About the Department

The Community Studies Department is home to both the Community Studies Undergraduate Program and the Social Documentation Graduate Program. Both programs are interdisciplinary in nature, integrating scholarship and community engagement in both research and teaching. Since its founding in 1969, we have addressed principles of social justice and the dynamics of racial and class inequity as we explore constructions of community and their implications.

If you are actively committed to social justice, both the undergraduate major and the graduate program provide many opportunities for you to work on a full-time basis beyond the boundaries of the university. The undergraduate core curriculum focuses on the development of academic tools for social analysis and field observation/participation while deepening your knowledge of specific histories and theoretical perspectives that are essential to the study of communities and transformation. Our model of field study immersion requires our undergraduate majors to spend six months engaging with specific communities through residence and participation in organizations with a social change mission.

Master's candidates build a curriculum around a required set of core courses, elective courses in their substantive area of interest, and the creation of a two year documentary project. Graduate core courses offer a foundation in the theory and practice of social documentary.

Our faculty consists of sociologists, anthropologists, historians, geographers, and social documentarians. The range of their academic disciplines, research interests, and arenas of civic engagement permits the department to delve into cross-cutting contemporary approaches that color every aspect of social life. The major offers Community Studies students a lively choice of concentrations in which to specialize, including

In addition to our permanent faculty, we also have lecturers who complement our full-time faculty in the areas of of gerontology, chicanos and social change, social documentary and community organizing

For information about the undergraduate program, including a set of guidelines required for acceptance into the major, please visit the Undergraduate Program page.

For information about the Social Documentation Master's Program, please visit the Social Documentation Program page.

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