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Area Studies - B.S. Engineering Majors Only

Two Area Studies are required:

  • Each must contain three four-unit courses, two of which must be upper-division (numbered 100+)
  • Must be non-contiguous (unrelated) to the major and to each other
  • At least one course from each Area Study must be taken at UC San Diego

Additionally:

  • Courses may be taken Pass/Not Pass
  • No more than two language courses may be applied to an Area Study
  • Upper-division major or minor courses may not overlap with Area Study or other general education requirements
  • Rady School of Management (MGT) courses may not be used - see an academic advisor if pursuing a Business minor in lieu of an Area Study
  • Language courses may not be used for a Social Sciences Area Study

Watch our instructional video that further explains how to choose your Area Studies.

Choosing Your Area Studies

The major, combined with your two Area Studies, must represent all three disciplines:

  1. Humanities and Fine Arts
  2. Math, Natural Sciences, and Engineering
  3. Social Sciences

Contact Warren Advising during walk-in advising or online at http://vac.ucsd.edu to have your choices added to your degree audit.  We recommend declaring by the end of your second year.

[PDF Version]


Choosing Upper-Division Non-Contiguous Courses



B.S. Engineering Majors

Bioengineering:

  • Bioengineering
  • Bioengineering: Biotechnology
  • Bioengineering: Bioinformatics
  • Bioengineering: Biosystems

CSE:

  • Computer Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science: Bioinformatics

MAE:

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mech Eng w/ specializaition in Controls and Robotics
  • Mech Eng w/ specialization in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Systems
  • Mech Eng w/ specialization in Material Science and Engineering
  • Mech Eng w/ specialization in Renewable Engery and Environmental Flows

Nanoengineering:

  • Chemical Engineering
  • Nanoengineering

ECE (B.S. Only):

  • Computer Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Physics

SE:

  • Structural Engineering

Area Studies

Choose one Area Study from each of the two disciplines listed below

Humanities and Fine Arts:

  • African American Studies#
  • Anti-Racism#*
  • Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies#
  • Chicanx and Latinx#
  • Chinese Studies#
  • European Studies#
  • History
  • Humanities*+
  • Japanese Studies#
  • Jewish Studies#
  • Latin American Studies#
  • Literature
  • Middle East Studies#
  • Music
  • Philosophy
  • Theatre and Dance
  • Transnational Korean Studies
  • Visual Arts
  • Cinematic Arts

Social Sciences:

  • African American Studies#
  • Anti-Racism#*
  • Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies#
  • Anthropology
  • Chicanx and Latinx#
  • Cognitive Science
  • Communication
  • Critical Gender Studies 
  • Chinese Studies#
  • Economics
  • Education Sciences
  • Environmental Studies*
  • Ethnic Studies
  • European Studies#
  • Health Care - Social Issues*
  • Human Developmental Sciences*
  • Japanese Studies#
  • Latin American Studies#
  • Law and Society*
  • Linguistics/General
  • Middle East Studies#
  • Perspectives of Social Science *+
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Urban Studies and Planning

* Specialized Area Studies require specific courses.

# These Area Studies may be used in only one discipline.

+ You may only choose one of the following Area Studies: Humanities or Perspectives of Social Science.

Fulfilling an Area Study with a Minor

Minors may be used in lieu of Area Studies when they are non-contiguous to your major discipline.

  • For example, a student can complete a Psychology minor in lieu of a social science area study because Psychology falls within the discipline of the social sciences.
  • An interdisciplinary minor may count in lieu of an Area Study if at least four of the minor courses are from the discipline that the Area Study will replace. Meet with a Warren academic counselor if you plan on completing an interdisciplinary minor. 
  • A business minor may be used in lieu of a Social Science Area Study only when a student completes three upper-division social science (non-MGT) courses approved for the minor.

A student may overlap the equivalent of two applicable upper-division courses (a maximum of eight units) between a major and a minor.

Interdisciplinary Area Studies

Interdisciplinary AS

Requires three courses, two of which must be upper division.


All three courses may be from different departments within the same discipline, either Humanities and Fine Arts or Social Sciences. 


Language courses, if allowed for the Area Study, count as humanities/fine arts courses:

  • maximum of two language courses can be used for a Humanities and Fine Arts interdisciplinary AS
  • Language courses may not be used for a Social Sciences Area Study

See the department/program websites for approved courses:

Specialized Humanities and Fine Arts Area Studies

Anti-Racism

Two of the three courses selected must be upper division.

Humanities Courses:

History: 7A, HILD  7B, HILD 7C, HITO 136, HITO 155, HITO 156, HIUS 108B, HIUS 113, HIUS 120D, HIUS 128, HIUS 129, HIUS 136, HIUS 146, HIUS 155, HIUS 159, HIUS 174

Literature: LTCS 132, LTEN 179, LTEN 182

Music: MUS 17, MUS 107, MUS 126, MUS 151 

Philosophy: PHIL 156,  PHIL 165, PHIL 170

Theatre & Dance:TDGE 12

Visual Arts: VIS 125G

Humanities

Requires any combination of three four-unit courses, two of which must be upper-division, from:

  • History
  • Literature
  • Music
  • Philosophy
  • Study of Religion
  • Theatre and Dance
  • Visual Arts

Other courses, if applicable, may be petitioned prior to enrollment. Linguistics/Language courses are not allowed. May not be used if Perspective of Social Science is the other Area Study

Specialized Social Science Area Studies

Anti-Racism

Two of the three courses must be upper division.

