In 1969 the David Bruce Centre for American Studies was established to act as a focus for research and postgraduate training. Among its many activities, the Bruce Centre runs a regular series of research seminars and hosts research colloquia. The School offers a broad multidisciplinary curriculum. All students begin by taking a two-semester linked module that introduces a broad span of American historical development.
Students also take introductory modules in literature and politics during their first year.
After this common first year, students are able to choose from a wide range of modules in their second and third years. The School has a successful exchange programme that allows approximately half of the students to spend the first semester of their second year at an American or Canadian University. The undergraduate programme recruits 120 students each year. American Studies will be contributing to a new undergraduate course English and American Literatures that begins in September 2001. The expected intake for this course is 30 students.