MA in Native American Studies - Second Language Acquisition 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 span history, religious studies, philosophy, governance, political science, social structures, linguistics, and Indigenous community development—including sovereignty movements, decolonization, racial justice, self-governance, and ethnohistorical research. Both master's and doctoral candidates gain teaching experience through assistantships and instructor roles.

The Designated Emphasis (DE) equips PhD candidates with theoretical frameworks and practical skills in language acquisition and technology-enhanced language education. By deepening their understanding of second language learning processes, graduate students enhance undergraduate language program quality. Completion of the DE substantially improves career opportunities in foreign language education and ESL fields.