Social Science courses:

African American Studies: AAS 10, 185

Anthropology: ANSC 185, ANTH 21, ANTH 23, ANTH 105

Cognitive Science: CGS 114, CGS 147, COGS 150

Communications: COMM 114I, COMM 114J, COMM 129, COMM 138, COMM 155

Economics: ECON 138

Education Sciences: EDS 25, EDS 112, EDS 113, EDS 120, EDS 125, EDS 126

Environmental Studies: ENVR 110

Ethnic Studies: ETHN 1, ETHN 2, ETHN  3, ETHN 102, ETHN 103, ETHN 104, ETHN 105, ETHN 108, ETHN 109, ETHN 112B, ETHN 119, ETHN 120, ETHN 129, ETHN 131, ETN 134, ETN 142,  ETHN 147, ETHN 151, ETHN 152, ETHN 153, ETHN 163J, ETHN 167, ETHN 183

Latin American Studies: LATI 10

Linguistics: LIGN 8

Political Science: POLI 100H, POLI 100I, POLI 100J, POLI 100O, POLI 100Q,  POLI 100W, POLI 100Y, POLI 102E, POLI 102J, POLI 102K, P0LI 104N, POLI 105A, POLI 108, POLI  131

Psychology: PSYC 131, PSYC 185

Sociology: SOCI 10,  SOCI 127, SOCI 139, SOCI 147, SOCI 151, SOCI  152, SOCI 183, SOCI 188K

Urban Studies & Planning: USP 1, USP 2, USP 104, USP 106, USP 129, USP 132, USP 133, USP135, USP 165, 

Environmental Studies

Required course:

  1. Environmental Studies: ENVR 110

Two courses from:

  • Anthropology, Archaeology:  ANAR 182, ANAR 115, ANBI 132
  • Anthropology, Sociocultural Anthropology:  ANSC 160
  • Communication:  COMM 171
  • Economics:  ECON 131, 132, 145
  • Environmental Studies:  ENVR 140
  • Ethnic Studies:  ETHN 103
  • Psychology: PSYC 185,
  • Political Studies:  POLI 104E, 125A, 162
  • Sociology:  SOCI 149
  • Urban Studies and Planning:  USP 124, 144, 171, USP 2, USP 165B

Health Care - Social Issues

Required courses:

  1. Sociology: SOCI 40
  2. One course from Urban Studies & Planning: USP 143, 144, 145, 147

One course from:

  • Anthropology:  Biological Anthropology:  ANBI 100*, 120, 130, 141
  • Anthropology:  Sociocultural Anthropology:  ANSC 100*, 101, 105, 143, 144, 146, 147, 148, 164
  • Critical Gender Studies: CGS 107, 123
  • Cognitive Science:  COGS 174
  • Communication: COMM 108D, 108G
  • Linguistics: LIGN 146
  • Economics:  ECON 140, 141
  • Ethnic Studies:  ETHN 102, 142, 157
  • Global Health: GLBH 181
  • Psychology:  PSYC 100, 104, 124, 132, 134,154, 155, 168, 169, 172, 179, 181, 188
  • Sociology:  SOCI 107, 113, 120T, 134E, 135, 136E-F, 138, 143, 159, 173
  • Urban Studies and Planning: USP 143, 144, 145, 147, 149

*ANBI 100, ANSC 100, SOCI 120T and SOCI 159 must be health related. Approved topics will be listed on the program website.

Human Developmental Sciences

Required course:

  1. Human Development: HDS 1

Two upper-division Human Developmental Sciences courses from:

  • Anthropology
  • Communication
  • Human Development Sciences
  • Linguistics (LIGN)
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Urban Studies and Development

Law and Society

Required courses:

One course: POLI 40 or SOCI 50 or HILD 50 or PHIL 50

Courses: Two upper-division

  • Anthropology: ANSC 123, 131, 140, 141
  • Communications: COMM 109E, 114F, 114M, 114N
  • Critical Gender Studies: CGS 106, 118*, 123
  • Economics: ECON 118, 119
  • Ethnic Studies: ETHN 152, **153 OR HIUS 136, 162
  • Law and Society: LAWS 101
  • Linguistics: LIGN 105, 176
  • Political Science: POLI 104A, 104B, 104C, 104D, 104E, 104F, 104G, 104I, 104J, 104K, 104L, 104M, 104N, 104P, 104T, 104U*, 140A, 140D, 145A, 150A
  • Psychology: PSYC 162, 164
  • Sociology: SOCI 140, 140A, 140F, 140K, 141, 142, 144, 145, 146, 152, 160E, 163
  • Urban Studies & Planning: USP 122, 123, 124, 150, 161

ANSC 100, HIUS 181, SOCI 120T topical courses are acceptable but must be law-related. Check with Warren College prior to taking the course(s) to ensure they will be accepted.

*Students who took these courses prior to Winter 2022 cannot apply them to the Law & Society Area Study. Please speak to an advisor for further clarification.

**Cross listed courses

Perspectives of Social Science

Requires any combination of three four-unit courses, two of which must be upper-division, from:

  • Anthropology
  • Communication 
  • Economics 
  • Education Sciences
  • Ethnic Studies
  • Human Developmental Sciences 
  • Linguistic/General (LIGN)
  • Political Science 
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Urban Studies and Planning 

Other courses, if applicable, may be petitioned prior to enrollment. This Area Study does not meet minor requirements. May not be used if Humanities is the other Area Study