Thomas Swensen holds a PhD in Comparative Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, a MA in English from University of Oregon, and BAs in English, Fine Arts, and a post-baccalaureate degree in Urban Planning and Theory.

Swensen is the recipient of the University of California, Berkeley Prestigious Chancellor's Fellowship, the Koniag Education Foundation's Larry Matfay Alutiiq Heritage Scholarship, and was awarded the 2010 Autry Prize in Public History from the Western History Association for his work as a lead author on the We Shall Remain: The Utah Indian Curriculum Project.   

He is working on the manuscript Cama’i America: Alaska Natives and the Spaces of Empire. Swensen is a Koniag, inc. and Leisnoi inc. shareholder (formed under ANCSA) and a member of the Woody Island, Native Village of Targniaq, (an IRA tribal government).