Getting Started (Majors Guide)

College: SBS

 (Revised Spring 2018)  

How to Explore/Get Started in the Major

Suggested General Education Courses

Under the new guidelines students are still required to take two courses, one in U.S. Diversity and one in Global Diversity. Students entering in Fall 2018 are expected to take one of these diversity courses, either U.S. or Global, in their first year on campus.  For Fall 2018 Registration, look for courses with DU (formerly U) and DG (formerly G) to help students stay on track.  Any course labled DU will satisfy the requirement for a U.S. diversity course and any course labeled DG will satisfy the the requirement for Global diversity course. Course planning guidelines, including guidelines for students, are available at www.umass.edu/gened.

  • STPEC 189 (HSDG), STPEC 190X (SBDU), WOMENSST 187 (IDU), BIO 205 (BS)

Suggested Major and Pre-requisite Courses

  • STPEC 101 Introduction to STPEC fulfills Social Theory prerequisite
  • STPEC 189 Introduction to Radical Social Theory fulfills Social Theory prerequisite

Required prerequisites:

  • One Introductory Social Theory course (e.g., STPEC 189 or STPEC 101) subject to departmental approval. Course selections vary by semester.*
  • One Introductory Political Economy course—normally ECON 103 or 104*

*Students should refer to the most recent STPEC Recommended Course List for specific course options. Course list is available at http://www.umass.edu/stpec/academics/stpec-recommended-course-lists

How to Apply to the Major

Students can apply and declare the major as incoming students to the University or any time thereafter.

Students are advised to take prerequisites by the first semester of their sophomore year, so they can start taking classes in the major as second semester sophomores or first semester juniors. Students are encouraged to come into the STPEC Office to speak with an advisor and be put on the STPEC e-mail list.

Transfer Students:

Students can declare when they enter the university. Meet with an advisor in the STPEC Program, preferably during a transfer advising session or before the first day of classes.

Summary of Requirements for the Major

Minimum total # of credits required: 43
Minimum GPA for courses contributing to the major: 2.0

These requirements apply to students entering the University of Massachusetts in fall 2018 or later. For requirements for earlier entry years see archived Guides to Undergraduate Programs.

  • Five upper level courses, one from each of the following categories: Modern Social Theory and Social Movements; Political Economy; Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies, and Queer Theory; History and Politics of Race in the United States; Non-Western Perspectives, Global South, and Indigenous People. Courses which fulfill these categories are listed on the STPEC Recommended Course List which changes each semester, and is applicable only for the specified semester. The list is available in the STPEC Office or at: http://www.umass.edu/stpec/academics/stpec-recommended-course-lists.
  • One History elective (The course must be taught by a historian.)
  • Four STPEC Seminars: two STPEC Core seminars (STPEC 391H & 392H) and two Focus seminars (STPEC 491H & 492H)
  • The STPEC junior year writing course, STPEC 320: Writing for Critical Consciousness
  • One graded internship (3-credit minimum) and the associated course STPEC 494PI Praxis, which fulfills the Integrative Experience requirement.
  • STPEC Global Education Portfolio, listing at least six (6) courses taken that contribute to 1) knowledge about cultures and histories outside the United States and indigenous and diasporic peoples within the U.S. and 2) understandings of global economic circulations, systems of domination, and networks of resistance. Courses taken abroad to fulfill this requirement must be taken in an IPO-approved study abroad program. At least one course taken to fulfill this requirement must have an international focus (if a topical course), be a foreign language, or be taken during a departmentally approved study abroad.

For further information, contact:
Monica Garcia, Academic Advisor
Donna Vanasse, STPEC Program Coordinator
Graciela Monteagudo, STPEC Associate Director
301 Machmer Hall

545-0043, stpec@sbs.umass.edu
www.umass.edu/stpec