Cosc degree in american studies

[Clepking100]

Anyone know the purpose of this degree? Anyone have this degree? Has anyone seen the purpose of a degree in American studies?

[freeloader]

A friend of mine did an undergraduate degree in American studies and went to Harvard Law School. Guess the purpose is to go to Harvard Law School?

If you want a real answer, I think it’s part of the “area studies” movement in academia that sought to highlight the operation of culture outside of and across the often constricting and arbitrary boundaries of academic disciplines.  At its best, a student in an area studies discipline would try to look holistically at a culture by exploring art, music, literature, history, sociology, anthropology, and possibly other disciplines. At worst, it’s a degree for someone who has taken a bunch of random humanities and social sciences classes so that they can actually graduate...and then go to Harvard Law School. 

[dfrecore]

If you look at the website, it actually outlines what the degree is and what the requirements are. Pretty easy to understand.

[Tedium]

It's an interdisciplinary degree, so it's for those who may want more breadth in their research. People who may bring in a diverse group of American subjects in their research. A lot of English, History, and Social Science majors use American Studies as a springboard for later studies. Yale's American Studies program is pretty big.

I would love to get the degree, as I'm mostly interested in Southern U.S. studies, but it's hard to find cheap American Art/Music courses.