of instruction in secondary schools you have attended for the last three years.

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

73275 USD / year

≈ 73275 USD / year
Out-of-State

73275 USD / year

≈ 73275 USD / year
Domestic

Applies to you

In-State

73275 USD / year

≈ 73275 USD / year

Living costs

Poughkeepsie

United States

1138 - 2480 USD / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find Bachelor's scholarship opportunities for American Studies.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

About

Overview

The American Studies Program offers both core program courses and crosslisted electives via the following interrelated rubrics:

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic

Living costs

Poughkeepsie

Funding

Need help with your student visa?

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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