Admission & Financial Aid

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Five College Programs & Certificates

Five College Programs & Certificates

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FIVE COLLEGE CERTIFICATE IN NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES

Students in the Five College Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) certificate program draw on the resources of not one campus but five, benefiting from a wide variety of courses exploring Native American and Indigenous histories, literatures, cultures and contemporary issues that are taught within the consortium each year.

The certificate furnishes an excellent foundation on which to build a professional career, graduate work or research. Its requirements provide a strong grounding while each student works closely with a faculty advisor to design an individualized course of study.

In pursuing the certificate, students will:

  • Learn the depth and breadth of Indigenous methodologies and their applications to the most pressing issues of today
  • Critically approach the field through engagement with Native and Indigenous intellectual traditions, histories and cultures
  • Undertake meaningful research in archives, on the land and with communities
  • Work with leading scholars across multiple fields, as well as with visiting tribal scholars
  • Understand the unique sovereign status of Native and Indigenous peoples, the complexity of Indigenous legal and political systems and the many facets of U.S. and international law and policy

Requirements: At least seven courses are required for completion of the Five Col­lege Certificate in Native American Indigenous Studies: a foundation course plus six additional courses, with no more than three of the seven courses from a single discipline. A student’s program must be approved by the program advi­sor from her or his campus.

  1. Foundation courses. Offered at various levels, foundation courses pro­vide an opportunity to hear Native perspectives and are taught from a philosophical perspective that reflects Native and Indigenous Studies theories, pedago­gies and methodologies.
  2. At least six additional courses, selected in consultation with your campus advisor

Students must receive a grade of B or higher in all seven courses to receive the Certificate.

For 2018-19, the Amherst faculty advisor will be Professor Lisa Brooks of the Amherst College Departments of American Studies and English.

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