Social and Cultural Analysis (BA)

Program Description

The Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (SCA) is interdisciplinary in nature, integrating topics from the humanities with methodologies from the social sciences. SCA houses the programs in Africana studies, American studies, Asian/Pacific/American studies, gender and sexuality studies, Latino studies, and metropolitan studies. Students who major in social and cultural analysis choose courses from these program areas in SCA and create an individualized concentration.

Students have the opportunity to combine cutting-edge scholarship with real world practice. The department’s faculty and students explore the range of relationships between human collectivities on the one hand and institutions and structures of power on the other, taking into account how these relationships are affected by such modern global developments as intensified urbanization, increased transnational exchange, and proliferating diasporic populations.

Language and Linguistic Competency

The type of rigorous intercultural study promoted within the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis requires students to recognize the complex modes of communication at work both within and across different social groups. The department therefore strongly encourages its students to develop advanced skills in language and linguistics by any of the following means: taking elective courses in sociolinguistics; studying a language other than English beyond the minimum level required by the College of Arts and Science (especially one germane to the department's fields of study); pursuing community-based internship fieldwork necessitating the development and use of specific language skills; or undertaking study or research abroad in contexts entailing the exercise of key language or linguistic capabilities.

Honors Program

Majors who have completed 48 credits of graded work in CAS and have a 3.65 GPA or higher (both overall and in the major) are encouraged to register for SCA-UA 92 Senior Honors Seminar in the fall semester of their senior year. Upon successful completion of the seminar requirement, students will be eligible to register for SCA-UA 93 Senior Honors Thesis in the spring. Information about the honors program can be found at sca.as.nyu.edu/object/sca.related.honors.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU.  For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply. 

Program Requirements

The major requires nine 4-credit courses (36 credits) completed with a grade of C or better (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count) as outlined below.

¹

The foreign language requirement is satisfied upon successful completion through the Intermediate level of a language. This may be accomplished in fewer than 16 credits, but those credits must then be completed as elective credit.

²

Linked to the student’s area of focus (CORE-UA classes must be taught by SCA faculty).

³

Completion of this course satisfies the Core Cultures and Contexts requirement.

⁴

Completion of this course satisfies the Core Societies and Social Sciences requirement.

⁵

Four of which must be taught by SCA faculty. One language course can count as an elective if taught by SCA faculty.

Sample Plan of Study

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have developed:

1. Critical thinking tools for the analysis of social, cultural, and political formations.
2. Familiarity with theories for the study of race, class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, space, and nation.
3. Proficiency in written and oral communication.
4. The ability to produce original research on topics relevant to the major using textual/literary, archival, ethnographic, and/or quantitative research methods.
5. Engagement and familiarity with primary texts in Social and Cultural Analysis.

Policies

Program Policies

Double Counting of Courses

Majors

Majors may share (double count) two courses with a second major, with permission from the other department/program.

Minors

Minors may share (double count) one course with a major or a second minor, with permission from the other department/program.

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

College of Arts and Science Policies

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.