Major in Cultural Studies
Course Planning
The Bachelor of Arts offers a major, combined major or minor in Cultural Studies. After completing 6 credits of CULT 100 and 101, students can declare their Cultural Studies program in 2nd year.
This program has significant flexibility. Students can choose from a variety of courses not only in Cultural Studies but also in collaborating programs such as Indigenous Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Sociology.
A combined major is created by satisfying the requirements for a combined major in Cultural Studies and another B.A. program that offers a combined major (currently Art History and Visual Culture, Creative Writing, English and French. A single course can only fulfill the combined major requirement for one program.
Major in Cultural Studies
In order to complete a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Cultural Studies, students need to complete 81 required credits—that includes BA requirements and major requirements—and 39 elective credits for a total of 120 credits.
Year 1
Students take two introductory CULT courses: CULT 100 Media and Popular Cultures in Global Context and CULT 101 Cultural Studies Practices.
Sample Year One
- CULT 100 Media and Popular Cultures in Global Context
- BA Requirement or Elective
- BA Requirement or Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- CULT 101 Cultural Studies Practices
- BA Requirement or Elective
- BA Requirement or Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
Year 2
Students choose at least one course in each of the two Cultural Studies Streams: Media and Popular Culture, and Identities and Power. As well, students must complete one course from a list of courses from the following programs: Art History and Visual Culture, Anthropology, Creative Writing, Digital Humanities, Geography, Gender and Women’s Studies, Indigenous Studies, Sociology, Theatre, and Visual Arts.
Sample Year Two
- One course from the following list:
- CULT 205 Introduction to Contemporary Japan Through Popular Culture
- CULT 210 Reading Screens
- CULT 215 Cultural Industries
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- One course from the following list:
- CULT 230 Foundations: Reading Across Borders
- CULT 250 Foundations: Indigenous Literature
- CULT 275 Interdisciplinary Theory and Method in Literary Research
- INDG 201 Okanagan Indigenous Peoples Historical Perspectives
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
Years Three and Four
Students take 30 credits from the 300- and 400-level courses with at least 9 credits of CULT designated courses in each of the two lists (Media and Popular Cultures and Identities and Power), including at least 6 credits of CULT designated courses at the 400-level.
Sample Year Three
- CULT 320 Creative Activism: Art, Media, and Social Justice (ARTH 323)
- CULT 350 Indigenous Literature: Intellectual Traditions (ENGL 387)
- GWST 335 Feminist Theory in the Humanities
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- CULT 312 Internet Culture
- CULT 360 Public Memory, Commemoration, and Identity
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
Sample Year Four
- CULT 400 Topics in Popular Culture
- ARTH 410 Gender, Art, and Space in the Islamic World
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- CULT 470 Interdisciplinary Studies in Critical Theory: (ENGL 412)
- CULT 460 Posthumanism and Critical Animal Studies (ENGL 457)
- CULT 315 Television Studies
- BA Requirement OR Elective
- BA Requirement OR Elective
Note: The courses listed in each stream are examples only, course offerings change every year. We recommend you meet with an advisor or program coordinator to decide which required, elective or BA requirement courses you take in each term as there are many choices available.
Minor in Cultural Studies
To complete a minor in Cultural Studies, students must complete the following:
- CULT 100, 101;
- 6 credits of 200-level CULT; and
- at least 18 credits of 300- or 400-level courses applicable to the Major in Cultural Studies, at least 3 credits of which must be CULT designated courses at the 400-level.
Combined Major with Cultural Studies
A combined major is created by satisfying the requirements for a combined major in Cultural Studies and another B.A. program that offers a combined major (currently Art History and Visual Culture, Creative Writing, English and French. A single course can only fulfill the combined major requirement for one program. A single course can only fulfill the combined major requirement for one program. The Cultural Studies requirements for the combined major include the following:
B.A. requirements, including the following:
- CULT 100, 101;
- 6 credits of 200-level CULT, with
- 3 credits from CULT 200 TO 229
- 3 credits from CULT 230 to 299
- 21 credits of 300- and 400-level courses from the course lists provided for the major, with:
- At least 6 credits of CULT designated courses from each of the following:
- 1) Media and Popular Cultures,
- 2) Identities and Power; and
- including 3 credits of CULT designated courses at the 400-level.
Academic Advisor
In FCCS, we have a dedicated advisor for the programs and degrees that we offer.
Jessica Beck
Academic Advising, UNC 207D
250.807.9214 or 1.866.596.0767
jessica.beck@ubc.ca
The Academic Advising office also has a number of knowledgeable and helpful staff to assist you with all of your questions about your degree.
Cultural Studies Program Coordinator
David Jefferess
Associate Professor, Cultural Studies
david.jefferess@ubc.ca