Concentration

Concentration Options

Students who follow the Bachelor of Arts Program (BA Pathway) are required to complete a Concentration, in addition to the Core Requirements. 

The Concentration requires a minimum of 12 units in one of the thematic programs of study identified below. Students may choose to pursue a Concentration option that consists of appropriate electives and/or works toward a Subject Matter Authorization (refer to the Credential Center for more information). There is no uniform way of fulfilling these concentration options - each student may complete these requirements uniquely depending on previous coursework taken and course interests moving forward. It is recommended to generally follow the themes or subject areas with courses chosen.  If you notice that your Academic Requirements Report and/or Degree Planner is not listing your concentration correctly, be sure to email us at CED-LibSt@csulb.edu. 

Below are recommended classes that could be used toward any of the concentrations, though students are not required to follow these lists specifically.  Courses taken to satisfy the Subject Matter Concentration requirements shall be selected by the student in consultation with a Liberal Studies Academic Advisor.

Specific Recommended Courses

  • AFRS 332 - Civil Rights and the Law (3)

  • AFRS 420 - African American Children in Public Schools (3)

  • ANTH 413 - Language and Culture (3)

  • CDFS 111 - Preschool Child (3)*

  • CDFS 211 - Guiding Young Children (3)*

  • CDFS 214 - Environments for Preschool Children (3)*

  • CDFS 215 - Environments for Infants and Toddlers (3)*

  • COUN 191 - Career and Personal Explorations (3)

  • ETEC 435 - Accessible Electronic and Information Technologies (3)

  • ED P 405 - Positive Strategies for Classroom Management (3)

  • L/ST 310 - Educational Equity & Justice (3)

  • L/ST 320 - Intersectionality in Education (3)

  • SOC 345 - Youth, Policing, and Justice (3)

General Recommended Departments / Courses

  • Africana Studies (AFRS) Courses

  • American Indian Studies (AIS) Courses

  • Asian American Studies (ASAM) Courses

  • Chicano & Latino Studies (CHLS) Courses

  • Child Development & Family Studies (CDFS) Courses *CDFS classes are mostly open to Child Development majors, pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Education Specialist (EDSP) Courses

  • Educational Psychology (ED P) Courses

  • Educational Technology (ETEC) Courses

  • Liberal Studies (L/ST) Courses

Specific Recommended Courses

  • AFRS 410 - The African American Family (3)

  • AIS 345 - Working with American Indian and Indigenous Families (3)

  • ANTH 315 - Human Variation (3)

  • ASAM 340 - Asian American Family (3)

  • CDFS 111 - Preschool Child (3)*

  • CDFS 311 - Prenatal Development and Infancy (3)*

  • CDFS 312 - Family and Personal Development (3)*

  • CHLS 362 - Latinas/os, Law and Public Policy (3)

  • CHLS 421 - Street Gangs in Comparative Perspective (3)

  • CHLS 470 - Latinas/Latinos: Health Status and Health Care Access (3)

  • HSC 421 - Health Behavior (3)

  • EDP 302 - Early and Late Adolescent Development and Learning: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (3)

  • L/ST 310 - Educational Equity & Justice (3)

  • PSY 100 - General Psychology (3)*

  • PSY 332 - Human Cognition (3)*

  • PSY 361 - Psychology of Child and Adolescent Development (3)*

  • PSY 362 - Autism Spectrum Disorders (3)*

  • SOC 100 - Principles of Sociology (3)

  • SOC 320 - Sociology of Families (3)

  • SOC 423 - Child Abuse and Prevention (3)

General Recommended Departments / Courses

  • Africana Studies (AFRS) Courses

  • American Indian Studies (AIS) Courses

  • Asian American Studies (ASAM) Courses

  • Chicano & Latino Studies (CHLS) Courses

  • Child Development & Family Studies (CDFS) Courses *CDFS classes are mostly open to Child Development majors, pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Gerontology (GERN) Courses

  • Human Development (HDEV) Courses

  • Linguistics (LING) Courses

  • Psychology (PSY) Courses *Most PSY classes are open to Psychology majors, pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Sociology (SOC) Courses

Specific Recommended Courses

  • AFRS 140 - Introduction to African American Literature (3)

