in person
MA in Cultural Studies
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 Latina/o 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.
40 units
required units
MA in Cultural Studies
degree awarded
In Person
modality
Spring, Fall
program start
2 years | full time*
estimated completion time
The American Studies concentration takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of United States culture, society, civilization, and identity through the curricular lenses of history, literature, critical theory, and more.
The Early Modern Studies concentration undertakes interdisciplinary examination of history, culture, politics, and society within the transitional and transformative period that stretched between Medieval and modern societies, marked especially by the advent of print, Christian confessional war, and the rise of the modern state.
A comparative analysis of culture in the Americas, the concentration in Hemispheric & Transnational Studies explores how scholarship on the Atlantic, borderlands, and diaspora have reshaped U.S. American Studies, Caribbean Studies, and Latin American Studies, emphasizing the topics of empire, race, religion, and revolution.
Situated at the bustling intersection of cultural studies, new media, critical theory, and popular culture, the burgeoning field of Media Studies examines the creative and critical practices of media consumers, producers, artists, and scholars, focusing on questions of representation, power, technology, politics, and economy.
The Museum Studies concentration investigates the history and political role of museums in society, the interpretation and display of a wide variety of cultural productions, and topics of special concern to museums as cultural organizations, using a multidisciplinary, practice-based approach to understand the historical development of this evolving field.
University of Minnesota
Doctoral Student, American Studies
University of California, Davis
Doctoral Student, Cultural Studies
University of California, Irvine
Academic Counselor
The Nature Conservancy, Los Angeles
External Affairs Manager
Share Your Voice Foundation
Co-founder, Educational Program Director
Public Engagement at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
Curatorial Assistant
Visual and Performing Arts Education Program at UCLA
Associate Director
Pitzer College
Professor, Department of Media Studies
California State University, Los Angeles
Professor, Departments of Liberal Studies and Communication Studies
Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies
Research Interests
Consumer culture, social media, algorithms and data science, infrastructures and urban public space
Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies
Research Interests
Black studies, urban geography, policing and carceral studies, abolition studies, cultural studies, indigenous studies, racial capitalism.
Professor of Cultural Studies and History
Chair, Cultural Studies Department
Research Interests
Modern Spain, 19th- and 20th-century Europe, Genocide and racial thought, Museums and commemoration, Memory
Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and English
Research Interests
Hemispheric Americas studies, Latino/a/x studies, Black diaspora studies, American literature and culture
Visiting Associate Professor of Cultural Studies
Philosophy Teachout Coordinator
Research Interests
Aesthetics, Africana Intellectual Thought, Critical Theory, Continental Philosophy
Associate Professor of Cultural Studies
Research Interests
Cultural studies, Media studies, Feminist and queer theory, Asian American studies
Pitzer College
Research Interests
Spectatorship, Fandom, Branding, Technology, Architecture, Moving image media art, Reality television
Scripps College
Research Interests
African diaspora with specialization in its literature
Scripps College
Research Interests
Feminist and queer of color approaches to media representations of public health issues
Pitzer College
Research Interests
The appropriation of Wunderkammer tactics in contemporary curatorial practice
Pitzer College
Research Interests
Cultural ecology, Ecological design, Ecology of expressive culture, Aboriginal Australias
Pomona College
Research Interests
Cultural studies, Contemporary art controversies, Film theory, Psychoanalytic theory
Pomona College
Research Interests
The intersections of biblical interpretation and political philosophies, with their multiple impacts on political subjectivity, gender, sexuality, U.S. national sovereignty, and biopolitics
Course Requirements
Research Tools Requirement
Research Paper
Special Program
In addition to earning an MA in Cultural Studies, you can complete a certificate program in Africana Studies or Women’s & Gender Studies.
Item | Description |
---|---|
Application Fee | $80 |
Official Transcripts | Yes |
Letters of Recommendation | 3 |
Statement of Purpose | Yes |
Resume | Yes |
Other Requirements | Writing sample, English proficiency exam |
CGU operates on a priority deadline cycle. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit complete applications by the priority dates in order to assure maximum consideration for both admission and fellowships.
Once the priority deadlines have passed, the University will continue to review applications for qualified candidates on a competitive, space-available basis. The final deadlines listed are the last date the University can accept an application in order to allow sufficient time to complete the admissions, financial aid, and other enrollment processes.
