Doctor of Philosophy in Cultural Studies - Human Rights

The Graduate Group in Cultural Studies at UC Davis offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of culture and society that highlights how sexuality, race, ability, citizenship, gender, nationality, class and language organize embodied identities, social relations and cultural objects. With the close guidance and supervision of a faculty committee, students in the program pursue interdisciplinary research in areas including studies of comparative and critical race, ecocriticism, fashion, queer theory, media and popular cultural representation, science and technology, Marxist theory, travel and tourism, food, physical and cognitive abilities, cultural geography, transnational culture and politics, globalization, religion, rhetoric, performance, and critical theory. Although both the Ph.D. and M.A. are offered, applications are only accepted for the Ph.D. program, and the M.A. is available as a terminal degree in route to the Ph.D.

Human Rights is a new field, but one that allows us as students and scholars to examine enduring and important questions about suffering, revolution and social change, the destruction of culture, injustice, and power and powerlessness in ways that transcend established disciplines. New forms of knowledge, artistic expression and social criticism are being constituted around Human Rights in ways that are attracting a great deal of scholarly attention. Furthermore, the study of Human Rights has important implications for confirming the relevance of the university to society. The study of Human Rights has achieved the markers of an established field through the formation of dedicated scholarly organizations and academic journals. Endowed chairs, centers and programs in Human Rights have been created at many American and foreign universities.

(Un)Official Transcripts
The Statement of Purpose is limited to 4000 characters (including spaces). Graduate Studies at the University of California at Davis requires a 4000 character Personal History Statement. Writing Sample. Research Interests, Letters of Recommendation, Only the general GRE Examination is required.
UC Davis Graduate Studies requires a minimum GPA of 3.0.
TOEFL iBT - Minimum Score: 80
IELTS - Minimum Score 7.0 on a 9-point scale