American Studies Major

Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.

NOTE: This Catalog describes Weinberg College BA requirements that pertain to students who matriculated at Northwestern after spring quarter 2023. Refer to the Archives if you are following BA requirements described in the 2018-2019 through 2022-2023 editions.

Course Title
Program Courses (5 units)
To be taken during the first year in the major:
AMER_ST 301-1
& AMER_ST 301-2
& AMER_ST 301-3		Seminar for Majors
and Seminar for Majors
and Seminar for Majors
To be taken during senior year:
AMER_ST 390-1
& AMER_ST 390-2		Senior Project
and Senior Project
Related Courses (10 units) 1
1 approved course from African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Latina and Latino Studies, or the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research
2 of the following, preferably 1 history and 1 English:
HISTORY 210-1
North America and the United States to 1865
HISTORY 210-2
History of the United States, Reconstruction to the Present
ENGLISH 270-1
American Literary Traditions (Puritans to Moby Dick)
ENGLISH 270-2
American Literary Traditions (Mid-19th Century to World War I)
7 additional courses chosen with the program director 2,3
1

Must be at the 200 or 300 level.

2

Theme of courses should have strong U.S. dimension but also global or comparative implications.

3

At least 1 course must be relevant to the theme but not centered on the United States.

Honors in American Studies

In senior year all majors participate in the senior project seminar (AMER_ST 390-1 & AMER_ST 390-2) and work on a thesis on a topic of their choice. Students meet weekly with their project advisers, the seminar instructor, and fellow seniors to discuss their projects and common concerns. Students whose senior theses and grades are judged to meet program criteria are recommended to the college for graduation with honors. For more information consult the program director and see Honors in the Major.