American Studies Major

Requirements for the Major in American Studies

The major in American Studies consists of 11 courses, including senior thesis. Students develop a thematic focus in consultation with their advisor by the beginning of the junior year.

1. To introduce students to the field of American Studies, students take (one course):
   • ​​AMST 103 SC  Introduction to American Cultures, a prerequisite course that is team-taught by members of the intercollegiate faculty in the fall or spring semester to introduce the themes, concerns, and methodologies of American Studies.
2. To provide a broad knowledge and set of skills in the field, students take (three courses): 

• Two U.S. history courses, at least one of which must contain significant pre-1900 content (such as HIST 020 PO  United States Colonial Era to Gilded Age or equivalent course: HIST 070A SC , HIST 025 PZ , HIST 050A AF , HIST 090 CM , HIST 114 CM , HIST 116 CM , or HIST 125 CM ).
• One course in Africana, Asian American or Chicano/a-Latino/a studies; or one course on the histories and/or cultures of Native Americans.

3. To provide depth as well as breadth, students take (five courses):

• AMST 180 SC  American Studies Seminar normally taken in the spring of the junior year;
• Four courses drawn from at least two departments that focus on a specific theme (e.g., Race and Social Justice in the U.S.; the U.S. in a Transnational Context)

4. For their capstone experience in American Studies, students must complete (two courses):

• AMST 190 PO  Senior Thesis Seminar (offered fall)
• AMST 191 PO   Senior Thesis (offered spring)

All students are required to write a senior thesis by enrolling in this two-course, two-credit sequence. Students will enroll in AMST 190 PO , a seminar, in the fall semester. In the spring semester, students enroll in AMST 191 PO  and complete the thesis under the direction of their thesis adviser and second reader, at least one of whom must be from the student’s home campus.