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  4. Associate in Arts, Emphasis in American Indian Studies

Associate in Arts, Emphasis in American Indian Studies

The Associate in Arts (AA), Emphasis in American Indian Studies degree provides a multi-disciplinary academic approach to studying Indigenous Peoples, their cultures, struggles, and maintaining sovereignty and self-determination. This degree empowers students to effectively work in urban and rural environments, and government agencies, and help Native Nations. Coursework focuses on historic relations with non-Indian societies, the development of federal Indian law, tribal governments, treaty rights, environmental issues, public policy, economic development, cultural preservation, and contemporary social issues. This degree provides students with the foundational coursework needed to transfer to a four-year institution to earn a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in the field.

Details

Details iconImportant information you’ll need when applying for admission:
Field of Interest
Culture and Society
Type
Associate Degree
Academic Plan
Associate in Arts, Emphasis in American Indian Studies (DEG)
Academic Plan Code
8126
Total Credits Required
60-64
Catalog Year
2020-2021
Students at any Maricopa Community College may need to complete courses at more than one of our colleges.
What You'll Learn

This pathway map will help you gain the expertise needed to:

  1. Analyze tribal, federal, state, and municipal governmental policy and legal interactions related to inherent sovereignty.
  2. Collaborate effectively to identify and examine issues at the tribal, state, and national levels that affect the holistic well-being of Indigenous Peoples.
  3. Examine the Indigenous concept of interconnectedness with respect to the Sacred, which is holistically and organically inclusive of culture, homeland, worldview, identity, nature, and sustainability.
  4. Analyze the various ways in which Indigenous Peoples identify and organize themselves in relation to pre- and post-colonial contact.
  5. Analyze the impacts of sovereign powers at the tribal, state, and federal levels in relation to the international governmental forum.
  6. Examine the laws, codes, and statutes at the tribal, federal, and state levels.
  7. Examine the impact of political diversity and historic, socio-economic, contemporary, and cultural contexts on Indigenous Peoples and their respective cultures.
  8. Perform academic research and writing in accordance with ethical standards and scholarly practices.
  9. Effectively communicate orally, visually, digitally, and in writing in a manner that demonstrates cross-cultural empathy, self-awareness, open mindedness, and responsiveness.
  10. Illustrate the ways in which the influences of past and current social and political institutions promote inequalities, privileges, stereotypes, mistrust, and biases that continue to extrinsically shape the identity of Indigenous Peoples.
  11. Value Indigenous knowledge as it relates to multi-generational cultural education, including elderhood, oral traditions, and aesthetics.
  12. Examine the endangerment of Indigenous language extinction and the acceleration of Indigenous culture loss as well as the efforts to revitalize and restore them.
Career Opportunities

Successful completion of this degree may lead to employment in a variety of different occupations and industries. Below are examples of related occupations with associated Arizona-based annual median wages* for this program. Education requirements vary for the occupations listed below, so you may need further education or degrees in order to qualify for some of these jobs and earn the related salaries. Please visit with an academic advisor and/or program director for additional information.

Anthropologists and Archeologists

$63,020

Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

$73,980

Calibration Technologists and Technicians and Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other

$54,880

Compliance Officers

$65,830

Curators

$54,770

Customer Service Representatives

$33,590

First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers

$46,420

First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers

$52,480

Forest and Conservation Workers

$30,460

Historians

$55,630

Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

$25,310

Interpreters and Translators

$43,840

Legal Support Workers, All Other

$50,750

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$44,210

Nursing Assistants

$32,180

Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other

$39,790

Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists

$53,380

Recreation Workers

$25,240

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$48,490

Social and Human Service Assistants

$32,030

Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary

$74,190

Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary

$24,840

There are additional career opportunities associated with this degree that do not have occupational data available for Arizona at this time. These occupations are listed below:
  • Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary
 * Wage information sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics Program. Updated May 2019.
Course Sequence by Term

The following is the suggested course sequence by term. Please keep in mind:

  • Students should meet with an academic advisor to develop an individual education plan that meets their academic and career goals. Use the Pathway Planner tool in your Student Center to manage your plan.
  • The course sequence is laid out by suggested term and may be affected when students enter the program at different times of the year.
  • Initial course placement is determined by current district placement measures and/or completion of 100-200 level course and/or program requirements.
  • Degree and transfer seeking students may be required to successfully complete a MCCCD First Year Experience Course (FYE) within the first two semesters at a MCCCD College. Courses include AAA/CPD150, AAA/CPD150AC, CPD104, and AAA115/CPD115. Course offerings will vary by college. See an academic, program, or faculty advisor for details.

Full-time Sequence

Full-time status is 12 credits to 18 credits per semester.

A list of additional requirements for this pathway map
Awareness Areas
  • In addition to the requirements identified in the sequence below, students must complete the following awareness areas if not otherwise met by other program requirements:
    • Cultural [C] and
    • Global [G] or Historical [H]
  • Students are strongly encouraged to visit with an academic advisor to ensure completion of all graduation requirements.

