The University of the Philippines Baguio (UP Baguio) will soon be offering a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Indigenous Studies that is responsive of local and international developments concerning initiatives for indigenous peoples (IP) rights and culture.

In a statement, UP Baguio said graduates of the program will be grounded in theories and frameworks which will enable them to teach, conduct, and publish research or implement programs on indigenous issues.

It noted that the PhD in Indigenous Studies program "seeks to valorize indigenous epistemologies or ways of knowing that have been neglected and marginalized by hegemonic scientific epistemologies."

"It is also projected to contribute to the efforts in Indigenous Peoples' education," it said.

The program, which has three years full-time and four years part-time study plans, is designed to employ interdisciplinary perspectives in engaging with historical and contemporary issues confronting IP in the Philippines and elsewhere.

The core and major courses include Indigenous Studies, Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Research Methodologies, Directed Readings in World Ethnographies, Historical Construction of Being and Becoming Indigenous, Perspectives on Indigenous Languages, and Indigenous Management of Resources, among others.

On top of these are courses constituting a wide range of electives in the areas of Material Culture, Gender and Sexuality Systems, Culture and Psychology, Indigenous Religions, Heritage, Indigenous Communication, and Representation in Media and Literature. Also among the electives are courses in Ethnobotany, Ethnomathematics, Literature in the Oral Tradition, and Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues on the Environment.

The PhD Indigenous Studies will be UP Baguio's second doctorate program.

The other graduate and post-graduate programs offered by UP Baguio are the following: Master of Arts in Language and Literature, Master of Arts in Social and Development Studies, Master of Management, Master of Science in Conservation and Restoration Ecology, Master of Science in Mathematics, and Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics.