American Culture Studies Minor

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 15 units, at least 9 of which must be at the 3000 level or higher
  • Grade Requirement: All courses counting toward the AMCS minor must be taken for a letter grade, and students must receive a grade of C– or higher. 

Requirements

  • Introductory course (3 credits), as designated by American Culture Studies. Options for this requirement have recently included AMCS 2200: Race and American Popular Music, AMCS 2071: The Visible and Invisible: Introduction to American Visual Cultures Studies, and AMCS 2290: Introduction to AMCS: #americanculturestudies: Exploring the Field! Visit the AMCS Courses webpage for the full listing by semester.
  • Distribution coursework (9 credits): At least three courses on American subjects (two of which must be at the 3000 level or higher), either in a single established Focus Area (refer to the list of established foci below) or in three distinct disciplines outside the student's major.
  • One additional AMCS course (3 credits).
  • At least two multidisciplinary courses, taken as part of the above minor requirements and designated by AMCS. Minors who opt to do a focus are encouraged to take at least one multidisciplinary course that connects to the subjects or issues in the chosen focus area. AMCS 3595: American Culture: Methods & Visions (a junior-level seminar) is also encouraged and may count as a multidisciplinary course. Visit the AMCS Courses webpage for a complete list of general and multidisciplinary courses that count toward the AMCS minor.

Only one of the courses taken to complete the minor requirements may be in the same academic unit as the student's major(s).

Established Focus Areas

The following list reflects areas of longstanding student interest. Minors are welcome to propose new foci or to tailor an established one to suit their interests. AMCS currently has 11 established focus areas:

Subject Foci

1.    Race & Ethnicity
2.    Gender & Sexuality
3.    Ability & the Body
4.    Place, Space, & the Environment
5.    Popular Culture
6.    Citizenship, Nationhood, & Identity

Methods Foci

1.    Archives & Texts
2.    Audio, Visual, & Material Studies
3.    Journalism & Ethnography
4.    Law, Politics, & Policy Studies
5.    Digital Methods

Additional Information

  • Courses vary by semester and all minors must meet with their AMCS minor advisor to determine which courses meet the requirements. See the requirements listed on this page with examples of courses for each requirement area. 
  • All advanced units must be unique to the American Culture Studies minor (i.e., not counted toward any other major or minor).
  • Students cannot go abroad through the AMCS minor; however, students can transfer up to 6 total credits from other universities or Study Abroad through another program on campus.

Visit our undergraduate AMCS webpage for more information about the minor requirements and focus areas as well as other resources and announcements for AMCS students.

Visit the American Culture Studies page
for additional information about this program.

Contact Info

Contact:Karen Skinner, Academic Coordinator
Phone:314-935-6991
Email:k.skinner@wustl.edu
Website:http://amcs.wustl.edu