The American Studies Department and Program at the University of Maryland is one of the oldest such programs in the United States, having operated continuously since 1945. For much of its history, the Department has been nationally recognized for its contributions to the field, which initially entwined history and literature. The Department offers B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees.

Teaching and research in American Studies at Maryland are shaped by two principal intellectual themes: cultures of everday life; and cultural constructions of identity and difference. These themes recur in our established areas of ethnography & life writing, literature and society, material culture, popular culture & media studies, cultural landscapes, race and intersectionality, foodways and body & sexuality. Coupled with our commitment to cutting-edge technologies, the themes are also encouraging work in newer directions such as cyberculture and museum studies.