Spring 2025
Priority Deadline – November 1, 2024
Final Deadline (International) – November 15, 2024
Final Deadline (Domestic) – December 1, 2024
Classes begin – January 21, 2025
Fall 2025
Priority Deadline – February 1, 2025
Final Deadline (International) – July 5, 2025
Final Deadline (Domestic) – August 1, 2025
Classes begin – August 25, 2025
The Claremont Graduate University online application is hosted online by Slate Technolutions via a secure web server. You will create a username and password so that you can return to continue your application over several sessions and check your status after submission. After you submit your application, it is made available for review by our faculty and staff.
The application fee is non-refundable.
Applicants must submit a sealed, official transcript from every undergraduate and graduate institution that has granted the applicant a degree. Electronic transcripts sent to admissions@cgu.edu are also accepted. For undergraduate coursework, applicants are required to submit proof of a completed bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Unofficial copies of transcripts are accepted for review purposes, but official copies will be required upon admission.
Applicants currently earning a degree that will be completed prior to attending CGU are required to submit a transcript showing work in progress for evaluation purposes. Once the degree has been granted, a final official transcript documenting the degree conferred must be submitted to CGU.
International applicants are advised to review the International Transcript Guidelines for additional information on submitting international transcripts.
Applicants must submit an up-to-date copy of their resume.
A valid score on one of the following examinations TOEFL, IELTS, Pearson PTE, Duolingo English Test is required of all non-native English-speaking applicants. The examination is not required for the following applicants:
CGU’s school code for the TOEFL exam is 4053.
International applicants are encouraged to visit our International Applicants page for more information, including score requirements.
When filling out the online application, please enter references acquainted with your potential for success who will submit a written recommendation on your behalf. In most academic departments, references from faculty members who can speak to your academic ability are preferred; applicants with substantial work experience may request professional references. Please do not enter family members as references.
You will be required to input information for your recommenders (whether they are submitting online or not) in the “Recommendations” section of the online application. Please follow the directions in this section carefully before clicking on “Recommendation Provider List” to input the names and contact information for each recommender. You will have an opportunity to indicate if the reference writer will be submitting online. These reference writers will receive an email from CGU with instructions on submitting an online recommendation.
Recommenders who are indicated as offline will not receive an email from CGU with instructions to submit. These reference writers can submit via traditional mail and should use the supplemental New Student Recommendation Form. Recommenders can also email their letter of recommendation to the Office of Admissions at admissions@cgu.edu.
Please submit a 2-3 page statement of purpose that details your academic and/or professional achievements, your specific areas of research interest within your desired field of study, why you are a strong candidate for graduate studies at CGU, and your career goals.
All applicants are required to submit a writing sample of previous work in addition to the statement of purpose. You may submit samples of any length you feel indicate your writing ability, but please note that we will be unable to return any items submitted as part of your application (please, no books). Most applicants submit one or two scholarly papers or excerpts of around 10-15 pages. Writing samples should not exceed 30 pages.
Program | 40 units |
Tuition per unit* | $2,020 |
*Based on 2024-2025 tuition rates.
$245 Student Fee |
$150 Technology Fee |
International Student Services Fee*: $661 fall semester, $776 spring semester **Applies to all international students (F-1 visa only) who are registered in coursework, doctoral study, or continuous registration. The fee is assessed each fall and spring semester for annual ISO accident and sickness plans and administrative fees. Subject to change. |
For estimates of room & board, books, etc., please download CGU’s Cost of Attendance 2024-2025.
As a student in the School of Arts & Humanities, you have the option of completing one of five interdisciplinary concentrations.
The American Studies concentration takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of United States culture, society, civilization, and identity through the curricular lenses of history, literature, critical theory, and more.
The Early Modern Studies concentration undertakes interdisciplinary examination of history, culture, politics, and society within the transitional and transformative period that stretched between Medieval and modern societies, marked especially by the advent of print, Christian confessional war, and the rise of the modern state.
A comparative analysis of culture in the Americas, the concentration in Hemispheric & Transnational Studies explores how scholarship on the Atlantic, borderlands, and diaspora have reshaped U.S. American Studies, Caribbean Studies, and Latin American Studies, emphasizing the topics of empire, race, religion, and revolution.
Situated at the bustling intersection of cultural studies, new media, critical theory, and popular culture, the burgeoning field of Media Studies examines the creative and critical practices of media consumers, producers, artists, and scholars, focusing on questions of representation, power, technology, politics, and economy.
The Museum Studies concentration investigates the history and political role of museums in society, the interpretation and display of a wide variety of cultural productions, and topics of special concern to museums as cultural organizations, using a multidisciplinary, practice-based approach to understand the historical development of this evolving field.
These concentrations are available for students pursuing the following degree programs:
Master’s Degrees
Doctoral Degrees