Bachelor of Arts in American Studies Degree
American Studies constitutes a multidisciplinary program for the exploration of the past, present, and future of the United States. It brings together faculty and students from a variety of disciplines to compare and to exchange knowledge about the American experience. The program offers a rich, rigorous approach combining intellectual insights from literature, history, sociology, political science, and other social sciences and humanities. Rather than limiting majors to a single department's offerings, the program allows students the freedom to complete courses in a variety of traditional disciplines.
Majors develop critical thinking skills that allow them not only to pursue rewarding careers but also to act as responsible citizens of the 21st Century. By fostering a diverse and dynamic academic journey that reaches across disciplinary boundaries into a wide range of perspectives on the American experience, the Program encourages its students to develop intellectual resources that will sustain them in a wide variety of careers and avocations. Students may continue their study through graduate work in American Studies or pursue careers in law, business, teaching and museum fields. An American Studies degree is particularly appropriate for students planning careers in law, communication, government, social work and journalism.
Because the United States is a nation held together by different and often conflicting stories of nationhood, the American Studies major is designed to create dialogue about the multiple ways in which these stories are told. The American Studies major demands that students develop and refine their own theories and assumptions through reflective practices on the contested meaning of America's stories. It describes the stories of America in different modes - written and electronic, verbal and nonverbal, visual and auditory. Most of all, it promotes an understanding of the American experience using the approaches and methods of a variety of disciplines.
Department:
Degree Requirements:
| A. | General Education Requirements | 38-41 sem. hrs | ||
| Ethics Course Requirement | 3 hrs | |||
| PHIL 330 |  | Ethics | ||
| B. | Foreign Language Requirement | 6 sem. hrs | ||
| C. | Multicultural Requirement | 3 sem. hrs | ||
| (Courses from this list are noted in the major requirements below with an asterisk.) | ||||
| D. | Core Requirements | 30 sem. hrs | ||
| (All courses must be completed with a grade of C or higher. Courses in the major cannot be taken as Pass/Fail.) | ||||
| AMST 280 | | (POSC 280) American Political and Social Thought | 3 hrs | |
| AMST 490 | | American Studies Senior Seminar | 3 hrs | |
| ECON 293* | | Macroeconomics* | 3 hrs | |
| ENGL 241 | | American Literature I | 3 hrs | |
| ENGL 242 | | American Literature II | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 121 | | American History to 1877 | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 122 | | American History Since 1877 | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 111 | | American National Government | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 215 | | State and Local Government | 3 hrs | |
| SOCI 270* | | (ANTH 270) Minority Cultures and Relations* | 3 hrs | |
| E. | Electives | 24 sem. hrs | ||
| At least 21 hours of the electives must be at the 300-400 level. Transfer credit may be applied but must explicitly contain ''American,'' ''United States,'' or ''U.S.'' in the title. At least two elective courses must be completed in each of the following clusters: | ||||
| AMERICAN HISTORY CLUSTER | ||||
| ENVS 352 | | (HIST 352) American Environmental History | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 312 | | Twentieth Century American Diplomatic History | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 321 | | History of Modern U.S. | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 342 | | American Civil War | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 350 | | American Revolution | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 362 | | History of the American West | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 370 | | American Military History | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 371 | | (MGMT 371) History of American Business | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 372* | | American Indian History* | 3 hrs | |
| HIST 373 | | (WMST 373) Women and Gender in American History | 3 hrs | |
| AMERICAN GOVERNMENT CLUSTER: | ||||
| ENVS 312 | | (POSC 312) Environmental Politics | 3 hrs | |
| MGMT 311 | | (POSC 311) Public Administration and Policy | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 315 | | American Public Policy | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 330 | | Media and Politics | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 332 | | The American Presidency | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 340 | | Judicial Process | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 350 | | Legislative Process | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 360 | | U.S. Foreign Policy | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 361 | | American Political Parties | 3 hrs | |
| POSC 440 | | Constitutional Law | 3 hrs | |
| AMERICAN CULTURE CLUSTER: | ||||
| AMST 375 | | (SOCI 375) American Social Movements | 3 hrs | |
| ARTS 406 | | American Art History | 3 hrs | |
| COMM 214 | | Mass Communication in Society | 3 hrs | |
| ENGL 450* | | Minority and Ethnic Literature of the United States | 3 hrs | |
| HUMS 365 | | (SOCI 365) American Social Policy | 3 hrs | |
| MUSI 323 | | Music of the United States | 3 hrs | |
| SOCI 216 | | American Social Problems | 3 hrs | |
| SOCI 230 | | Sociology of Sports | 3 hrs | |
| SOCI 310 | | (WMST 310) Women and Society | 3 hrs | |
| SOCI 401 | | The American Community | 3 hrs | |
| F. | Other Electives | 10-19 sem. hrs | ||
| Students are encouraged to use the remaining semester hours to earn a minor in one of the academic areas listed for the major or in an area related to American Studies. | ||||
| 120 sem. hrs | ||||
Locations
The Bachelor of Arts in American Studies degree is available at the following locations:| Main Campus, Day Program | |
| Main Campus, Evening Program | |
| Online Campus | |
|
Kansas City, MO Lake of the Ozarks, MO Rolla, MO |
Fort Worth, TX NS Everett - Marysville, WA Whidbey Island, WA |