Master of Arts in Cultural Studies

The Master of Arts in Cultural Studies explores ideological dimensions of culture and competing systems of representation, providing cross-disciplinary intellectual training to support individual research. The Cultural Studies program at Claremont Graduate University is a leader in the Applied Humanities: Our students frequently obtain curatorial internships at Los Angeles-area museums. Cultural Studies students are taught to use critical theory to understand cultural practices and activist politics in a variety of intellectual and practical settings. As a student in one of the oldest Cultural Studies programs nationwide, you’ll study with faculty-scholars active in such fields as American and hemispheric literary studies, African American and Black Diaspora studies, feminist and queer studies, comparative Latinao studies, European history, media studies, and museum studies.

Your study includes training in field- and text-based research, ethnography, textual analysis of film and media, archival studies, digital and visual research methods, curatorial methods, and oral history, spanning the humanities and allowing you to tailor your academic experience. The MA program offers ideal circumstances for collaborating with colleagues in other CGU departments and schools as well as with other member colleges in the Claremont University Consortium. Our graduates gain expertise that lets them navigate political, cultural, and economic terrain using sophisticated discourse, inquiry, and research techniques.

CGU requires applicants to submit proof of a completed a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. The school also requires a minimum standard of a B average in undergraduate coursework (3.0 on a 4.0 scale).

A minimum TOEFL score of 75 iBT, IELTS score of 6.0 or Pearson PTE score of 50 is required to be considered for admission to CGU through the International Scholars Program (ISP). A minimum TOEFL score of 95 iBT, IELTS score of 7.0 with no sub-score lower than 6.5 or Pearson PTE score of 66 is required for direct-entry admission.