American Studies Students

We are proud to have some of the most motivated and intellectually curious students on campus as our majors, minors, and graduate students. Few students enter Cal State Fullerton knowing they want to major in American Studies. More often, students find us through our General Education courses, where they identify with our commitment to moving beyond stereotypes and oversimplifications to embrace the true complexity of American culture--past, present, and future. We encourage our students to critically engage with the world around them and we give them the interdisciplinary tools to help them do so, offering courses on everything from television to teenagers, cartoons to crime, pop music to political movements. Many of our students are double majors, and we work to tailor each student's course plan to their unique goals and interests.

We're a small department with a lively, diverse community of students and faculty. Our shared commitment to exploring American culture spills beyond the classroom, into movie nights, guest lectures, social gatherings, and walking tours of downtown Los Angeles. Our active Student Association hosts events and raises funds to support our students in presenting papers at academic conferences around the country, and each we showcase our best student work in the student-run journal American Papers. 

 To learn more about majoring or minoring in American Studies, check out the requirements for our major and minor or make an appointment with a faculty advisor to discuss how American Studies can fit into your academic career. If you're already wondering what you might do with an American Studies degree--and believe us, there are many, many options--we've gathered some information and advice on our Careers in American Studies page.