Major Requirements

To receive a B.A. degree with a major in Ethnic Studies, students must meet the following requirements:

  1. Lower Division Requirements

    A 3 quarter course lower-division sequence (Ethnic Studies 1A-B-C). Ideally this sequence should be taken during the sophomore year as an intensive introduction to the history and theoretical dimensions of ethnic diversity in the United States. Ethnic Studies 1A-B-C, Introduction to Ethnic Studies, will consist of the following three courses:

    • ETHN 1A
      Population Histories of the United States
    • ETHN 1B
      Immigration and Assimilation in American Life
    • ETHN 1C
      Race and Ethnic Relations in the United States

  2. Upper Division Requirements

    A minimum of twelve (12) four-unit upper-division courses in the Department of Ethnic Studies must be completed from the following 5 categories:

    1. One (1) four-unit upper division course that intensively explores the theory and comparative methods of ethnic studies. All Ethnic Studies majors should complete this course before proceeding with other requirements listed.

      • ETHN 100
        Theories and Methods of Ethnic Studies

      NOTE: ETHN 100 is usually offered only in the Fall Quarter of each academic year.

    2. Four upper-division ethnic studies history and social sciences courses from those listed below:

      • ETHN 103
        Environmental Racism
      • ETHN 104
        Race, Space, and Segregation
      • ETHN 105
        Ethnic Diversity and the City
      • ETHN 106
        Ethnoracial Transformation of U.S. Communities
      • ETHN 107
        Ethnographic Field Work in Racial and Ethnic Communities
      • ETHN 108
        Race, Culture, and Social Chance
      • ETHN 109
        Race and Social Movements
      • ETHN 112
        History of Native Americans in the United States
      • ETHN 116
        The U.S.-Mexican Border, Comparative Perspective
      • ETHN 117
        Organic Social Movements
      • ETHN 118
        Contemporary Immigration Issues
      • ETHN 119
        Multiracial Societies in the Americas
      • ETHN 120
        Comparative Asian-American History, 1850-1965
      • ETHN 121
        Asian-American Politics
      • ETHN 123
        Asian-American Politics
      • ETHN 125
        Asian-American History
      • ETHN 129
        Asian & Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy
      • ETHN 130
        Social and Economic History of the Southwest I
      • ETHN 131
        Social and Economic History of the Southwest II
      • ETHN 134
        Immigration and Ethnicity in Modern American Society
      • ETHN 149
        African American History in the 20th Century
      • ETHN 150
        Politics of Cultural Pluralism and National Integration
      • ETHN 151
        Ethnic Politics in America
      • ETHN 152
        Law and Civil Rights
      • ETHN 159
        Topics in African American History
      • ETHN 160
        Black Politics and Protest in the Early 20th Century
      • ETHN 161
        Black Politics and Protest Since WWII
      • ETHN 162
        Cultural Contact and Exchange
      • ETHN 163
        Leisure in Urban America
      • ETHN 165
        Sex and Gender in African American Communities
      • ETHN 167
        African-American History in War and Peace: 1917 to the Present
      • ETHN 170A
        Origins of the Atlantic World c. 1450-1650
      • ETHN 170B
        Slavery and the Atlantic World
      • ETHN 180
        Topics in Mexican-American History
      • ETHN 181
        American Slave Communities in Comparative Perspective
      • ETHN 182
        Segregation, Freedom Movements, and the Crisis of the 20th Century
      • ETHN 183
        Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Class
      • ETHN 184
        Black Intellectuals in the 20th Century
      • ETHN 187
        Black Nationalism
      • ETHN 188
        African Americans, Religion, & the City
      • ETHN 189
        Special Topics in Ethnic Studies
        Ethnic Studies Honors:
      • ETHN 191
        Research in Ethnic Studies
      • ETHN 192
        Honors Research in Ethnic Studies
      • ETHN 193
        Honors Research in Ethnic Studies
        Special Studies:*
      • ETHN 197
        Field Work in Racial and Ethnic Communities
      • ETHN 198
        Directed Group Studies
      • ETHN 199
        Supervised Independent Study and Research * Only 2 will be counted in fulfillment of this requirement.

