Program Description

The Interdisciplinary Studies Programs at CSUB allow students to examine concepts, issues, and perspectives that cross traditional boundaries of study, and to combine elements of distinct disciplines in a unique way. CSUB offers three Interdisciplinary Studies concentrations:

1. General Studies where students create their own program of study drawing on at least two different departments;
2. Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies;
3. Ethnic and Area Studies.

Interdisciplinary Studies, BA Program Goals and Objectives

Goal I: Students will develop broad, integrative knowledge.

1. Students will analyze complex issues, which integrate foundational knowledge, values, and methods from two or more disciplines.

Goal II: Students will develop cross-disciplinary skills.

1. Students will communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, in and across disciplinary styles and for various audiences and contexts.
2. Students will, as individual researchers/scholars as well as in collaboration with others, solve or creatively respond to a current complex problem drawing on two or more disciplinary approaches.

Goal III: Students in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies or Ethnic and Area Studies will apply an interdisciplinary approach.

1. Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies students will apply feminist and other critical perspectives to examine the ways that gender intersects with race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, disability, and other facets of embodiment.
2. Ethnic and Area Studies students will apply an interdisciplinary approach to the comparative, intersectional, and relational study of African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicana/os-Latinas/os, and American Indians within local, regional, (trans)-national, and global contexts.

In addition to university education requirements, Interdisciplinary Studies students with a concentration in Ethnic and Area Studies complete a minimum of 33 semester units in their chosen track specialization as part of their degree. Students work closely with INST advisors to map out the courses and paths that best align with their goals of study, and include, at minimum, the following elements:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
General Education Requirements
First-Year Seminar (FYS)		2
Lower Division Area A: Foundational Skills		9
Lower Division Area B: Natural Sciences		9
Lower Division Area C: Arts and Humanities		6
Lower Division Area D: Social and Behavioral Sciences		3
Lower Division Area E: Student Enrichment and Lifelong Learning (SELF) 3		0-3
Lower Division Area F: Ethnic Studies		3
American Institutions: Government and History		6
Junior Year Diversity & Reflection (JYDR) 4		0-3
Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR)		3
Upper Division Thematic Area B, C, and D 5		0-9
General Education Capstone 5		0-9
General Education Subtotal		41-65
Major Requirements
Required Course
ETHS 1208	Introduction to Ethnic Studies	3
or ETHS 1308	Introduction to Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies
or ETHS 1508	Introduction to Chicana/o/x Studies
INST 3128	Gender and Sexuality	3
Arts and Humanities Courses
Select three of the following:		9
ART 3650	Women in Visual Arts
COMM 3088	Gender and Communication
ENGL 2220	Ethnic-Minority American Literature
ENGL 3220	Studies Fiction: African-American Experience
ENGL 3230	Studies in Chicano Literature
ENGL 3248	Ethnic Literatures
ENGL 3250	Literature by Women of Color
FREN 3300	French and Francophone Cultures
HIST 3210	The American South
HIST 3228	American Indian History
HIST 3260	History of the American Borderlands
HIST 3310	Revolutions in Latin America
HIST 3320	Ancient and Colonial Mexico
HIST 3330	Modern Mexico
HIST 3410	The Rise of Islamic Civilization, 570-1258
HIST 3420	Science, Technology, and Engineering in Islamic History, 758-1406
HIST 3440	African Decolonization, 1922-1994
HIST 3460	Pre-Modern Japan
HIST 3470	Modern Japan
HIST 3480	Pre-Modern China
HIST 3490	Modern China
HIST 3610	Mexican-European Connections, 1821-1982
HIST 3620	Revolutions in Atlantic World
HIST 4220	Mexican-American History
HIST 4230	African-American History
HIST 4410	Gender in East Asia
HIST 4420	Japan's Empire, 1895-1945
MODL 1200	American English Pronunciation
MODL 2300	World Cultures
MUS 1039	Jazz Appreciation
MUS 1049	Music from a Global Perspective
MUS 3039	America's Musical Life
PHIL 3548	Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality
RS 1138	Religions of Asia
RS 3210	Judaism
RS 3220	Christianity
RS 3230	Islam
RS 3250	Buddhism
RS 3260	Indigenous Religious Traditions of the Americas
RS 3528	The Holocaust and Its Impact
SPAN 3120	Latin American Literature I
SPAN 3130	Latin American Literature II
SPAN 3140	U.S. Latino Literature
SPAN 3230	Spanish in the United States
SPAN 3310	Latin American Civilization
SPAN 3320	Mexican/Mex American Cultures
SPAN 3330	U.S. Latino Folklore
SPAN 4130	Contemporary Latin American Literature
SPAN 4300	Revolutionary Ideas in Latin America
SPAN 4310	Spanish/Latin American Cinema
SPAN 4320	The Chicano/a Experience
SPAN 4330	Border Lives
THTR 3128	Contemporary Latina/o Dramatic Literature
Social Sciences and Education
Select three of the following:		9
ANTH 2128	Introduction to the Prehistory of the New World
ANTH 2308	Native Peoples of North America
ANTH 2310	Peoples and Cultures of South Asia
ANTH 3310	Globalization and Cultural Change
ANTH 3318	Peoples of Mexico
ANTH 3320	Native Peoples of California
ANTH 3360	Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East
CRJU 3320	Race, Ethnicity, and the Criminal Justice System
CRJU 3660	Diversity and Global Learning in Criminal Justice
PLSI 3230	Latinos and Blacks in U.S. Politics
PLSI 3320	Government and Politics of China
PLSI 3330	Global Security Issues
PLSI 3340	Government and Politics of Latin America
PLSI 3360	Politics of Mexico
PLSI 4410	U.S. Immigration Law and Policy
SOC 2300	Race and Ethnic Relations
SOC 3208	Junior Diversity and Research Ethics
SOC 3320	The African American Experience in the United States
SOC 3330	The Indigenous Experience in the Modern Americas
SOC 3340	Cultural Diversity in U.S. Schools
SOC 3350	The Asian-American Experience in the United States
SOC 3360	The Latino Experiences in the United States
SOC 3420	Chicana Experiences
SOC 4020	Globalization and Social Change
SOC 4068	The Civil Rights Movement
SOC 4300	Sociology of Immigration
SOC 4310	The Latin American Experience
Electives
Select one of the following: 1		3
BA 3008	Diversity in Business Organizations
ECON 3118	The Pacific Rim Economies
ECON 3410	Globalization & Development
ECON 3430	Economics of Immigration Policy
ECON 4108	International Economic Development
ECON 4400	International Economics
ETHS 3410	The Black Sport Experience
ETHS 3420	Afrofuturism: in Search of the Black Fantastic
ETHS 3430	The History and Influence of Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture
ETHS 4410	Black Feminist and Womanist Perspectives
INST 3120	Plagues & People-Biohistory
INST 3310
INST 3320	Multiculturalism in the US
Applied Coursework
INST 4860	Interdisciplinary Internship 2	3
Senior Seminar
INST 4908	Senior Seminar	3
Major Subtotal		33
Additional Units Needed Towards Graduation		25-46
Total Units		99-144

¹

Select from the approved courses listed above, additional courses listed below, or courses approved by director of Interdisciplinary Studies

²

Interdisciplinary Internship or other approved similar course that allows students to gain relevant first-hand experience.

³

SELF may double count with B, C, or D.   

⁴

JYDR may be satisfied in major, minor or other university requirement.

⁵

Students are waived from UD area of their program. Area of program determined on individual basis depending on approved program of study.

⁶

Capstone may be satisfied within the senior seminar.