  • AFRS 170A - Elementary Swahili (3)

  • AFRS 177 - African American Rhetoric (3)

  • AIS 340 - American Indian Literature (3)

  • ASAM 260 - Introduction to Asian American Literature (3)

  • CHLS 150 - Introduction to Chicano Literary Studies (3)

  • CHLS 352 - Central American and Caribbean Peoples in California (3)

  • CHLS 370 - Chicana/o and Latina/o Literature (3)

  • CHLS 390 - The U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: Historic and Literary Images (3)

  • CHIN 370 - Chinese Literature in English Translation (3)

  • CWL 205 - Digital Literature and Culture (3)

  • CWL 213 - Visual Studies: Comics and Graphic Novels (3)

  • CWL 220 - Literature and Play (3)

  • CWL 350 - Global Literature in American Culture (3)

  • CWL 453 - Fairy Tales (3)

  • ENGL 283 - Science Fiction (3)

  • ENGL 370 - Chicano/a and Latino/a Literature (3)

  • ENGL 387 - Comics and Graphic Narratives (3)

  • ENGL 410 - Theories of Writing and Literacy (3)

  • LING 170 - Introduction to Linguistics (3)

  • LING 413 - Language and Culture (3)

  • LING 426 - History of the English Language (3)

General Recommended Departments / Courses

  • Africana Studies (AFRS) Courses

  • American Indian Studies (AIS) Courses

  • Asian American Studies (ASAM) Courses

  • Chicano & Latino Studies (CHLS) Courses

  • Classics (CLSC) Courses

  • Communication Studies (COMM) Courses *Most COMM classes are open to Communications majors and pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Comparative World Literature (CWL) Courses

  • English (ENGL) Courses

  • Foreign Language (varies) Courses

Specific Recommended Courses

  • AFRS 155 - African American Music (3)

  • AIS 222 - American Indian Museum Studies (3)

  • ART 101 - Artists in their Own Words (3) 

  • ART 110 - Introduction to the Visual Arts (3) 

  • AH 111A - Foundation Art History I (3)

  • AH 111B - Foundation Art History II (3)

  • ASAM 341 / CHLS 341 - Asian American Chicano Latino Cinema (3)

  • COMM 333 - Performing Culture (3)

  • COMM 358 - Speech Arts for Children (3)

  • DANC 101 - Introduction to Modern Dance (3)

  • DANC 102 - Introduction to Ballet (3)

  • DANC 103 - Introduction to Jazz (3)

  • DANC 104 - Introduction to Tap (3)

  • DANC 107 - Introduction to Hip Hop Dance (3)

  • ENGL 318 - Theory of Fiction & Film (3)

  • ENGL 363 - Shakespeare I (3)

  • ENGL 387 - Comics and Graphic Narratives (3)

  • MUS 140 - Basic Music Theory (2)

  • THEA 103 - Text Analysis (3)

  • THEA 327 - Theatre Protest and Social Change (3)

General Recommended Departments / Courses

  • Africana Studies (AFRS) Courses

  • American Indian Studies (AIS) Courses

  • Art (ART) Courses *Studio art classes are open to Art majors, pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Art History (AH) Courses

  • Asian American Studies (ASAM) Courses

  • Chicano & Latino Studies (CHLS) Courses

  • Communication Studies (COMM) Courses *Most COMM classes are open to Communications majors and pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Dance (DANC) Courses *Most Dance classes are open to Dance majors and pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Music (MUS) Courses *Most Music classes are open to art majors, pre-art majors only.

  • Theater Arts (THEA) Courses *Select Theater Arts classes are open to Theater majors, pre-majors, and minors only.