    3. At least three (3) upper-division courses that focus on language, ethnicity, and institutional discourses:

      • ETHN 140
        Language and American Ethnicity
      • ETHN 141
        Language and Culture
      • ETHN 142
        Medicine, Race and the Global Politics of Inequality
      • ETHN 144
        Bilingual Communities in the USA
      • ETHN 145
        Spanish Language in the U.S.
      • ETHN 164
        African Americans and the Mass Media
      • ETHN 166
        The Black Press and Social Change
      • ETHN 185
        Discourse, Power and Inequality
      • ETHN 186
        The Ethnic Press in the U.S.

      Students may petition to count one course on language and ethnicity offered by other departments, including the following:

      Anthropology:

      • ANGN 112
        Language, Identity, and Community
      • ANGN 117
        Language and Culture in Education
      • ANGN 149
        Language and Society

        Linguistics:
      • LIGN 140
        American Sign Language
      • LIGN 145
        Pidgins and Creoles
      • LIGN 174 (cross-listed with SOCB 118A)
        Gender and Language in Society
      • LIGN 175
        Sociolinguistics
      • LIGN 177
        Multilingualism

      Communication:

      • COSF 140C
        Comparative Media Systems: Latin American and the Caribbean
      • COHI 114
        Bilingual Communication

      Sociology:

      • SOCB 118A
        Gender & Language in Society Education Studies

      Education Studies:

      • EDS 116
        The Psychology of Teaching & Structures of Information for Human Learning

      In addition, one foreign language course at the upper-division level may be counted in partial fulfillment of this requirement, with the consent of the department.

      NOTE: The area studies list that was in effect during the 2001-2002 academic year will not be available to students who enter in Fall, 2002 or later. Students who entered UCSD prior to Fall 2002 may petition to count courses from the area studies list to fulfill the "C" requirement as long as at least one of the three courses used to fulfill the "C" requirement is an Ethnic Studies Department offering. Students must seek faculty advice on which courses would best satisfy this requirement and yield the most rigorous training.

    4. At least three (3) upper-division ethnic studies courses on the literature and cultural expressions of American racial and ethnic minorities:

      • ETHN 101
        Ethnic Images in Film
      • ETHN 110
        Cultural World Views of Native Americans
      • ETHN 111
        Native American Literature
      • ETHN 122
        Asian-American Culture and Identity
      • ETHN 124
        Asian-American Literature
      • ETHN 128
        Hip Hop: The Politics of Culture
      • ETHN 132
        Chicano Dramatic Literature
      • ETHN 133
        Hispanic-American Dramatic Literature
      • ETHN 135A
        Early Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production: 1848 to 1960
      • ETHN 135B
        Contemporary Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production: 1960 to Present
      • ETHN 136
        Topics in Chicano/a-Latino/a Cultures
      • ETHN 138
        Chicano Poetry
      • ETHN 139
        Chicano Literature in English
      • ETHN 146A
        Theatrical Ensemble
      • ETHN 148
        Latino/a and Chicano/a Literature
      • ETHN 168
        Comparative Ethnic Literature
      • ETHN 172
        Afro-American Prose
      • ETHN 173
        Afro-American Poetry
      • ETHN 174
        Themes in Afro-American Literature
      • ETHN 175
        Literature of the Harlem Renaissance
      • ETHN 176
        Black Music/Black Texts: Comm. and Cultural Expression
      • ETHN 177
        Modern Black Drama
      • ETHN 178
        Blues: An Oral Tradition
      • ETHN 179A
        Jazz Roots and Early Development (1900-1943)
      • ETHN 179B
        Jazz Since 1946: Freedom and Form

    5. One (1) four-unit field methods course.

      • ETHN 190
        Research Methods: Studying Ethnic and Racial Communities

      NOTE: ETHN 190 is usually offered only in the Winter Quarter of each academic year.

  3. Subject Matter Diversity

    Since the goal of the Department of Ethnic Studies is to intensively study both the particular histories of various ethnic and racial groups in the United States and to draw larger theoretical lessons from comparisons among and between groups, students may not fulfill requirement 2B and 2D by focusing all of the seven required courses on only one ethnic or racial group.

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