The mission of the doctoral program in Heritage Studies is to produce heritage professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to support the identification, assessment, preservation, interpretation, management and promotion of historic and cultural resources for non-specialist or "public" audiences.

Our program is interdisciplinary, using multiple perspectives to explore and understand the interrelationships of history, culture, and geography in distinctive regions, such as the Mississippi River Delta and in other regions of the United States and the world.

The concept of region is central to the Heritage Studies degree. Through case study of a region, the Mississippi River Delta, our students gain an understanding of cultural resource management and interpretation that is applicable in other settings

While universal in scope and method, the Heritage Studies doctoral program uses the distinctive history, attributes, resources, and interests of the Mississippi River Delta as a laboratory. Our students study regional history, anthropology, archaeology, folklore, regional and ethnic literature, and the social sciences. Students develop and refine the traditional doctoral-level research skills, but as heritage professionals their expertise will be applied, practical, and public dissemination of history and culture.

If you have a question about the Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program, please contact the office at 870.972-3509 or send an email to the program director, Dr. Clyde A. Milner II, cmilner@astate.edu