Ethnic Studies

Undergraduate Program

Introduction to the Major

Ethnic Studies is the interdisciplinary and intersectional study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color within and beyond the United States. We offer classes that engage the art, literature, politics, history, social movements, and lived experiences of racialized populations.

The Department of Ethnic Studies offers a major and minor in Ethnic Studies as well as Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies, Chicanx and Latinx Studies, and Native American Studies. Along with African American Studies, we offer a Summer Minor in Race and Law.

The Major Curriculum 

The major in Ethnic Studies provides a core curriculum designed to develop an understanding of the experiences and communities of African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanx/Latinxs, and Native Americans. Along with four lower division courses, students will complete eight upper division courses and have the opportunity to select elective courses from related departments. 

All students in the department are required to satisfy four units of 197 field study doing community service work with organizations and programs that engage and support underrepresented communities on campus and in the surrounding community.

Amplify Your Major

Ethnic Studies—the histories, perspectives, insights, and analysis we bring to a whole range of subjects­—is absolutely necessary to becoming an educated and informed member of society.
Juana María Rodríguez, Professor

Four-Year Student Timeline

First Year

Explore Your Major

Connect and Build Community

Discover Your Passions

Engage Locally and Globally

Reflect and Plan Your Future

Second Year

Explore Your Major

  • Satisfy two additional elective courses if you have not done so already.
  • Complete the three lower division prerequisites and meet with your major advisor to declare the major.
  • Review major guidelines for study abroad.

Connect and Build Community

Discover Your Passions

Engage Locally and Globally

Reflect and Plan Your Future

Third Year

Explore Your Major

  • Focus on upper division requirements and electives.
  • Enroll in methods courses ETH STD 101A or ETH STDS 101B.
  • Review your degree progress with your major and college advisors.
  • Ask a major advisor about the Ethnic Studies honors program.

Connect and Build Community

Discover Your Passions

Engage Locally and Globally

  • Experience life at another UC or college on a visitor and exchange program
  • Study and intern in Washington D.C. with UCDC or Cal in the Capital
  • Enrich your studies with a Summer Abroad course (CHICANO N180) in Barcelona, Spain or Mexico City, Mexico.

Reflect and Plan Your Future

  • Update your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • Discuss post-graduate options with advisors and professors.
  • Attend career and graduate school fairs like the “Nonprofit, Education, and Public Service Career Fair.”
  • Ask professors and graduate student instructors for recommendation letters.

Fourth Year

Explore Your Major

  • Do a degree check to ensure you are on track to graduate.
  • Complete any “bucket list” courses and remaining major, college, and campus requirements
  • Satisfy the 197 field study requirement if you haven’t done so already.
  • Enroll in ETH STD 190 “Advanced Seminar in Comparative Ethnic Studies.”

Connect and Build Community

Discover Your Passions

Engage Locally and Globally

Reflect and Plan Your Future

What Can I Do With My Major?

Students in the Ethnic Studies Program gain skills that prepare them for careers in a variety of fields, including teaching (K-12, community college and 4-year universities), counseling, law, journalism, marketing, community and housing development, radio and television, health and medicine, culture and arts, community and union organizing, social work, and positions in federal, state, and local governments as well as those at the city and county levels.

Jobs and Employers

  • Account Associate, Accenture
  • Asst. Production Manager, Kaiser
  • Business Dev. Consultant, Oracle Corp 
  • College Adviser, UC Berkeley 
  • Law Clerk, Booth and Koskoff Law Offices
  • Project Specialist, UCSF
  • Retention Specialist, SMCCD
  • Teacher, Lick Wilmerding High School

Graduate Programs

  • Counseling, Masters
  • City and Regional Planning, Masters
  • Data Science, Masters
  • Education, Masters, PhD
  • Law, JD
  • Medicine, MD
  • Public Administration, Masters
  • Public Health, Masters
  • Public Policy, Masters
  • Social Work, Masters

Examples gathered from the First Destination Survey of recent Berkeley graduates and the Ethnic Studies Department.

Learn More

Connect With Us

Cal Day

Come to Berkeley’s annual Open House in April for information sessions, campus tours, special talks, and more.

Golden Bear Orientation

Join your peers in the campus-wide UC Berkeley orientation program for all new students.

Events

Attend department events with students, staff, and faculty. Visit ethnicstudies.berkeley.edu for news and updates.

Advising

Students can contact the major advisors to schedule appointments or ask questions by emailing Laura Jimenez-Olvera at lauraj@berkeley.edu or Dewey St. Germaine at deweystg@berkeley.edu

Advising Hours

Monday - Friday, 9:30-11:30am, 1:30-4pm.

How to Use this Map

Use this map to help plan and guide your experience at UC Berkeley, including academic, co-curricular, and discovery opportunities. Everyone’s Berkeley experience is different and activities in this map are suggestions. Always consult with your advisors whenever possible for new opportunities and updates.