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, and Latino 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 department 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 (overall and in the major) are encouraged to register for SCA-UA 92 Senior Honors Seminar in the spring semester of their junior year. Upon successful completion of the seminar requirement, students will be eligible to register for SCA-UA 93 Senior Honors Thesis for two semesters in which they will work with their advisers to complete their research and writing. For more information on the honors program, please visit the department's Honors Program website.
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 Social and Cultural Analysis 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.
Select six designated social and cultural analysis electives5
24
Other Elective Credits
40
Total Credits
128
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.
6
Formerly Approaches to Metropolitan Studies (SCA-UA 601).
Sample Plan of Study
Plan of Study Grid
1st Semester/Term
Credits
Select one of the following (see footnote below):1
Select one of the following: CORE-UA 529 Cultures & Contexts: Contemporary Latino Cultures OR CORE-UA 534 Cultures & Contexts: The Black Atlantic OR CORE-UA 539 Cultures & Contexts: Asian / Pacific / American Cultures OR SCA-UA 230 Intersect: Race, Gender, & Sexuality in U.S. Hist OR SCA-UA 747 Introduction to Native American and Indigenous Studies: The Politics of Indigeneity OR URBS-UA 102 The City (Formerly SCA-UA 601 Approaches to Metropolitan Studies).
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have developed:
Critical thinking tools for the analysis of social, cultural, and political formations.
Familiarity with theories for the study of race, class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, space, and nation.
Proficiency in written and oral communication.
The ability to produce original research on topics relevant to the major using textual/literary, archival, ethnographic, and/or quantitative research methods.
Engagement and familiarity with primary texts in Social and Cultural Analysis.
Policies
Program Policies
Policies Applying to the Major
Students who choose from among CORE-UA 529 Cultures & Contexts: Contemporary Latino Cultures, CORE-UA 534 Cultures & Contexts: The Black Atlantic, or CORE-UA 539 Cultures & Contexts: Asian/Pacific/American Cultures as their second required introductory course should select one linked to the student’s area of focus. These CORE-UA classes must be taught by SCA faculty. Completion of any of these three courses satisfies the Core Cultures and Contexts requirement.
For students who choose URBS-UA 102 The City as their second required introductory course, completion of the course satisfies the Core Societies and Social Sciences requirement.
Of the six required designated social and cultural analysis electives, at least four of these courses must be taught by SCA faculty. One language course can count as a major elective if taught by SCA faculty.
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.