Critical Race and Ethnic Studies B.A.

Information and Policies

Introduction

The B.A. program in critical race and ethnic studies (CRES) offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that enables majors to study the history of race and racialization both in the United States and across the globe and to learn how structures of race and racism have changed over time. By approaching race as a major ideological framework through which practices of power and domination as well as struggles for liberation and self-determination have been articulated and enacted throughout modern history and in the contemporary moment, our majors develop a deep understanding of how race and other modalities of power have informed the imagination and trajectory of social transformation and justice in the past and the present. The study of race in CRES yields critical insights into the social, political, cultural, and economic processes that have defined and shaped the modern era—colonialism, slavery, conquest, displacement, genocide, warfare, migration, creolization, criminalization, imprisonment, disenfranchisement, globalization, racial profiling, and post-9/11 security state policies. CRES engages with queer and feminist critique, decolonial thought, and analysis of labor in challenging asymmetrical and exploitative power relations, not only illuminating how race, racism, and racialization are socially reproduced in societies structured by dominance, but also fostering emergent and contestatory forms of knowledge and praxis. A commitment to structural transformation is grounded in intersectional approaches to difference (race, class, gender, sexuality, and caste) and defines the work we do.

The CRES major allows students flexibility at the upper-division level to design an interdisciplinary course of study that enables a general overview of areas of interest, while selecting electives from multiple areas of specific research and career interests. Alternatively, they can engage deeply with a key area of focus, taking a number of courses in a particular area in order to develop expertise in it. For example, they may wish to focus on a social group (e.g., members of the African diaspora), on a discipline (e.g., history), on a social phenomenon (e.g., social movements), or on a methodological or theoretical orientation (e.g., theories of race, gender, and sexuality).

Through immersion in a program of study that is multidisciplinary, comparative, and transnational in scope, CRES majors develop a critical perspective on race, racial relations, and racial justice in the United States and beyond. CRES also helps students develop skills in critical thinking, comparative analysis, the application of social theory, research, communication, and writing so that they can act effectively in an ever-changing, complex, and culturally diverse world. A student with a bachelor’s degree in CRES will be well prepared for employment and continuing educational opportunities in the humanities, social sciences, law, medicine/public health, education, and international affairs and strongly positioned to pursue careers in the private, public, and non-profit sectors.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the CRES major should emerge with the following skills, competencies, and knowledge:

Critical Frameworks

• Demonstrate deep knowledge of historical, contemporary, and intersectional perspectives on race and ethnicity.
• Demonstrate familiarity with different disciplinary methods applied to race and ethnicity.
• Demonstrate a critical perspective on institutional power and knowledge.

Communication

• Demonstrate ability to account for other people’s arguments, to formulate one’s own arguments, and to locate both arguments in the larger context of the field.
• Demonstrate ability to formulate an argument in alternative media, such as speech, audiovisual, digital, and other forms of non-written communication.
• Demonstrate writing effectively in the interdisciplinary field.

Research

• Demonstrate ability to design and implement a collaborative research project.
• Demonstrate ability to design and implement an independent research project.

Community Collaboration, Engagement, and Activism

• Demonstrate an understanding of the issues, ethics, and methods surrounding activist, collaborative, and community-based research projects.
• Demonstrate an understanding of collaborative knowledge that effectively integrates theoretical and experiential thinking about social justice.

Academic Advising for the Program

Email: cres@ucsc.edu
Phone: (831) 459-4246

CRES advising is held in Humanities 1, room 403 or via Zoom. Drop-in hours are posted on the CRES website. Students can make an appointment by using the Slug Success application found under Resources in their student portal (MyUCSC).

Transfer students should consult the Transfer Student Information and Policy section for specific requirements.

Getting Started in the Major: Frosh

This major is not highly sequential or course intensive. Students are encouraged to begin taking courses toward the major in their first year. To declare the CRES major, students are required to have completed CRES 10, or any 5-credit CRES-designated course with a passing grade (C or P) or better. (Please see the section "How to Declare a Major" for details.) All requirements of the major can be completed within two years. Although it is advisable to begin taking courses toward the major in the first year, it is not required.

Transfer Information and Policy

Transfer Admission Screening Policy

No major preparation courses are required prior to transfer; however, prospective students are strongly encouraged to complete the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) or to complete all University of California, Santa Cruz, general education requirements before matriculation. Students who did not list CRES on their application are welcome to pursue the major.

Getting Started in the Major: Transfer Students

Transfer students are encouraged to declare the major and enroll in CRES 10 as soon as possible to be assured entrance into the required core courses. Transfer students are encouraged to take advantage of the Summer Session offering of CRES 10 to jump-start their academic career. In exceptional circumstances, transfer students may substitute an equivalent course with the approval of the department chair or undergraduate director. Students are recommended to make an advising appointment as soon as possible to plan their academic career.

Although rigorous, CRES major requirements are not numerous, and with guidance from a CRES advisor, they can easily be met during two years of study. The university also permits limited double-counting of upper-division electives, thus making possible for transfer students the pursuit of a double major in CRES and another field of study.

If you have completed prior college-level coursework in ethnic studies, American studies, or a similar field of study, please contact CRES advising as soon as possible and provide a copy of your unofficial transcript and course syllabi so the coursework can be reviewed for potential fulfillment of CRES major requirements. The CRES Department will consider, upon petition, which UC-transferable courses from other institutions are acceptable.

Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process

Major Qualification

To declare the CRES major, students are required to have completed any 5-credit CRES-designated course with a passing grade (C or P) or better. CRES 10 is recommended. Exam credit awarding equivalency to CRES-designated courses may also satisfy this requirement. Courses cross-listed with CRES-designated courses are also accepted. Transfer students should consult the Transfer and Information Policy section above.

Appeal Process

A student may file an appeal with the CRES advisor within 15 days of the denial of major declaration. The CRES Department will notify the student and the college of the decision within 15 days of the receipt of the appeal.

How to Declare a Major

Students may declare the major by logging into MyUCSC and clicking the link to submit the Petition for Major/Minors to the department advisor. The major declaration should include a plan to complete CRES 10, CRES 100, and CRES 101 at the next possible opportunity. Students must complete all requirements for the major with a grade of P, C (2.0), or better.

Per campus policy, students must submit their major declaration no later than the third quarter of their sophomore year or, in the case of transfer students, no later than the second quarter of their junior year.

CRES welcomes students who are pursuing more than one major. If you are planning to declare a double major or major/minor program, each major advisor will need to approve your academic planner. Please follow the declaration protocol for each major before submitting the declaration of major petition on MyUCSC.

Letter Grade Policy

CRES does not have a letter grade policy outside of the university's letter grade policy.

Course Substitution Policy

CRES is an interdisciplinary major that includes courses taught by faculty in other departments (see the Electives section below for a list of approved courses). Students who wish to substitute a course not on the electives list should complete the Petition for Course Credit form available on the CRES website. A maximum of two courses may be petitioned for credit.

Double Majors and Major/Minor Combinations Policy

The CRES major works very well as a double major with numerous fields of study such as anthropology; community studies; creative writing; feminist studies; film and digital media; education; environmental studies; history; history of art and visual culture; legal studies; linguistics; languages; literature; music; performance, play, and design; politics; sociology; and more.

Study Abroad

The CRES major's flexible requirements encourage students to enroll in study abroad. The Campus Credit Abroad resource shows the types of credit UC students have earned through the program (e.g., major, minor, GE, elective credits).

Honors

CRES awards honors and highest honors in the major. Students are considered for honors and highest honors based on their cumulative GPA, calculated from grades earned in coursework and the senior exit requirement undertaken for completion of the major. For honors, students must earn a minimum GPA of 3.70 in the relevant courses, while for highest honors, the GPA must be 3.90 or higher. Writing a thesis is not a requirement for receiving honors or highest honors.

Requirements and Planners

Course Requirements

To graduate with a major in CRES, a student is required to complete 10 courses with the approval of the department. Some courses may be satisfied via exam credit.

Lower-Division Courses

The lower-division curriculum consists of one foundation course (CRES 10) and one lower-division CRES elective.

Take the following course

Plus one of the following lower-division electives:

The lower-division elective may count toward the transnational and/or social movements requirement, as outlined in the upper-division elective section below.

One elective should be a lower-division CRES elective. Students, may satisfy the lower-division elective requirement with an additional upper-division, however it must be a CRES designated course or cross-listed with a CRES course.

Upper-Division Courses

The upper-division curriculum consists of eight courses. This includes two core courses, five upper-division electives, and one senior comprehensive course.

Take the following courses:

Plus Five Upper-Division Electives:

Students must complete five upper-division electives. These courses are chosen from the General Electives, Transnational, and Social Movements lists on the CRES B.A. Electives List page. Students may also take additional senior comprehensive courses to count as upper-division electives. Among the lower-division and upper-division elective courses taken:

• Two must be from the Transnational list,
• One must be from the Social Movements list, and
• One must be an upper-division CRES course. This course may overlap with the transnational or social movements course. Courses which are cross-listed with a CRES course may also count toward this requirement.

One class may count toward both the Transnational and Social Movement requirements, however, a total of five upper-division electives must still be completed.

The course used to satisfy the senior comprehensive will not count as one of the five upper-division electives, however additional courses taken will. Senior comprehensive courses do not count toward the transnational or social movements requirements.

For current offerings, please visit the CRES course page.

Students are encouraged to supplement their upper-division coursework with language study, internships, and individual or group independent studies. Students may petition to have up to 10 credits (two courses) of such activities substituted for upper-division elective requirements, so long as these activities serve, or do not interfere with, the breadth requirements.

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement

Students of every major must satisfy that major’s upper-division disciplinary communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement in CRES is satisfied by the following course. Students must complete their DC requirement prior to the Senior Seminar.

Comprehensive Requirement

The comprehensive requirement is fulfilled by completing a senior seminar from the CRES 190 series or one of the other senior seminars listed below. CRES 190 series courses in the current General Catalog are listed below. Any CRES 190 series course that is listed in a subsequent General Catalog will also satisfy the comprehensive requirement.

The course used to satisfy the senior comprehensive will not count as one of the five upper-division electives, however, additional courses taken will. Senior comprehensive courses do not count toward the transnational or social movements requirements.

Prerequisites for the CRES 190 series include CRES 10, CRES 100, and CRES 101 and satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements. Senior seminars outside of CRES may have additional enrollment restrictions or prerequisites.

Planners

Academic planners for this and all majors can be found at programmaps.ucsc.edu.

Planning Notes:

CRES 10 is only offered in summer and fall quarters, CRES 100 is only offered in winter, and CRES 101 is only offered in spring.

Depending on the electives students take, the following General Education (GE) requirements may be fulfilled with CRES courses: CC, ER, IM, SI, TA, PE-E, PE-H, PE-T, PR-C, PR-E, PR-C, PR-S.