Program Description

The Department of Ethnic Studies is central to the university's commitment "to educational excellence for a diverse society." It offers a major, minors, and courses that are interdisciplinary in nature and provide a holistic approach to the study of the United States' multiracial, multicultural, and multigender immigrant society. The department's faculty provide areas of study that integrate social science and literary theory, as well as anthropological and sociological concepts within a historical and humanistic perspective. The underlying goal of Ethnic Studies is to provide a better understanding of diversity in American culture and thought.
 
The Ethnic Studies major consists of a core of Ethnic Studies courses, support courses in other departments in the university, and Options in African American, Asian American, Genders and Sexualities in Communities of Color, Latino/a, and Native American Studies.. The curriculum is multidisciplinary as well as interdisciplinary. The major helps the student qualify for graduate work in social sciences, law, and humanities, and for work in municipal, state, and federal government. Of equal importance are the advantages the major provides to work in community service organizations concerned with opportunities and problems of various ethnic and racial groups.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students graduating with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from Cal State East Bay will: 1) demonstrate an understanding of the historical and contemporary experiences of American ethnic minorities as racialized people in the United States; 2) demonstrate a heightened awareness, understanding, and tolerance for racial, gender, and cultural diversity; including an awareness of the importance of structuring work environments that mirror the racial, ethnic, gender, and cultural diversity of service populations; and an ability to engage people from all backgrounds and cultures in informed discussions about ethnicity and ethical issues; 3) demonstrate a knowledge of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary models of analysis, and the ability to apply these models to past and contemporary racial and ethnicity issues; 4) demonstrate a comparative knowledge of the ways in which migrant and immigrants minority groups adjust to U.S. society and the factors that contributed to and/or hindered their success.