Term 1

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 1
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
AIS/SOC105 Introduction to American Indian Studies Critical course Gateway course C 3
ENG101 or
ENG107		 First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL FYC 3
MAT14+ Mathematics 3–6
BPC110 or
CIS105		 Computer Usage and Applications or Survey of Computer Information Systems CS 3
SB Social & Behavioral Sciences Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies:
AIS101 OR AIS/HIS140 OR AIS/SOC141 		SB 3
AAA/CPD115 or
AAA/CPD150 or
AAA/CPD150AC or
CPD104		 Creating College Success or Strategies for College Success or Educational and Career Planning or Career and Personal Development 0–3

Term 2

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 2
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
ENG102 or
ENG108		 First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL FYC 3
CRE101 College Critical Reading and Critical Thinking Or equivalent by assessment. L 0–3
COM100 or
COM110 or
COM225 or
COM230		 Introduction to Human Communication or Interpersonal Communication or Public Speaking or Small Group Communication Recommend selecting a course that satisfies COM and SB or COM and L requirements SB or L 3
HU Humanities, Fine Arts & Design Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies: AIS213/REL203 OR ENH259 American Indian Literature HU 3
L Literacy & Critical Inquiry Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies: AIS213/REL203 L 3
AIS/SOC160 American Indian Law AIS160 and satisfies a required course for AC in American Indian Studies C, H 3

Term 3

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 3
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
SB Social & Behavioral Sciences Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies:
AIS101 OR AIS/HIS140 OR AIS/SOC141 		SB 3
SQ Natural Sciences Quantitative SQ 4
NAV101 Elementary Navajo I OR Equivalent as indicated by assessment.
NAV101 satisfies course requirement from restricted elective list for AC in American Indian Studies 		0–4

Term 4

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 4
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
SQ or SG Natural Sciences SQ or SG 4
HU Humanities, Fine Arts & Design Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies: AIS213/REL203 OR ENH259 American Indian Literature HU 3
NAV102 Elementary Navajo II OR Equivalent as indicated by assessment. 0–4

Part-time Sequence

Part-time status is 11 credit hours or less.

A list of additional requirements for this pathway map
Awareness Areas
  • In addition to the requirements identified in the sequence below, students must complete the following awareness areas if not otherwise met by other program requirements:
    • Cultural [C] and
    • Global [G] or Historical [H]
  • Students are strongly encouraged to visit with an academic advisor to ensure completion of all graduation requirements.

Term 1

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 1
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
AIS/SOC105 Introduction to American Indian Studies Critical course Gateway course C 3
ENG101 or
ENG107		 First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL FYC 3
AAA/CPD115 or
AAA/CPD150 or
AAA/CPD150AC or
CPD104		 Creating College Success or Strategies for College Success or Educational and Career Planning or Career and Personal Development 0–3

Term 2

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 2
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
ENG102 or
ENG108		 First-Year Composition or First-Year Composition for ESL FYC 3
CRE101 College Critical Reading and Critical Thinking Or equivalent by assessment. L 0–3
AIS/SOC160 American Indian Law AIS160 and satisfies a required course for AC in American Indian Studies C, H 3

Term 3

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 3
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
MAT14+ Mathematics 3–6
L Literacy & Critical Inquiry Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies: AIS213/REL203 L 3

Term 4

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 4
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
BPC110 or
CIS105		 Computer Usage and Applications or Survey of Computer Information Systems CS 3
SB Social & Behavioral Sciences Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies:
AIS101 OR AIS/HIS140 OR AIS/SOC141 		SB 3

Term 5

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 5
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
COM100 or
COM110 or
COM225 or
COM230		 Introduction to Human Communication or Interpersonal Communication or Public Speaking or Small Group Communication Recommend selecting a course that satisfies COM and SB or COM and L requirements SB or L 0–3
HU Humanities, Fine Arts & Design Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies: AIS213/REL203 OR ENH259 American Indian Literature HU 3

Term 6

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 6
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
SB Social & Behavioral Sciences Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies:
AIS101 OR AIS/HIS140 OR AIS/SOC141 		SB 3
NAV101 Elementary Navajo I OR Equivalent as indicated by assessment.
NAV101 satisfies course requirement from restricted elective list for AC in American Indian Studies 		0–4

Term 7

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 7
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
SQ Natural Sciences Quantitative SQ 4
NAV102 Elementary Navajo II OR Equivalent as indicated by assessment. 0–4

Term 8

A sequence of suggested courses that should be taken during Term 8
Course
Number		 Course Name Requisites Notes Area Credits
SQ or SG Natural Sciences SQ or SG 4
HU Humanities, Fine Arts & Design Recommended for students intending to earn the Academic Certificate in American Indian Studies: AIS213/REL203 OR ENH259 American Indian Literature HU 3
Course Area Key

Gateway Course = Generally the first major-specific course in a pathway.

Critical Course = A course that is highly predictive of future success in a pathway.

  • C = Cultural Diversity in the US
  • CS = Computer/Statistics/Quantitative Application
  • FYC = First Year Composition
  • G = Global Awareness
  • H = Historical Awareness
  • HU = Humanities, Fine Arts, and Design
  • L = Literacy & Critical Inquiry
  • MA = Mathematics
  • SB = Social-Behavioral Sciences
  • SG = Natural Sciences General
  • SQ = Natural Sciences Quantitative
Disclaimer

Students must earn a grade of C or better for all courses required within the program.

Course Sequence total credits may differ from the program information located on the MCCCD curriculum website due to program and system design.

View MCCCD’s curriculum website for the Associate in Arts in Associate in Arts, Emphasis in American Indian Studies (http://aztransmac2.asu.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MCCCD.woa/wa/freeForm10?id=141880).

At Maricopa, we strive to provide you with accurate and current information about our degree and certificate offerings. Due to the dynamic nature of the curriculum process, course and program information is subject to change. As a result, the course list associated with this degree or certificate on this site does not represent a contract, nor does it guarantee course availability. If you are interested in pursuing this degree or certificate, we encourage you to meet with an advisor to discuss the requirements at your college for the appropriate catalog year.