American Studies is an interdisciplinary program combining Social Science, Fine Arts and Language Arts perspectives on American Society. The courses provide a broad background for the transfer student who wants a greater understanding of historical and cultural features of the United States. Many universities now offer degrees in American Studies that expand the student's frame of reference beyond traditional majors concentrating on U.S. history. The major is composed of courses designed to satisfy general education requirements and prepare students for upper-division college work in history, pre-law, journalism or other mass media communication programs, and political science.

The American Studies program is a solid base for related careers in government services, law, journalism, TV and radio writing and reporting, advertising, marketing, sales, management and teaching in the related fields. Corporations recruit applicants who possess the skills and knowledge offered by the American Studies program. Courses in business principles and computer science should be taken as electives to increase marketability of the graduate to potential employers.

• English proficiency: ENGL 1A, ESL 26 or equivalent.
• Mathematics proficiency: MATH 105 or equivalent.
A minimum of 90 units required to include:
• All General Education requirements
• Core courses (25.5 Units)
• Support courses (8 Units)
• electives & other graduation requirements as appropriate.

NOTE: All courses pertaining to the major must be taken for a letter grade. In addition, a GPA of 2.0 or higher is required in all Core and Support courses for the Degree.

AA = Associate in Arts Degree.

NOTE: Students having difficulty attaining an Associate in Arts Degree because of timing or availability of classes should consult with a counselor to submit a petition for course substitution.

ART 14 American Art (4.5 Units)
ENGL 41 Literature of Multicultural America (4 Units)
HIST 17A History of the United States to 1816 (4 Units)
HIST 17B History of the United States from 1816 to 1914 (4 Units)
MUS 8 Music of Multicultural America (4 Units)
OR MUS 8H Honors Music of Multicultural America (4 Units)
POLI 1 Political Science: Introduction to American Government & Politics (5 Units)

ANTH 4 First Peoples of North America (4 Units)
HIST 10 History of California: The Multicultural State (4 Units)
PSYC 22 Psychology of Prejudice (4 Units)
SOC 15 Law & Society (4 Units)
WMN 5 Introduction to Women's Studies (4 Units)