Major in American Studies

Previous Curriculum (2010-2025) can be viewed at this link.

University Requirements

Completion of Minimum University Requirements for an Undergraduate Baccalaureate Degree.

  • Minimum 120 credits and minimum GPA of 2.0
  • Completion of 45 upper-level credits, residence requirement, Writing Intensive requirement, and General Education requirement

Major Requirements

  • Minimum 36 credits
  • Minimum grade of ‘C’ in courses applied to the major, except where otherwise indicated
  • Maximum of 6 credits of independent study

Course Requirements

American Studies Foundational Core (15 credits)

The American Studies Core provides a foundation in the key research and writing practices of the discipline. Two lower-level courses introduce students to fundamental American Studies and/or Public Humanities concepts. Students build knowledge and engage in professional writing and research practices in an upper-level gateway course, two advanced seminars, and a capstone research seminar.

  • AMST 100 – Introduction to American Studies (3) (AH)
  • AMST 200 – What is an American? (3) (AH) OR PUBH 200: Introduction to Public Humanities (3) (AH)
  • AMST 300 – Approaches in American Studies (3) (WI)
  • AMST 400-level seminar (3)
  • AMST 490 – Senior Seminar (3) (WI)

Electives (18 credits)

Complete six upper-level elective courses (18 credits total). Students can substitute three non-AMST upper-level elective courses (9 credits total) with approval from their advisor

  • AMST 310 – Gender and Inequality in America (3) (AH)
  • AMST 317 – Nonviolence and American Social Movements (3) (SS)
  • AMST 320 – Television in American Culture (3) (AH)
  • AMST 322 – American Society and Culture in Film (3) (AH)
  • AMST 323 – Baltimore in Film (3)
  • AMST 324 – The Road Movie in America and Abroad (3)
  • AMST 325 – Studies in Popular Culture (3) (AH)
  • AMST 345 – Indigenous Heritage: Issues of Representation and Ownership (3) (AH/C)
  • AMST 350 – Critical Decades (3)
  • AMST 352 – American Culture in Global Perspective (3) (AH/C)
  • AMST 356 – Special Topics in U.S. Social Structures (3)
  • AMST 357 – Special Topics in Global America (3)
  • AMST 358 – Special Topics in American Signs (3)
  • AMST 365 – Asian American Fictions (3) (AH/C)
  • AMST 372 – American Food (3) (AH/C)
  • AMST 375 – Studies in Asian American Culture (3) (AH/C)
  • AMST 376 – The American Dream (3) (AH)
  • AMST 380 – Community in America (3) (AH)
  • AMST 395 – American Music and Culture (3) (SS/C)
  • AMST 403 – Ethnography in America (3)
  • AMST 410 – Seminar in U.S. Social Structures (3)
  • AMST 413 – Policing and Prisons in U.S. Society (3)
  • AMST 420 – Seminar in Global America (3)
  • AMST 422 – Preserving Places, Making Spaces in Baltimore (3)
  • AMST 424 – Theories of Place and Space (3)
  • AMST 430 – Seminar in American Signs (3)
  • AMST 464 – Narratives of Contemporary U.S. Immigration (3)
  • AMST 480 – Community in America Research Seminar (3)

Applied Experience (3 credits)

Includes internships, service learning, undergraduate research, student teacher praxis, and AMST courses designed as applied research. Students in dual programs may fulfill this requirement by taking an approved applied experience course in the second department. Coursework applied to this requirement may use pass/fail or regular grading.

American Studies Major/Education Certification

There is a dual major/certificate program for students seeking teaching certification in early childhood, elementary, or secondary. Students pursuing the Education Certification whose certification requirements include supplementary courses in social sciences or history may substitute 9 credits of those courses for 9 credits of American Studies electives. Students seeking education certification may count student teaching as their applied experience.

Four-Year Academic Pathways

The Four-Year Academic Pathways webpage offers helpful sample pathways for students eager to explore their academic options and stay on track for a four-year graduation. These pathways provide a starting point for students to plan how to complete their degree in four years. However, it’s important to remember that these are just samples. In consultation with their academic advisor, each student will create an individualized degree plan that reflects their unique academic background, interests, and career goals.

Students must develop their personalized degree plan by the time they’ve earned 45 credits and regularly update it with their advisor as their goals and academic journey evolve. This approach ensures that students make thoughtful, strategic choices that set them up for success throughout their time at UMBC.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Programs

Qualified students may apply to an accelerated program, which allows them to take graduate courses as undergraduate students and later apply those courses to master’s degrees. A student may apply to participate in an accelerated program even if the desired graduate program is in a department other than the one in which they are majoring. More information is available from the Accelerated Program page of the Graduate School website.