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 American Culture Studies (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 AMCS. Options for this requirement change via semester but often include AMCS 2290 Introduction to AMCS: #americanculturestudies: Exploring the Field! Visit our AMCS & AAS 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.
• Additional 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 counts as a multidisciplinary course. Visit our AMCS & AAS 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 12 established focus areas:

Subject Foci

1.   Native American Studies
2.   Race & Ethnicity
3.   Gender & Sexuality
4.   Ability & the Body
5.   Place, Space, & the Environment
6.   Popular Culture
7.   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; all minors must meet with their AMCS minor advisor to determine which courses meet the requirements. Consult the requirements listed on this page with examples of courses for each requirement area. 
• All advanced units must be unique to the AMCS minor (i.e., not counted toward any other major or minor).
• Students can go abroad through the AMCS minor, and 3 study abroad credits can count toward the minor requirements. Please visit our Study Abroad page for more information.