Diné College

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Diné College is a two-year, tribally controlled community college, serving the people of the 27,000 square-mile (about 70,000 sq-km) Navajo Indian Reservation, which spans the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

Its main campus is in Tsaile, an unincorporated community in Apache County, Arizona. It also has seven other campuses on the reservation in Arizona (three in Apache County (Chinle, Ganado, and Window Rock), one in Coconino County (Tuba City), and one in Navajo County (Kayenta) and New Mexico (one in McKinley County (Crownpoint) and one in San Juan County (Shiprock)). The college is directed by an eight-member Board of Regents confirmed by the Government Services Committee of the Navajo Nation Council. The name Diné comes from the traditional name for the Navajo, meaning "the people."

Current enrollment is 1,830 students, of which 210 are degree-seeking transfer students for four-year institutions. The main Tsaile campus includes eight 15-room dormitories housing about 150 students: each octagonally shaped unit has a fireplace in the center, and is described by the college as a "hooghan away from hogan" -- a reference to the traditional circular Navajo hogan dwelling.

Special programs include:

The Center for Diné Studies, whose goal is to apply Navajo Sa'ah Naagháí Bik'eh Hózhóón principles to advance quality student learning through Nitsáhákees (Thinking), Nahatá (Planning, Iiná (Living) and Sihasin (Assurance) in study of the Diné language, history, and culture in preparation for further studies and employment in a multi-cultural and technological world.

The Uranium Education Program at the Shiprock campus, an empowerment program for Navajo concerning radiation and environmental health issues arising from the legacy of former uranium mining/milling operations and other serious environmental impacts on the Navajo reservation.

The Institute for Integrated Rural Development (IIRD) was established in 1996 by the Diné College Board of Regents as part of their Strategic Plan for carrying out their responsibilities as a 1994 Land-Grant Institution. IIRD is charged with developing and administering education, research, economic, and community-based projects that promote and demonstrate sustainability in food production, agriculture sciences, rural community development, health and environment, government, economic development, and natural resource management.

The college was first opened in 1968 as the Navajo Community College, the first college established by Native Americans for Native Americans. In 1998, Diné College bestowed its first baccalaureate degrees under the Diné Teacher Education Program, accredited under a partnership with Arizona State University. Under the 1994 Equity in Education legislation of the US Congress, it became a Land Grant Institution, joining the ranks of the 1864 and 1890 land grant colleges.

Scholarships available through the American Indian College Fund (AICF)