• The program brings top scholars and activists to campus to promote engaged understanding.
• The program's commitment to undergraduate education provides unique opportunities for students to work closely with faculty on independent studies or special projects.
• The diverse and flexible curriculum allows students to take an in-depth examination of a particular community or prepare for a specific career.
• The program offers opportunities for seminars, fieldwork, study abroad, and other experiential learning modes.
• Each student has a faculty mentor who is a resource for majors who are pursuing graduate degrees, undergraduate research, academic publications, and career exploration within the field.
• Scholarships are offered annually to new students, continuing students, and students who wish to study abroad.

Central to our consideration of race are the ways class, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, age, and ability shape the human experience. CES courses have an interdisciplinary focus on popular culture, sports, media, and social issues and how they relate to race, class, and gender.

CES faculty scholars facilitate understanding of how the social constructions of race impact the social fabric of our historical and contemporary world, and prepare community members to actively and critically engage in their civic responsibilities, especially with respect to social justice.

Joining the major

To major in CES, students will complete a total of 120 credit hours including CES and other UCORE courses. Students can take CES courses on Hip Hop, Race and Racism in US Popular Culture, Race and Global Inequality and many more.

More about the comparative ethnic studies major.

Minor in comparative ethnic studies

Students seeking to minor in CES must complete 18 credit hours of CES courses. To plan and schedule courses, talk with your academic advisor. For required CES courses, check out the WSU Catalog.

Graduation requirements

 See the WSU Course Catalog for degree requirements and talk with your academic advisor about scheduling your course. All students must meet requirements as outlined in the catalog to graduate.

A variety of state, federal, and university-sponsored programs are available to help students with educational costs.

For all students at WSU

Washington State University awards millions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships to students every year based on financial need, academic merit, or a combination of the two.

To get all the financial help WSU can provide, you'll need to do these two things:

• Complete the University's general scholarship application so you can be eligible for scholarship consideration, including departmental awards.
• Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) so WSU can consider you for aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) based on financial need. Get started here.

Click here for more info about about WSU scholarships and financial aid

For students in comparative ethnic studies

The College of Arts and Sciences awards more than $50,000 in scholarships each year. For more information, see the CAS scholarships page.

The School of Languages, Cultures, and Race awards numerous scholarships annually for new students, continuing students, and those pursuing study abroad.

Strong reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, or a desire to develop these skills.

A willingness to engage in critical discussions and constructive analyses of structures of domination, privilege, colonization, and other prominent themes central to cultural and ethnic studies.

What you can do with a degree in Comparative Ethnic Studies

• Teaching

• Social work

• Counseling

• Community development

• Nonprofits

• NGOs

• Local, state, or federal government

• Human resources

• Law school

• Academia

Skills you can market with a degree in Comparative Ethnic Studies

• Critical thinking

• Written and oral communication skills

• Thinking outside of the box

• Argumentation

• Media literacy

• Deep understanding of social/economic inequalities

• Ability to translate theory into action

• Social media literacy

• Cultural awareness

• Understanding of global issues and trends

• Ability to see relationship between local and global