Graduate Advising
To request information about the graduate program, please send an email message to Professor Dustin Abnet, Graduate Advisor: dabnet@fullerton.edu.
See the University's Graduate Studies web site for more general information about graduate studies 
at Cal State Fullerton and about financial aid.
The CSUF American Studies masters degree consists of 30 units. Slightly more may be required of a student whose undergraduate major was in an unrelated field.
The M.A. Study Plan
- 6 units of American Studies graduate core courses (AMST 501 and 502)
- 12 units of elective courses in American Studies (400 or 500-level courses)
- 6 units of graduate seminars in related fields (500-level courses taken in a department or departments outside of American Studies)
- 3 units in a "skill elective," fulfilled via a teaching tutorial (AMST 596), an internship (AMST 595), or a practial skill course taken at the 400 or 500-level
- 3 units for the exit option, which may be either a master's thesis or a comprehensive exam
The general objective of the American Studies graduate program is to provide advanced training in the interdisciplinary analysis of American culture as a complex whole in the past and present.
Major emphases in Cal State Fullerton's American Studies M.A. Program
- Our graduate program is grounded in a thorough understanding of the concept of culture. It emphasizes cultural pluralism, examining the creative tension between unity and diversity in the American experience.
- It is self-consciously interdisciplinary, requiring graduate students to integrate knowledge from the humanities and social sciences.
- It emphasizes the process of historical change, compelling students to trace the past sources of contemporary issues.
- It develops advanced research, writing and analytical skills. Through course work, consultation with faculty, and writing a thesis or comprehensive exam, graduate students become familiar with the theories and methods of American culture studies.
