New Students

Welcome to Ethnic Studies

Welcome! Thank you for your interest in the Ethnic Studies major and Ethnic Studies minor. We are excited to be part of your collegiate journey at CSUSM and look forward to sharing what we love about our field and work with you to achieve your academic goals. As you explore what our program has to offer, keep in mind that this is just an introduction and we encourage you to contact our faculty to learn more about our degree program(s) and our curriculum at CSUSM. This major(s) joins 22 other majors and 33 minors under the umbrella of the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences (CHABSS). The CHABSS Dean’s Office has many student services, but, in particular, the following two articles on Faculty Being Your Best Resource and Making & Staying on the Dean’s List may help you in your academic journey.

Overview

The Ethnic Studies Major operates from a comparative approach. Core  curriculum of  the program anchors  students in  an  ethnic studies perspective intellectually, theoretically, and methodologically. Three themes characterize the curriculum: Colonialism, Migration  and Diasporas; The  State, Inequality  and Resistance; and, Identities and Representation. Students have an  opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of  ethnic studies via  application in a capstone project and/or field-work opportunities in racial-ethnic communities.