Brief description of programs:
Undergraduate:
Comparative Ethnic Studies
As an interdiscipline, comparative ethnic studies (CES) puts forth consideration of race in relation to other relevant categories that shape the human experience, including class, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, age, and ability. CES courses in SLCR focus on how popular culture, sports, media, and social issues shape our meaning and understanding of race, ethnicity, and nationality. CES faculty prepare community members to actively and critically engage in their civic responsibilities.
Foreign Languages and Cultures
Our programs are integral to WSU’s goal of creating global citizens by offering students a world-class education in the languages and cultures of other countries. Our language courses encourage learning a language within a cultural context. Emphasis is placed on all four language skills—speaking, listening, reading, and writing—to encourage maximum functionality in the language.
Humanities
The Humanities program includes fields primarily about culture and the arts. There are eleven CAS disciplines to choose from: American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, comparative ethnic studies, English, fine arts, foreign languages and cultures, history, music, philosophy, and women’s studies. In addition, students may also select apparel and interior design, communication, architecture, or landscape architecture as an area of concentration.
Social Sciences
The Social sciences program deals with particular aspects of human society involving interactions of individuals as members of society. Options within the college include American studies, anthropology, Asian studies, comparative ethnic studies, criminal justice, economics, history, human development, political science, psychology, sociology, speech and hearing sciences, and administrative studies.
Graduate:
American Studies Graduate Program
Master of Arts and PhD
The American studies graduate program at WSU was founded in 1962 and is one of the recognized leaders in this field in the Northwest. Since its inception, it has continued to offer a rich, rigorous approach to analyzing American society and culture, combining the best intellectual insights from cultural anthropology, literature, ethnic studies, global indigenous studies, and the social sciences.
Hispanic Studies
Master of Arts
The M.A. degree in Hispanic Studies focuses on the fields of Latin American and Peninsular Spanish literatures, film, and cultures, as well as on the teaching of Spanish as a second/foreign language. Our program offers graduate courses in medieval, Golden Age, and colonial literature; 19th–21st-century Latin American literature and film; 19th–21st-century peninsular literature, culture, and film; foreign language teaching methods (e.g., pedagogy); and classroom second language acquisition.