Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity Program

In order to earn a B.A. in Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity, students must select a Subplan (see below for more information) and complete at least 60 units toward the major.

• 15 Units of Core Curriculum 
• 3-5 Units of a Methodology Course 
• 6-10 Units of Interdisciplinary Breadth Courses 
• 20-25 Units of Subplan-focused Courses
• 10-16 Units of CSRE Electives 
• Community Engaged Learning

Core Curriculum (15 Units)

Majors must take three CSRE core curriculum courses including: 

• CSRE 196C - Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity (5 units) 
• 1 Comparative Core Course (5 units) 
  • SOC 19N - The Immigrant Experience in Everyday Life
  • CSRE 21N - How to Make a Racist 
  • CSRE 32 - Theories in Race and Ethnicity: A Comparative Perspective 
  • CSRE 51Q - Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity 
  • PSYCH 75 - Introduction to Cultural Psychology 
  • CSRE 55N - Black Panther, Hamilton, Díaz, and Other Wondrous Lives
  • CSRE 103B - Race, Ethnicity, and Linguistic Diversity in Classrooms: Sociocultural Theory and Practices 
  • CSRE 142 - The Literature of the Americans
  • CSRE 149 - The Laboring of Diaspora & Border Literary Cultures
  • CSRE 245 - Understanding Racial and Ethnicity Identity Development
  • CSRE 189 - Race and Immigration 
  • CSRE 246 - Constructing Race and Religion in America
  • CSRE 253C - Histories of Racial Capitalism 
  • CSRE 293 - Black and Brown: American Artists of Color
  • CSRE 398A - Race, Ethnicity, and Language: Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic 
• 1 Capstone Course (5 units)
  • CSRE 200X - CCSRE Senior Seminar
    • CSRE majors draw upon their interdisciplinary expertise and training in race studies to design and complete a public-facing research project or research paper.
  • CSRE 201X, 201Y, and 201Z - CSRE Honors Seminar
    • The Honors Thesis Seminar is a year-long research- and writing-intensive sequence designed to support students as they apply their skills, knowledge, and political commitments to the investigation of a focused research question. 

Methodology Course (3-5 Units)

Majors are required to take a course focused on research methods relevant to their disciplinary approach as a student in Comparative Studies. Methodology Courses can be found on Explore Courses by using CSRE::Methodology as the search key.

Interdisciplinary Breadth (6-10 Units) 

Majors are required to fulfill the Interdisciplinary Breadth Requirement by taking one course in a Social Science category, and one course in an Arts & Humanities category. Both Interdisciplinary Breadth classes must center issues of race and ethnicity. Categories of classes can be found on the School of Humanities & Sciences Bulletin Page.

Subplan (20-25 Units)

Majors are required to complete a minimum of five courses in the subplan of your choosing. Subplans include:

• Education & Inequality 
• Environmental Justice
• Health & Wellness
• Identity Diversity Aesthetics
• Politics, Policy & Equity
• Race, Gender, & Sexuality
• Race, Space & Belonging
• Technology & Media 

CSRE Electives (10-16 Units)

Majors are required to take a minimum of two courses of additional CSRE courses outside of the subplan. 

Community Engaged Learning

All CSRE majors participate in a community engaged learning experience. The CEL requirement may be fulfilled by a CEL course, fellowship, Alternative Spring Break, Honors Thesis, Senior Project, and/or internship.

To find a more detailed overview of this major please visit our Bulletin Page.

If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare Page

In order to earn a Minor in CSRE, students must complete at least 30 units toward the minor.

• 5 Units of a Core Curriculum Course 
• 5 Units of a Comparative Core Course
• 20 Units of CSRE Electives 

Core Curriculum (5 Units)

Minors must take CSRE 196C - Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.

Comparative Core Course (5 Units)

Minors are required to take one Comparative Core Course:

• CSRE 245 - Understanding Racial and Ethnic Identity Development
• CSRE 21N - How to Make a Racist
• CSRE 55N - Black Panther, Hamilton, Díaz, and other Wondrous Lives 
• CSRE 142 - The Literature of the Americas 
• CSRE 51Q - Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity
• CSRE 103B - Race, Ethnicity, and Linguistic Diversity in Classrooms: Sociocultural Theory and Practices
• CSRE 253C - Histories of Racial Capitalism 

CSRE Electives (20 Units)

Minors are required to take a minimum of four courses of additional CSRE courses. 

To find a more detailed overview of this minor please visit our Bulletin Page.

If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare Page

Official subplans will be printed on students' transcripts and diplomas upon graduating.

Subplans are intended to provide students a structure that allows for greater coherence within their course of study in CSRE and an opportunity to gain further content knowledge and expertise within a particular area of study.

Education & Inequality

The subplan in Education & Inequality explores history, policy, and practice in education to understand how educational opportunity is shaped by issues of race, ethnicity, and difference. The goal of the subplan is to develop an understanding of the core issues facing educators and policy makers so that students may learn how they can contribute to the social and political discourse surrounding issues of education and opportunity policy in the U.S.

Environmental Justice

The Environmental Justice subplan allows students to expand their awareness of the environment’s significance to various racial and ethnic groups. What is the relationship between certain societies and groups and the environment? What far reaching impacts can the environment have on segments of the population? Water, air, and food are vital necessities impacted by political, economic, and social decisions and actions. Explore the inequalities that affect low-income and communities of color, and work toward just environments for all.

Health & Wellness

The subplan in Health & Wellness is designed for students who are seeking an interdisciplinary exploration of health disparities, health access, and health policy. Through course work, students examine how health experiences are influenced by issues of race and ethnicity.

Identity Diversity Aesthetics

The Identity Diversity Aesthetics subplan is designed for students to explore the intersections of culture, race, the arts, and social transformation. In IDA courses taught by Stanford faculty, lecturers, and distinguished Visiting Artists, students learn how the arts, activism, and the academy interact to produce aesthetic and societal change.

Politics, Policy & Equity

The Politics, Policy & Equity subplan is designed for students who wish to focus on the ways that political institutions, public policy, non-profits and social movements shape and are shaped by race and ethnicity. This subplan allows students the opportunity to examine the ramifications that politics and policy have on society through the lens of race and ethnicity.

Race, Gender & Sexuality

The Race, Gender & Sexuality subplan is designed for students who wish to explore the intersections between race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality. This subplan gives students the tools to analyze intersecting aspects of race, gender and sexuality. Students will examine the construction of power systems to better contextualize how certain identities become privileged over others. Students who select this subplan can use courses from a range of departments and programs to come away with a better understanding of how these three kinds of categories shape each other. Drawing from contributions of women of color feminism and queer of color studies, this concentration challenges normative constructions of ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ by equipping students with analytical tools from feminist theory, queer theory, post-colonial theory, critical race theory, and other critical methods.

Race, Space & Belonging

The Race, Space & Belonging subplan allows students to examine issues of immigration, citizenship, empire and expansion, gentrification, segregation, urban, suburban, and rural spaces, human rights, public welfare, social justice and law. Students can take courses from a range of departments and programs to delve deeper into the ways in which race and ethnicity intertwine with access to space, nations, and resources.

Technology & Media

Technology’s impact on society is large and the technology itself changes rapidly. From type, photographs, film and radio, to social media, artificial intelligence and algorithms, students in this subplan will look at the relationship between technology, media, race and ethnicity and the role technology played and continues to play in our society. What lenses can the study of race and ethnicity provide to engineering, computer science, and other STEM disciplines? How can technology be harnessed to actualize a more just and equitable world?

For official CSRE policies related to subplans, please see the Bulletin.