Area of Emphasis

This interdisciplinary major is designed to provide students with an integrated understanding of American society, history, and culture. More than 300 colleges and universities in the United States offer American Studies programs. They approach American culture from many directions but have in common the desire to view the United States as a whole rather than from the perspective of a single discipline. Students who have graduated from four-year universities with American Studies degrees have gone onto work as lawyers, librarians, business leaders, writers, archivists, researchers, teachers, and politicians.

Program Level Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

1. Apply perspectives from a variety of disciplines to develop an understanding of American culture, past and present, and its impact upon both the peoples of the United States and those outside its borders.
2. Critically evaluate historical sources, literature, art, film, music, or other types of cultural or intellectual expressions in terms of their relevance to the American experience.

Associate Degree Requirements

Unit Requirement

Complete at least 60 units of acceptable college work with a minimum of 12 units completed in residence at Coastline. Earn an overall grade point average of 2.0 or higher from all colleges attended and a 2.0 or higher grade point average at Coastline.

*Students must be in good academic standing (not on probation and/or disqualification) during the semester graduation is petitioned.

Program of Study

Complete the required courses in one of the programs as detailed In the Requirements for the Major section of this catalog. All coursework must be completed with a grade of C or higher.

General Education

Complete one of the three General Education options below (visit the General Education page for details):

Option 1 — AA/AS Local Degree GE: designed for students pursuing an Associate degree and who may or may not be planning to transfer to a four-year university. The degree is transferable to many colleges and universities.

Option 2—CSU GE Breadth: designed for students who are planning to transfer to a university in the CSU system. It may also be appropriate for transfer to some independent colleges and universities.

Option 3—IGETC: designed for students who are planning to transfer to a university in the CSU or UC system. It also may be appropriate for transfer to some independent colleges and universities.

Global and Multicultural Studies Requirement

Complete at least 2.5 units from any Global and Multicultural Studies courses. See what courses fulfill the Global and Multicultural Studies Requirement.

Course List Units

Course	Title	Units
Required Core
Select a minimum of 18 units from at least five different disciplines:		18
ART C102	Contemporary Art History
CMST C100	Interpersonal Communication
CMST C101	Fundamentals of Human Communication
CMST C110	Public Speaking
CMST C150	Intercultural Communication
ECON C110	Economic Issues and Policy
ENGL C145	American Literature: The Short Story
ENGL C150	American Literature through the Civil War
ENGL C155	American Literature 1865 to Present
GEOG C150	California Geography
GERO C240	Aging in a Multicultural Society
HIST C121	History of American Women
ETHS C122	Chicano History
or HIST C122	Chicano History
ETHS C123	History of Ethnic Minorities in the United States
or HIST C123	History of Ethnic Minorities in the United States
HIST C150	History of California
HIST C155	The American West
HIST C170	United States History to 1876
HIST C175	United States History since 1876
ETHS C106	Cultural Diversity in Human Services
or HSVC C106	Cultural Diversity in Human Services
HUM C135	History and Appreciation of the Cinema
MCOM C100	Introduction to Mass Communications
MUS C139	History of Rock Music
MUS C143	History of Jazz
PHIL C120	Ethics
PSCI C101	Survey of Current Issues
PSCI C160	Law and Democracy
PSCI C180	American Government
SOC C110	Dating, Relationships, and Marriage
SOC C185	Analysis of Social Problems
ETHS C233	Racial and Ethnic Relations in America
or SOC C233	Racial and Ethnic Relations in America
Units Required for Major		18
Local General Education, CSU General Education, or IGETC pattern		Varies
Electives to satisfy unit requirement		Varies
Total Units		60