Cultural Studies

• Faculty
• Graduate Program
  • Cultural Studies, Ph.D.
• Admissions Requirements
• Degree Requirements

Faculty

Albanese, Bergmann, Bergoffen, Brown, Brunette, Burr, Censer, Cheng, Copelman, Deshmukh, Dietz, Diner, Dumont, ffolliott, Forche, Foster, Froman, Fuchs, Gilbert, Gras, Guagnano, Hanrahan, Hodges, Holt, Horton, Irvine, Irving, Jacobs, Jann, Johnsen-Neshati, Joseph, Kalof, Kaplan, Kaufmann, Lancaster, Lavoie, Levine, Lipset, Lont, Mattusch, Matz, Melosh, Mobley, Moylan, O'Brien, O'Connor, O'Malley, Palkovich, Radner, Rosenblum, Rosenzweig, Seligmann, P. Smith, S. Smith, Stewart, Struppa, Sypher, Todd, D. Wood, J. Wood, Yocom, Zagarri

Graduate Program

Cultural Studies, Ph.D.

This program, the first of its kind at the doctoral level in the United States, unites selected faculty from 10 departments to serve students contemplating careers in scholarship and practice. Cultural studies is an emerging field of interdisciplinary inquiry, arising in response to dramatic historical and social changes. As the focus on cultural process transforms an entire range of disciplines in both the humanities and social sciences, scholars are embracing new conceptions of culture and new methods for its study.

George Mason's program in cultural studies is distinctive in several respects. Similar programs in other universities are usually departmentally based (in English, history, sociology, or communications), emphasizing either the humanities or the social sciences. By contrast, the cultural studies program at George Mason explicitly seeks to link the social sciences and the humanities, combining methods of interpretation and explanation to explore the production, distribution, and consumption of cultural objects in their social contexts. With particular focus on theory and method in crafting this linkage, the program engages contemporary issues of nationality, class, race, and gender, while opening its scope to all forms of culture, past and present.

Admissions Requirements

Students who already have M.A. degrees in relevant fields are eligible to apply to the cultural studies program. Students with only bachelor's degrees should apply to M.A. programs in one of six departmentsûEnglish, Sociology and Anthropology, History and Art History, Philosophy and Religious Studies, Modern and Classical Languages, or Economicsûthat have established feeder concentrations in cultural studies. All these feeder concentrations culminate in CULT 802 as a capstone seminar. These students may, if they choose, apply simultaneously to the cultural studies program, which reviews their academic promise and suitability of their interests to the program. Especially strong candidates with bachelor's degrees may be admitted into the doctoral program, conditional on performance in their M.A. programsûand in particular in CULT 802ûindicative of readiness for doctoral work. Students who complete CULT 802 as part of their M.A. programs are required to complete only 56 credits at the doctoral level.

The following application materials are required of all students:

1. The standard George Mason graduate application
2. A transcript from the Educational Testing Service, indicating scores on the Graduate Record Examination (only the general test is required; subject tests are optional)
3. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended
4. Three letters of recommendation from individuals who can judge the applicant's scholarly potential
5. A statement of purpose
6. A writing sample

For applicants who are non-native English speakers, an English language competency exam is required.

Students are required to demonstrate proficiency in at least one foreign language before being permitted to defend their doctoral dissertation proposal, but the foreign language requirement is not part of the application process.

Degree Requirements

As with all doctoral programs, the emphasis is on the development of intellectual mastery and professional competence. The most important requirements in the program are comprehensive exams and the completion of a doctoral thesis that reflects the student's ability to do original interdisciplinary work that meets professional standards.

The course of study consists of 60 credits beyond the M.A.

Core requirement (15 credits):

CULT 802 Ideas and Methods in Cultural Studies I (4 credits)

CULT 804 Ideas and Methods in Cultural Studies II (4 credits)

CULT 806 Research in Cultural Studies (3 credits)

CULT 808 Student/Faculty Colloquium (4 semesters/4 credits)

Thematic requirement in one of five interdisciplinary concentrations (15 credits):

Art, Artifacts, and Institutions

The Social Construction of Identities

Culture and Information Technology

The Culture of Politics

Theories of Culture

Interdisciplinary area-and-period concentration or a disciplinary concentration (15 credits)

Dissertation research (15 credits)

Each thematic concentration is anchored by a Ñtheory and methodsÉ course required of all students who select that concentration. However, since these concentrations are so closely related to each other and to the general themes of the program, all students also take one theory and methods course outside their own chosen concentration. Under the guidance of faculty advisory committees, students select the remainder of their course work from departmental graduate offerings (600-level and above) and from independent study courses. The mixture of thematic, area/period, and departmental concentrations provides students with the disciplinary grounding necessary for interdisciplinary work and for career opportunities in traditional academic departments.