College of Ethnic Studies

College of Ethnic Studies

The College of Ethnic Studies offers undergraduate degrees¹ in the following disciplines:

Bachelor of Arts

Asian American Studies 22996
Black Studies 22111
La Raza Studies 22131

The college also offers the following minors which may be taken in conjunction with any major.

American Indian Studies
Asian American Studies
Black Studies
La Raza Studies

The College of Ethnic Studies offers the following graduate degree:¹

Master of Arts

Asian American Studies 22996
Ethnic Studies 22991

The College of Ethnic Studies was established in the Fall of 1969 through the efforts of many dedicated and concerned students, faculty, and community members. Faculty and students representing four major racial groups--African American, Latino American, Asian American, and American Indian--laid the conceptual institutional foundations for a unique educational program that redefined their particular cultures from their own perspectives for the first time in the United States. Not only were the first Black, La Raza, American Indian, and Asian American Studies Departments in the country established, these departments were successfully united into an administrative unit within San Francisco State University that is, to date, the only College of Ethnic Studies in the nation.

The San Francisco State University reaccreditation report praised the status of the College of Ethnic Studies as the national leader in the development of scholarship on race and ethnicity. It also recognized the important role that the college plays in the lack of significant racial turmoil on the campus.

The programs within the College of Ethnic Studies provide a unique educational experience by presenting a curriculum that places a strong emphasis on the historical and philosophical impact of the cultures of Black, Latino, Asian American, and American Indian peoples and their many varied contributions to the history and culture of the United States.

The American Indian Studies program offers course work leading to a minor designed to give students knowledge and understanding of the histories, cultures, and perspectives of traditional and contemporary Native American Indians. The Asian American Studies Department offers a major and minor for students who wish to pursue a comprehensive program of study on the Asian American experience. Requirements in Asian American history, literature and the arts, gender, and family and communities will provide students with a broad range of knowledge of the diverse Asian American population. Black Studies majors and minors are exposed through an integrated liberal arts course of study on the history and development of the African American and global community. By offering a balanced and multidisciplinary curriculum, students will develop self-knowledge and critical skills that will assist them to serve as agents of awareness and change in their communities. La Raza Studies majors and minors are exposed to classes that provide cultural, historical, and social knowledge relevant to the Latino American experience. They provide the student with a better understanding of the La Raza economic, cultural, and social heritage and prepares students for careers and professions requiring expertise on different aspects of the La Raza experience.

In addition to the four programs of American Indian Studies, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, and La Raza Studies, the college has recently developed a more extensive college-wide curriculum consisting of courses encompassing issues relevant to all four ethnic groups. These offerings are identified as course offerings designed to meet the needs of students who wish to complete their General Education; who will be teaching Ethnic Studies subjects in elementary, secondary, community, and college level institutions; or who wish to gain a thorough understanding of Third World Peoples and their communities and combine this with professional and vocational skills in such areas as business, social welfare, law, medicine, and the arts.

The Master of Arts in Asian American Studies is designed to provide students with an advanced and critical knowledge of the diverse Asian American population through disciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiries and analyses of Asian American history, literature and the arts, gender, and family studies as well as community studies.

The Master of Arts in Ethnic Studies, established in 1988, is designed to increase a student's knowledge and understanding of the experiences of people of color. The program provides scholarly training in the analysis of historical and contemporary social issues which impinge on these experiences; and the program develops in the student a sound capacity to plan and evaluate policies aimed at the resolution of these issues. The focus is upon Asian Americans, Blacks, La Raza, and American Indian people, cultures, and societies.

The theoretical and conceptual tools of several disciplines are critically utilized within the framework of a Third World perspective. The program applies this approach to instruction, research, and community involvement. Interaction occurs with the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area communities of color and with students throughout the program.

The program is designed to prepare individuals for advanced graduate work leading to the doctorate, for professional roles in teaching, research, and administration within both the public and private sectors. It is the only master's degree program in ethnic studies in the nation.

¹The numbers following the degrees are used by this university to identify the programs indicated. These numbers must be used on the application for admission, registration forms, application for graduation, etc.