American Studies is an interdisciplinary program designed to develop in-depth knowledge of American society, past and present. Drawing its curriculum from approved courses in other departments and its own core courses, the program weaves traditionally divergent disciplines together so that students gain a broad understanding of American life and culture. The American Studies program is open to students of all majors. Students may complete the program by fulfilling requirements for the minor.

Program Requirements

A Minor in American Studies consists of 18 semester hours: six hours of American Studies courses including AMST 3100 , and 12 semester hours of American Studies courses or approved American-content courses from other departments. A maximum of six hours of American-content courses may be in the student’s major. If the student has additional majors or minors, no more than six hours American-content courses from each of these may apply to the American Studies minor.  These stipulations include cross-listed courses regardless of the program designation under which the course was taken. Exceptions may be approved by the Program Director and, if necessary, upon consultation with the other program in question. Note: Students exercising this option should be aware that the accuracy of the online degree audit may be affected. All students must have a GPA of at least 2.0 in courses applied to the minor.

The following courses have been approved for the minor. Because additions and deletions are made to correspond to current University offerings, students are advised to consult with the Program Director.  Other courses that do not appear on the list, especially topics and independent study courses, may be approved if they are pertinent to the student’s program and deal with an American topic.