Collage of MLK monument, BLM protest, destroyed house after Katrina, New York Times with Biden, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Centre for the Study of the United States

Welcome to the Centre for the Study of the United States 

The Centre for the Study of the United States (CSUS) represents the largest collective of U.S.-focused scholars in Canada. We have upwards of sixty faculty affiliates who bridge the social sciences and humanities in three major areas of activity: undergraduate teaching, research, and programming for the University community and beyond. 

Based in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, CSUS was established in 1999 to build and promote the University of Toronto's resources in American Studies and U.S.-focused research and teaching.  Our goal is to build on our position as the premier site for interdisciplinary research, teaching, and public programming regarding the United States, the Americas more broadly, and the impact of the United States globally.

We scholars in the social sciences and humanities collaborate closely with experts in law, education, and public policy. This emphasis on the interface between the social sciences and humanities sets us apart from some of our peers in the U.S., where American Studies programs and centres are often primarily humanities-focused. In addition to bridging the social sciences and humanities, we balance a focus on the U.S. as an object of study with transnational, comparative, and international approaches.  

Headshot of Nic Sammond
We study ‘the world in America’ and ‘America in the world’
- Nicholas Sammond, Director, CSUS 
Students in Classroom

American Studies undergraduate program 

CSUS is the home to the American Studies undergraduate program within the Faculty of Arts and Science. The program is right for you if you are excited to learn from and with students and faculty from a variety of backgrounds in a truly interdisciplinary environment. Our small and topical core American Studies courses allow you to keep up with the evolving world and to understand, “what is America, to who, and how can we study it?”  

Recent news from CSUS

Poster of the CSUS 2023-24 Bissell Heyd Research Fellow opportunity with light blue text on a dark blue background
Centre for the Study of the United States
May 1, 2023
Poster of the CSUS 2023 Undergraduate Awards on a white background with blue text.
Centre for the Study of the United States
May 1, 2023
Poster of CSUS Graduate Research Grant Competition for 2023 on a white background with blue writing.
Centre for the Study of the United States
May 1, 2023
Front cover of the 2021-2022 Undergraduate Journal of American Studies, featuring a picture of a chessboard.
Centre for the Study of the United States
April 17, 2023
Leah Montange in front of water and trees
Centre for the Study of the United States
August 1, 2022
A statue of Robert E Lee covered in graffiti
Centre for the Study of the United States
July 10, 2022

Research from CSUS faculty