Liberal Arts and Area Studies

An interest in Liberal Arts and Area Studies can lead to a wide range of UCSC majors: classical studies, critical race and ethnic studies, feminist studies, history, history of art and visual culture, Jewish studies, language studies, Latin American and Latino studies, philosophy, and Spanish studies. Fundamental skills for these majors include critical reading skills and analytical writing abilities. Study of a language other than English is required for some majors in this cluster. In addition to the college core course, first quarter UCSC students enroll in two or more lower-division courses (1 - 99), for a total of 15-19 credits, their first term.

INITIAL PLACEMENT

Students in this cluster may need to take the following placement exams online, or during Fall Welcome Week:

  • Language – the following majors in this cluster require that you study and/or acquire proficiency in a second language: classical studies, Jewish studies, language studies, Latin American and Latino studies (language intensive concentration), and Spanish studies. Review information on the Language and Applied Linguistics website to determine whether you need language placement. Please note that many level 1 language courses are offered only in fall.

GETTING STARTED IN THE MAJOR GUIDES

RELATED MAJORS

Latin American & Latino Studies can also be pursued as part of the following combined majors:

Latin American and Latino Studies
Program Advisor, lals@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2119
32 Merrill College Academic Building
https://lals.ucsc.edu

CONTACT INFORMATION

Classical Studies
Program Advisor, historyundergrad@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2982
201 Humanities 1
https://classicalstudies.ucsc.edu

Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Program Advisor, cres@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2920
415 Humanities 1
https://cres.ucsc.edu

Feminist Studies
Program Advisor, aeickelb@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-1478
415 Humanities 1
https://feministstudies.ucsc.edu

History
Program Advisor, historyundergrad@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2982
201 Humanities 1
https://history.ucsc.edu

History of Art and Visual Culture
Program Advisor, havc@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-4564
D-201 Porter College
https://havc.ucsc.edu

Jewish Studies
Program Advisor, historyundergrad@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2982
201 Humanities 1
https://jewishstudies.ucsc.edu

Language Studies
Program Advisor, ling@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-4988
241 Stevenson College
https://linguistics.ucsc.edu/

Latin American and Latino Studies
Program Advisor, lals@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2119
32 Merrill College Academic Building
https://lals.ucsc.edu

Philosophy
Program Advisor, (831) 459-2070
Cowell 220
https://philosophy.ucsc.edu

Spanish Studies
Program Advisor, languages@ucsc.edu, (831) 459-2054
218 Cowell College
https://language.ucsc.edu

Last updated 6/2024