New IUPUI Doctorate Focuses on ‘Cultural Ecologies’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIUPUI is launching a new degree program. The school says Ph.D. in American Studies will connect students with Indianapolis-area arts and cultural organizations and focus on answering the question "how do arts and humanities interventions transform cities?" Classes will begin in the fall.
The effort is a collaboration between the school’s Arts and Humanities Institute and the School of Liberal Arts. Officials say it involves a cultural ecologies focus and includes embedding students in nonprofits to help train the city’s next generation of leaders.
Institute Director Jason Kelly says "we’re focused on creating an applied Ph.D. program from the ground up, one in which our students are preparing for careers outside academia. We want this to be a resource for communities — to make Indianapolis a stronger, more vibrant city." He adds "we’re in a moment when academia is in a rapid transformation, which presents challenges and opportunities at the same time. The opportunities include new ways to think about how we can create a high-level Ph.D. education."
The Indiana Commission on Higher Education approved the program last year. You can connect to more information about the Ph.D. track by clicking here.