American Studies is the interdisciplinary study of the United States and all its local, national, and global contexts. Drawing from a variety of content areas and methodologies, American Studies focuses on particular American moments, places, and ideas in order to pursue questions, such as “What is American culture? What does it mean to be American? Who, What, and Where is ‘American’?” And what is at stake when we ask these questions? The degree program is designed to provide students with the rigorous interdisciplinary training necessary to transfer into baccalaureate programs in not only American Studies, but related fields as well, such as English, History, Political Science, Education, Sociology, Anthropology, and others. Students with degrees in American Studies have found jobs in a wide variety of fields such as publishing, education, communications, government, public service, public relations, marketing, management, law, and social welfare, to name a few.
- Students will understand the methods, goals, and value of an interdisciplinary investigation of American history, ideology, culture and discourse.
- Students will be acquainted with themes and questions commonly addressed in the field of American Studies and understand how they arise from and inform particular historical and cultural moments.
- Students will be prepared to move on to a more extensive program of American Studies and/or related fields such as History, American Literature, or Political Science.
In addition to Great Bay transfer credit policies, Liberal Arts and Science courses will be considered for transfer regardless of when they were taken as long as they meet minimum grade requirements. See individual department policies for program exceptions on general education requirements. In the case of English and math course transfers, it may be recommended that the student take portions of the Accuplacer Placement Test to demonstrate the skill level required for success in subsequent classes within the program.
Transfer of a course to this institution does not guarantee transfer of that same course to subsequent institutions. SAT testing may be required by some transfer institutions.
Degree Program First Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Degree Program Second Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Curriculum Recommendations
It is recommended that students make Lab Science, Math, Humanities/Foreign Language/Fine Arts, and Social Science Elective choices based upon particular 4-year colleges’ transfer requirements and general education cores.
It is recommended to take AMER110G Introduction to American Studies, and ENGL110G College Composition I in the first semester.