MA in Native American Studies - Human Rights in Davis United States | University of California Davis

The Graduate Group in Native American Studies takes an interdisciplinary, hemispheric perspective, emphasizing the growing diaspora of Indigenous communities across the Americas while centering Indigenous knowledge systems to tackle issues affecting Native populations. Areas of academic focus encompass history, spirituality, philosophy, governance, political systems, social structures, languages, and linguistics, alongside Indigenous community empowerment for self-governance, decolonization, racial justice, self-determination, and cultural historiography. Both master's and doctoral candidates gain teaching experience through assistantships and instructor roles.

Though a relatively recent academic discipline, Human Rights studies enables scholars to explore timeless questions regarding oppression, transformative social movements, cultural erasure, systemic inequity, and dynamics of power through interdisciplinary lenses. This emerging field is generating innovative scholarship, creative works, and critical discourse that are reshaping academic landscapes. Human Rights education also strengthens universities' societal connections by addressing pressing global concerns. The discipline has gained institutional recognition through specialized academic associations, dedicated publications, and the establishment of endowed positions, research centers, and degree programs at universities worldwide.