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Major · Area, Ethnic & Gender Studies

Study Latinx histories, politics, and cultures across the US and Caribbean

This major examines the history, sociology, politics, and culture of Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban-American, and other Hispanic-American communities in the U.S. About 394 degrees are awarded annually across 66 colleges, with the University of California system dominating the field — UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and UCLA lead national completions.

Schools offering
66
Annual completions
394
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$52k

About this major

Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies focuses on the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of Mexican-American, Cuban-American, Puerto Rican, and other Latinx immigrant populations within the United States and Canada. The curriculum pulls from history, literature, political science, sociology, and cultural studies, often organized around themes of migration, labor, civil rights, representation, and cultural production. Expect seminars on Chicano literature and film, archival work on the farmworker movement and bilingual education debates, and courses on contemporary policy issues — immigration, education equity, and political representation. Many programs require or strongly encourage Spanish-language competency and community-based research or fieldwork.

The major is geographically concentrated. About 394 degrees are awarded annually across 66 colleges, but nine of the top ten producing institutions sit in California — UC Davis leads with 48 completions, followed by UC Santa Cruz (44), UCLA (38), UC Berkeley (20), Cal State Northridge (20), and Cal State Long Beach (17). Arizona State is the sole non-California institution in the top group. That concentration reflects the historical roots of Chicano Studies as a discipline, which emerged from activism in California universities in the late 1960s. For students outside the West and Southwest, standalone programs are rarer — the material is often accessible through ethnic studies, American studies, or history departments instead.

The only career directly mapped to this CIP code is area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, a $84,290 median wage role requiring a doctoral degree. In practice, graduates fan out: K-12 and bilingual teaching, community organizing, nonprofit work, immigration and civil-rights law, public policy, cultural institutions, and journalism — often following the major into graduate school first. Bachelor's completers in the broader ethnic-studies family report five-year median earnings around $52,000.

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 are drawn to Latinx histories, politics, and cultural traditions as serious subjects of academic study rather than as personal identity alone, if you are comfortable reading Spanish-language primary sources or willing to build that capacity, if community-engaged research and fieldwork are part of what you want from college, and if a career path running through education, nonprofit advocacy, law, policy, or academia sounds more fitting than a direct corporate track. If you live in California or the Southwest, the concentration of strong programs — across the UC and CSU systems and at Arizona State — makes this one of the more institutionally developed ethnic-studies majors available.

Think twice if you want a major with a direct bachelor's-to-job pipeline at a strong wage. The one directly mapped occupation, postsecondary teaching, requires a doctorate, and bachelor's-level earnings at a five-year horizon sit around $52,000 — lower than STEM or business comparisons. Think twice also if geography is a constraint and you can't attend a program in California or a handful of other states; 66 colleges is a meaningful footprint but thinly distributed outside the West and Southwest. And think twice if you expect politically neutral treatment of the subject matter — the field grew out of activist scholarship and continues to treat questions of race, power, and representation as central, which students looking for purely descriptive history may find uncomfortable.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies

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-Davis Davis, CA 0 48 48
University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 0 44 44
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 38 38
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 0 20 20
California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA 0 20 20
California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA 0 17 17
University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 0 17 17
University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 0 12 12
San Diego State University San Diego, CA 0 12 12
Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ 0 11 11
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Women's Studies

1,479 completions/yr

Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other

686 completions/yr

African-American/Black Studies

563 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 Chicano and Hispanic-American Studies majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework examines the history, politics, sociology, and cultural production of Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban-American, and other Latinx communities in the United States. Students read foundational texts from Chicano and Latinx studies, work through archival sources on migration, labor, and civil rights, and take seminars on literature, film, art, and contemporary policy issues like immigration, bilingual education, and representation. Many programs integrate Spanish-language reading and require a community-engaged research or fieldwork component.
Where is this major concentrated geographically?
California. Of the top ten producing institutions, nine are in California — UC Davis (48 completions), UC Santa Cruz (44), UCLA (38), UC Berkeley (20), Cal State Northridge (20), Cal State Long Beach (17), UC Santa Barbara (17), UC Irvine (12), and San Diego State (12). Arizona State is the one non-California school on the list. Total annual completions run 394 across 66 colleges nationally. Outside California and the Southwest, the major is much harder to find as a standalone.
Do I need a bachelor's, or is an associate's enough?
Both degree levels exist in the data, but outcomes diverge. Associate's completers in this broader ethnic-studies family show five-year median earnings around $35,500, while bachelor's completers reach about $52,000. The one directly mapped career — postsecondary teaching in area, ethnic, and cultural studies — requires a doctorate. For career purposes, the bachelor's is the more common path; an associate's typically functions as a transfer credential toward a four-year program, particularly through the California community-college-to-UC pipeline.
What careers do graduates typically enter?
The only directly mapped occupation is area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary — $84,290 median with a doctoral-degree requirement. In practice, graduates move into education (K-12 and bilingual), community and nonprofit work, journalism, law (civil rights, immigration), public policy, cultural institutions, and graduate programs. The major is often explicitly chosen as preparation for advocacy or academic careers rather than for a direct corporate pipeline.
How is this different from Latin American Studies?
The focus differs. This major (05.0203) concentrates on Hispanic-American communities within the United States — Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban-American, and related groups — their histories, politics, and cultural production. Latin American Studies (05.0107) focuses on the countries of Latin America themselves and typically sits in international-affairs or foreign-language departments. For students interested in immigration, U.S. civil rights, or Latinx cultural studies, this is the direct path. For students interested in Mexico, Brazil, or hemispheric policy, Latin American Studies fits better.