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Major · Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender & Group Studies

An interdisciplinary catchall for identity-focused programs not named elsewhere

Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other (CIP 05.0299) is a catchall code for integrated or specialized identity-studies programs that do not fit a named CIP like Women’s Studies, African-American Studies, or Asian-American Studies. About 686 degrees are awarded annually across 131 colleges, and program content varies considerably by institution.

Schools offering
131
Annual completions
686
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$52k

About this major

Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other carries CIP code 05.0299, defined as any instructional program in ethnic, cultural minority, gender, and group studies not listed above. The federal taxonomy gives one example — Women’s, Gay and Lesbian Studies, Integrated — and that is the point: this code is used when a program crosses two or more identity lenses, or when an interdisciplinary design doesn’t fit Ethnic Studies (05.0200), Women’s Studies (05.0207), or any of the named ethnic-studies CIPs. Specific program content varies considerably by institution. At one school it may be an integrated gender-and-sexuality track; at another, a hybrid ethnic-and-disability program or an area-studies variant.

The major typically rewards students who like reading across disciplines and tracing how identity, power, and representation move through history, literature, sociology, and political theory. Strong writing and the ability to synthesize disparate sources matter more here than in single-discipline tracks, and comfort with both qualitative argument and primary-source research helps. Students who already know the specific lens they want — feminist scholarship, African-American history, Indigenous politics — are usually better served by a named CIP, since the transcript reads cleaner to recruiters and graduate admissions.

On the scale and destination side, 131 colleges grant degrees under this code, producing 686 completions per year. UCLA leads with 59 graduates, followed by CUNY Brooklyn College (43), CSU East Bay (33), University of Washington-Seattle (31), and CSU Sacramento (27); selective privates including Yale (20) and Stanford (19) also use it. The packet lists only one direct occupational destination: area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, at $84,290 median wage and a doctoral typical-entry requirement. Five-year median earnings sit at $51,905, with the bachelor’s split at $52,065 versus $35,455 for the associate’s.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary $84k +2.4% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$52k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$35k

Bachelor's

$52k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you read across disciplines and want to trace how identity, power, and representation move through history, literature, and politics rather than commit to a single named lens, if you’re considering law school or a master’s in social work, public policy, or education where strong analytical writing reads as preparation, if your target school’s 05.0299 program has a course list you can defend (UCLA, CUNY Brooklyn, and CSU East Bay all use this code differently), if you can build a credible narrative for recruiters about why an integrated program fits your goals, and if the $52,065 bachelor’s five-year median is an acceptable starting point given graduate study is the typical follow-on.

Think twice if you already know the specific identity lens you want — Women’s Studies (1,479 completions), African-American Studies (563), or Hispanic-American/Chicano Studies (394) will read more cleanly on a transcript than the 05.0299 catchall, and the graduate destinations from those tracks are better-mapped. Reconsider also if you want the major to map directly to a named occupation: the only career destination tracked in the packet is postsecondary teaching at $84,290, which requires a doctorate, and there is no bachelor’s-level occupational match in the data. Students hoping for a clear job pipeline straight out of undergrad should pair this major with a professional minor — paralegal studies, public administration, communications — or plan explicitly for graduate or law school.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 59 59
CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY 0 43 43
California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA 0 33 33
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 31 31
California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA 0 27 27
Yale University New Haven, CT 0 20 20
Stanford University Stanford, CA 0 19 19
University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA 0 17 17
Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 0 16 16
University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA 0 15 15
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Women's Studies

1,479 completions/yr

African-American/Black Studies

563 completions/yr

Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies

394 completions/yr

American Indian/Native American Studies

355 completions/yr

Ethnic Studies

297 completions/yr

Deaf Studies

254 completions/yr

Disability Studies

85 completions/yr

Asian-American Studies

59 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition is deliberately broad: any instructional program in ethnic, cultural minority, gender, and group studies not listed above. In practice, that means coursework varies considerably by institution. The named example in the federal taxonomy is Women’s, Gay and Lesbian Studies, Integrated, which gives a sense of the territory. Expect a mix of history, sociology, literature, and political theory organized around questions of identity, power, and representation rather than a single discipline.
How does this compare to the named CIPs like Women’s Studies or African-American Studies?
The named siblings are larger and more focused: Women’s Studies (05.0207) carries 1,479 annual completions, African-American/Black Studies (05.0201) has 563, Hispanic-American/Chicano Studies (05.0203) has 394, and American Indian/Native American Studies (05.0202) has 355. The 05.0299 code, with 686 completions, is what schools use when a program crosses two or more of those identity lenses or doesn’t fit any single one. A named CIP usually reads cleaner on transcripts and graduate applications; the Other code signals breadth or institutional design.
What kinds of jobs do graduates end up in?
The packet lists only one direct occupational match: area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, at $84,290 median wage and a doctoral degree typical entry requirement. That is not a bachelor’s-level destination. In practice, completers fan out into pre-law and law tracks, public policy, nonprofit and advocacy work, education, journalism, and government — fields where strong reading, writing, and analytical training matter more than a specific job title. Treat the bachelor’s as a launching pad rather than a credential that maps to one occupation.
Is the bachelor’s a standalone credential or a graduate-school launching pad?
Mostly a launching pad. Bachelor’s completers report a $52,065 five-year median versus $35,455 for associate’s — a meaningful gap, but the figure sits below the national bachelor’s average, and the only career destination tracked in the packet requires a doctorate. Many graduates use the major as a strong pre-law track, a feeder for master’s programs in social work, public policy, or education, or as a path into PhD work in the humanities. If you want the major to do the career-mapping for you, this is not the right code.
Why does this CIP exist if Ethnic Studies and the named identity codes already do?
Mostly administrative. Universities use 05.0299 when a program is integrated across two or more identity dimensions — gender plus sexuality, ethnicity plus disability — or when it doesn’t cleanly fit Ethnic Studies (05.0200, 297 completions) or the named ethnic and gender CIPs. The 686 national completions are thin and reflect classification choices more than a single small-cohort design. UCLA leads with 59 graduates, followed by CUNY Brooklyn (43) and CSU East Bay (33). The transcript label depends on what the school chose to call its program.
What if I want a more focused identity-studies major?
The related-major data inside the same concentration points to several named alternatives: Women’s Studies (1,479 completions), African-American/Black Studies (563), Hispanic-American/Chicano Studies (394), American Indian/Native American Studies (355), Ethnic Studies (297), Deaf Studies (254), Disability Studies (85), and Asian-American Studies (59). Picking a named CIP often reads cleaner to recruiters, law school admissions, and graduate programs because the focus is unambiguous. The Other code is the right call when a program is integrated by design — pick it for the course list, not the label.