Specific Recommended Courses

  • EDP 419 - Educational Statistics (3)

  • HDEV 190 - Elementary Statistics in Social & Behavioral Sciences (3)

  • MATH 103 - Mathematical Ideas (3)

  • MATH 109 - Modeling with Algebra (3)

  • MTED 415 - History of Mathematics for Elementary and Middle School Teachers (4)

  • MTED 420 - Number Theory for Elementary and Middle School Teachers (4)

  • MTED 424 - Algebraic Structures for Elementary and Middle School Teachers (4)

  • MTED 425 - Functions, Models and Concepts of Calculus for Elementary and Middle School Teachers (4)

  • STAT 108 - Statistics for Everyday Life (3)

General Recommended Departments / Courses

  • Mathematics (varies) Courses

  • Mathematics Education (MTED) Courses

Specific Recommended Courses

  • ASTR 100 - Astronomy (3)

  • BIOL 153 - Introduction to Marine Biology (3)

  • BIOL 205 - Human Biology (4)

  • CHEM 100 - Chemistry and Today's World (4)

  • GEOL 190 - Environmental Geology (3)

  • GEOL 240 - Historical Geology (4)

  • GEOL 300 - Earth Systems and Global Change (3)

  • GEOL 303 - Coastal Systems and Human Impact (3)

  • SCED 100 - Introduction to Scientific and Spatial Reasoning (3)

  • SCED 404 - Nature of Science and Scientific Reasoning (3)

General Recommended Departments / Courses

  • Astronomy (ASTR) Courses

  • Biology (BIOL) Courses

  • Chemistry & Biochemistry (CHEM) Courses

  • Environmental Science/Policy (ESP) Courses

  • Geology (GEOL) Courses

  • Science Education (SCED) Courses

Specific Recommended Courses

  • AFRS 110 - Introduction to Africana Studies (3)

  • AFRS 154 - Introduction to Africana Women’s Studies (3)

  • AFRS 210 - African American Community (3)

  • AFRS 330 - Politics of the African American Community (3)

  • AFRS 332 - Civil Rights and the Law (3)

  • AFRS 335 - Economic Development in the African American Community (3)

  • AFRS 354 - African American Women and the Civil Rights Movement (3)

  • AFRS 420 - African American Children in Public Schools (3)

  • AIS 101 - Introduction to the Study of Native American People (3)

  • AIS 308 - California Indian History (3)

  • AIS 485 - American Indians and the Law (3)

  • AMST 350 - California Culture (3)

  • ANTH 322 - California Indians (3)

  • ANTH 412 - Culture and Communication (3)

  • ASAM 120 - Asian American History (3)

  • ASAM 121 - Contemporary Issues in Asian America (3)

  • ASAM 330 - Japanese American Experience (3)

  • ASAM 331 - Chinese American Experience (3)

  • ASAM 332 - Korean American Experience (3)

  • ASAM 333 - Vietnamese American Experience (3)

  • ASAM 334 - Cambodian American Experience (3)

  • ASAM 346 - Asian Americans and the Law (3)

  • ASAM 352 - Filipino/a American Experiences (3)

  • CHLS 300 - Chicano History (3)

  • CHLS 303 - Farm Workers (3)

  • CHLS 305 - Chicana/o and Latina/o California History (3)

  • CHLS 320 - Wealth and Poverty in Latino Communities (3)

  • CHLS 335 - Asian and Latino Immigration Since World War II (3)

  • CHLS 340 - Latino Education in the U.S (3) Note: Meets requirement for Spanish BILA

  • CHLS 350 - The Latino Population in the United States (3)

  • CHLS 352 - Central American and Caribbean Peoples in California (3)

  • CHLS 355 - Asian and Latino Immigration Since WWII (3)

  • CHLS 362 - Latinas/os, Law and Public Policy (3)

  • CHLS 400 - Chicana/o and Latina/o Politics in the U.S. (3)

  • CHLS 415 - Latina Women in the United States (3)

  • CHLS 421 - Street Gangs in Comparative Perspective (3)

  • CHLS 450 - 1492 and Beyond (3)

  • GEOG 120 - Geography of Human Diversity in the United States (3)

  • HIST 402 - Oral History Methods (1-3)

  • SOC 358 - Sociology of Migration and Immigration (3)

General Recommended Departments / Courses

  • Africana Studies (AFRS) Courses

  • American Indian Studies (AIS) Courses

  • Anthrolopology (ANTH) Courses

  • Asian American Studies (ASAM) Courses

  • Chicano & Latino Studies (CHLS) Courses

  • Geography (GEOG) Courses

  • History (HIST) Courses

  • International Studies (I/ST) Courses

  • Political Science (POSC) Courses

  • Psychology (PSY) Courses *Most PSY classes are open to Psychology majors, pre-majors, and minors only.

  • Sociology (SOC) Courses