AMSTU-BA - American Studies (BA)
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Program Overview
American Studies is an interdisciplinary undergraduate major that provides a rich and multifaceted understanding of American culture and society in all their complexity. Building on a foundation of core courses in history and institutions, literature and the arts, and race and ethnicity, students learn to analyze and interpret America’s past and present from multiple angles while also forging fresh and creative syntheses.
Beyond the core courses, students are expected to define and pursue their interests in interpreting essential dimensions of American life. Accordingly, each student designs a unique thematic concentration of at least five courses drawn from fields such as history, literature, art, communication, theater, political science, African American studies, feminist studies, economics, cultural and social anthropology, Asian American studies, religious studies, Chicana/o studies, law, sociology, education, Native American studies, music, and film. Whether defined broadly or narrowly, the thematic focus or concentration should examine its subject from the vantage of multiple disciplines. Examples of concentrations include:
Borders and Boundaries in American Culture
Religion in American Life
Gender and Sexuality in 20th Century Popular Culture
Race and the Law in America
Technology and American Experience
Fictions of American Identity
The Politics of War and Peace in the U.S.
Nature and the Environment in American Culture
Diasporic Art and Activism
Hollywood and American Culture
Constructions of Female Identity in America
Health, Wellness, and American Society
Inequality and Education in America
The West in American History and Culture
Dissent and Democracy
Politics and the Media in America
Students may conclude the major by developing a capstone project either in the Senior Colloquium or, with program approval, by pursuing an honors research project during their senior year.
Because the American Studies major cultivates an extraordinary breadth of knowledge and awareness, as well as exceptionally deft critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills, it serves as excellent preparation for a wide range of future pursuits, including further study in graduate or professional schools and careers in journalism, government, business, law, entertainment, public service, the arts, and other fields.
Preparing for the Major
In addition to declaring the major on AXESS, students must meet with the Director or Program Coordinator to develop and review their study plan.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Degree Requirements Overview
Completion of the major normally requires 14 courses (totaling at least 62 units), all of which must be taken for a letter grade (with the exception of AMSTUD 99: Senior Colloquium and the Honors Workshop sequence, which are only offered S/NC). A student may not count a single course for more than one requirement. Not all courses are offered each year; students should consult ExploreCourses for scheduling information for the current academic year.
Majors must complete three courses in history and institutions, with at least one focusing on the colonial and Revolutionary period (typically AMSTUD/History 150A) and another focusing on the 19th century (typically AMSTUD 150B/History 150B). Options for the third required history and institutions core course include — but are not limited to — courses listed here. Students should discuss alternatives with their program advisor.
Majors must take at least three courses in literature, culture, and the arts, broadly understood. At least one of these courses should focus on American literature in the period before the Civil War, usually AMSTUD 150/ENGLISH 11B Introduction to English II: American Literature and Culture to 1855.
Fulfilling the remaining two literature, culture, and the arts core courses include — but are not limited to — the following course options listed here. Students should discuss alternatives with their program advisor.
At least one literature, culture, and the arts core course must focus on art, drama, film, music, translation studies, or culture from a disciplinary or interpretive perspective outside of literary study.
Majors must take at least one course that focuses on the study of race and/or ethnicity, ideally in a comparative context. (Note that this is in addition to courses taken under other requirement categories). Courses that fulfill this requirement might include: courses that explicitly foreground issues of race and/or ethnicity; courses that weave prominent consideration of race and/or ethnicity into intersectional conversations or other historical contexts; or courses that foreground the perspectives, histories, and/or cultural productions of historically minoritized racial and/or ethnic groups. Options for fulfilling the race and ethnicity core course include — but are not limited to — courses listed here. Students should discuss alternatives with their program advisor.
Majors must design a thematic concentration of at least five courses with the help of faculty advisors. The courses, taken together, must give the student in-depth knowledge and understanding of a coherent topic in American culture, history, and institutions. Thematic concentrations should be approved by the end of the registration period of autumn quarter of the junior year, if at all possible. (Sample thematic concentrations are on the American Studies website: amstudies.stanford.edu.)
All majors must take at least one upper-level seminar requiring a substantial research project within their thematic concentration.
To graduate, all majors must submit a representative writing sample to American Studies by spring of senior year (typically a paper from their upper-level seminar or an honors or capstone essay).
To complete the capstone requirement, majors graduating in 2025 or later must do one of the following.
In this 2-unit colloquium, taken in winter of senior year, majors develop a capstone project and presentation. In this, students may opt to build on an essay or project from their thematic concentration seminar or other course or, with approval, may develop another essay or project related to their thematic concentration. Students will present their capstone research in winter or spring of senior year.
(Note: Majors who declared before August 1, 2023 or are graduating before 2025 are not required to take AMSTUD 99 but are required to designate and take a “capstone seminar” within their thematic concentration— an advanced seminar approved by their advisor and requiring a substantial research project.)
Qualified majors may apply to pursue an honors thesis in their senior year for 10-15 units total, including:
3 units from required pre-honors and honors workshops (AMSTUD 198, 199A, and 199B)
Plus 7-12 units of AMSTUD 250: Senior Research, divided across Senior year.
Honors students are exempt from the Senior Colloquium and may instead use two units of the required honors workshop units (e.g., from 199A and 199B) to replace the 2-unit Senior Colloquium.
The additional 8-13 thesis units do not count toward major course and unit minimums. Honors students present their projects, typically in spring of the senior year. (See details under Honors.)
To graduate with honors, American Studies majors must complete a senior thesis and have an overall grade point average of at least 3.5 in the major or demonstrated academic competence.
Students applying must secure a thesis advisor, a Stanford faculty member willing and available to direct the thesis project through the ensuing year. A confirmed thesis advisor is required for final approval to pursue an honors project. Students also need to secure a second reader for the honors thesis no later than the start of winter quarter of the senior year.
By the last day of classes in spring quarter of the junior year, students hoping to pursue honors should secure an advisor and submit at least a preliminary 3-5 page proposal describing the anticipated thesis project, including an initial bibliography, to the program. An official application form signed by the thesis advisor and accompanied by the revised proposal and preliminary bibliography must be submitted to the program no later than October 1 in the student’s senior year. The program may approve the application and proposal or request that the student resubmit with revisions.
Students pursuing honors must enroll in the American Studies Pre-Honors Seminar, AMSTUD 198, in spring quarter of their junior year, and in the American Studies Honors Seminar AMSTUD 199A and AMSTUD 199B, during autumn and winter quarters of their senior year, respectively. They must also enroll in AMSTUD 250 Senior Research during their senior year. The total units between AMSTUD 198, AMSTUD 199A and B, and AMSTUD 250 should equal 10-15.
For majors graduating before 2025, these units are in addition to the minimum units required for the major.
For majors graduating in 2025 or after, two of these units can be applied to the 62-unit minimum, replacing AMSTUD 99: Senior Colloquium.
The finished essay is due mid-May (typically May 15) of the senior year. The senior honors experience culminates in Honors Thesis Presentations in May of senior year.
An honors information session is offered during winter quarter of the junior year. Students interested in honors are encouraged to attend. More information about American Studies honors is available from the program office.