Minor in Ethnic Studies

What will I learn in an ethnic studies minor?

The minor in ethnic studies allows you to study issues surrounding race and ethnicity, with either a U.S. or global focus. A flexible curriculum allows you to choose your coursework from within a number of different areas, including foundational courses, comparative courses and classes that focus on a particular ethnic group, including Native Americans, Latinos, the African diaspora and Asian cultures.

These options to customize your minor mean you can select courses that complement your major or match up with your personal interests and career goals. You'll work with an advisor from the faculty in ethnic studies when you declare the minor to learn more about choosing your courses.

Core courses in the ethnic studies minor include topics such as:

Race and racism
Multicultural psychology
Identity and the environment
Exploring world music
U.S. writers of color

You'll have the opportunity to take courses from a wide range of departments including criminal justice, English, music, geography, history, political science and more.

The minor is offered by the Department of Gender, Race and Identity in the College of Liberal Arts. The department offers degree programs that explore inequality and social justice to prepare graduates for careers in public advocacy, politics, education and more.

Professors in the Department of Gender, Race and Identity represent a variety of academic disciplines and bring an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research that focuses on better understanding the diverse range of human experiences.

Take the next step

Start an application

Admissions information

Visit campus

Careers with a minor in ethnic studies

Thanks to its flexible curriculum, a minor in ethnic studies can prepare you for a number of career paths, depending on your major and the courses you choose to take.

If you specialize your coursework around a particular topic, such as literature and the arts or history, you can prepare for a career working in those fields in a job such as education. If you focus your coursework around a particular ethnic group, you might find work as a community organizer, advocate or civil servant.

Because the minor in ethnic studies emphasizes understanding diverse racial and ethnic groups, it can also be a good complement to a major in business or communications that involves working with people from a wide range of backgrounds. Additionally, as a liberal arts student, you'll gain skills in close reading and textual analysis, written and oral communication, and critical thinking that can be applied to almost any job.

The minor in ethnic studies also provides a strong foundation for graduate school, where you might go on to study a professional subject like law or continue your studies in a related field such as English, history, political science or sociology.

You can afford the 91ԭƬ

76% of students receive financial aid

Almost everyone is eligible to receive some kind of aid. We offer need-based and merit-based forms of financial aid to help you afford college.

54% of all students graduate with no debt

That's right. More than half of our students leave the 91ԭƬ with no student debt.

Related programs

Anthropology, B.A.

Gender, Race and Identity, B.A.

International Affairs, B.A.

Sociology

Life's a journey. Honors makes it meaningful.

At the 91ԭƬ Honors College, our students maximize their unique gifts and passions through a series of personalized experiences that deepen their capacity for transformative societal impact.

Visit the Honors College

Four honors students standing near Manzanita Lake; one is holding a soccer ball.

91ԭƬ