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Bachelor's

Disability Studies BA

University of California, Los Angeles College of Letters and Science 110 courses

About This Program

Disability Studies is a multifaceted field that examines the nature, meaning, and consequences of disability. The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Disability Studies is an interdisciplinary, community-based, capstone major. It appeals to undergraduates seeking a conceptual and practical understanding of disability as a foundation for graduate or professional studies and/or careers across a broad spectrum of professions. The major curriculum recognizes disability as a central part of our lived experience; a critical dimension of social, cultural, and political identity; and a frequent target of discrimination and exclusion. Through foundational courses, interdisciplinary electives, community-engaged course work, and a senior capstone research project, students in the major learn to think critically about disability as a core aspect of the human experience, preparing them to enact transformational change across disability communities and beyond. The Disability Studies major is a designated capstone major. Students have the option of completing a capstone seminar (Disability Studies 191) or independent research project (Disability Studies 198A and 198B, or 199A and 199B) that enables them to use knowledge and skills acquired through previous coursework to engage, under the guidance of a faculty member, in a research or creative project that results in a final paper or other product.

Degree Requirements

Preparation for the Major

Complete five courses as follows:

Code Course Title Credits
DIS STD 1 Construction of (Dis)ability and Ableism in U.S. 5

Preparation for the Major: Social Theory

Select one course from:

Code Course Title Credits
ANTHRO 3 Culture and Society 5
PUB AFF 10 Social Problems and Social Change 5
PUB AFF 80 How Social Environments Shape Human Development 4
SOCIOL 1 Introductory Sociology 5

Preparation for the Major: Race, Identity, and Society

Select one course from:

Code Course Title Credits
AF AMER 1 Introduction to Black Studies 5
AF AMER 6 Trends in Black Intellectual Thought 5
AM IND M10 Introduction to American Indian Studies 5
ASIA AM 10 History of Asian Americans 5
ASIA AM 20 Contemporary Asian American Communities 5
ASIA AM 30 Asian American Literature and Culture 5
ASIA AM 40 Asian American Movement 5
ASIA AM 50 Asian American Women 5
CCAS 10A Introduction to Chicana/Chicano Studies: History and Culture 5
CCAS 10B Introduction to Chicana/Chicano Studies: Social Structure and Contemporary Conditions 5
CCAS 20 Central American Studies: Histories and Cultures 5
CLUSTER 20B Race and Indigeneity in U.S. 6
CLUSTER 60B America in Sixties: Politics, Society, and Culture, 1954 to 1974 6
CLUSTER M72B Sex from Biology to Gendered Society 6
CLUSTER 80BX Frontiers in Human Aging 6
COMM M72B Sex from Biology to Gendered Society 6
DESMA 10 Design Culture 5
EDUC 11 Education, Equality, and Future of American Society: Problems, Prospects, and Policies 5
GENDER 10 Introduction to Gender Studies 5
LBR STD 10 Introduction to Labor Studies 5
SOC GEN M72B Sex from Biology to Gendered Society 6
SOCIOL M72B Sex from Biology to Gendered Society 6
SPAN 44 Latin American Cultures 5
WL ARTS M23 Introduction to American Indian Studies 5

The Major: Core (5 units)

Select one course from:

Code Course Title Credits
DIS STD 101W Perspectives on Disability Studies 5
DIS STD 101 Perspectives on Disability Studies 5

The Major: Disability-Centered Electives (8 units)

Select two courses from the following. Anthropology 149 may only be applied if the topic offers an interdisciplinary perspective of disability.

Code Course Title Credits
ANTHRO 137P Anthropology of Deviance and Abnormality 4
ANTHRO 149 Selected Topics in Social Anthropology 4
ASIA AM M117 Asian American Personality and Mental Health 4
DESMA 171 Topics in Interactivity and Games 5
EDUC 104A Introduction to Exceptional Learners 4
EDUC 132 Autism: Mind, Brain, and Education 5
GENDER 152 Gender, Disability, and Education 4
PSYCH M107 Asian American Personality and Mental Health 4
PSYCH 127A Clinical Psychological Science 4
PSYCH 127B Clinical Psychological Science: Biological Bases 4
PSYCH 127C Clinical Psychological Science: Developmental Perspectives 4
PSYCH 132A Learning Problems, Schooling Problems: Policy and Practice 4

The Major: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability (16 units)

Select one course from each of the following categories:

The Major: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability (16 units): Category 1: Health Humanities and Bioethics

Select one course from the following. Anthropology 149 may only be applied if the topic offers an interdisciplinary perspective of disability. Disability Studies M172 and M172XP, or Nursing M172 and M172XP, must be taken together to satisfy one course.

Code Course Title Credits
ANTHRO 137P Anthropology of Deviance and Abnormality 4
ANTHRO 149 Selected Topics in Social Anthropology 4
ASIA AM M117 Asian American Personality and Mental Health 4
ASIA AM M129 Health Issues for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Myth or Model? 4
ASIA AM M161 Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Issues in America's Healthcare Systems 4
COM HLT 100 Introduction to Community Health Sciences 4
COM HLT M140 Health Issues for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Myth or Model? 4
COM LIT 180 Variable Topics: Health Humanities in Comparative Contexts 4
DIS STD 137XP Community Engaged Learning around Autism and Neurodiversity: Identity, Belonging, and Advocacy 4
DIS STD 138XP Applied Autism Intervention: Multidisciplinary Perspective 4
DIS STD M139 Perspectives on Autism and Neurodiversity 4
DIS STD M148 Sociology of Mental Illness 4
DIS STD M166 Health-Care Ethics 4
DIS STD M172 Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 2
DIS STD M172XP Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 3
DIS STD M183 Being Human: Identity and Mental Illness 5
EDUC 132 Autism: Mind, Brain, and Education 5
HLT POL M110 Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Issues in America's Healthcare Systems 4
HIST 179A Variable Topics in History of Medicine 4
HIST 179B History of Medicine: Foundations of Modern Medicine 4
HIST 179C Medicine and Society in 20th-Century America 4
HNRS M183 Being Human: Identity and Mental Illness 5
NURSING M172 Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 2
NURSING M172XP Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 3
PHILOS 173 Philosophy of Medicine 4
PUB AFF M131 Diversity in Aging: Roles of Gender and Ethnicity 4
PUB AFF 134 Politics of U.S. Health Policy 4
PSYCH M107 Asian American Personality and Mental Health 4
PSYCH 127A Clinical Psychological Science 4
PSYCH 127B Clinical Psychological Science: Biological Bases 4
PSYCH 127C Clinical Psychological Science: Developmental Perspectives 4
PSYCH M139 Perspectives on Autism and Neurodiversity 4
SOC GEN M166 Health-Care Ethics 4
SOC GEN M183 Being Human: Identity and Mental Illness 5
SOCIOL M148 Sociology of Mental Illness 4

The Major: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability (16 units): Category 2: Access and Social Change

Select one course from the following. Disability Studies M172 and M172XP, or Nursing M172 and M172XP, must be taken together to satisfy one course.

Code Course Title Credits
CESC 172XP Community-Engaged Research to Address Health Disparities 4
DIS STD M112 Disability and Musical-Dramatic Arts: Representation, Embodiment, Themes, and Practices 5
DIS STD 145 Mental Disability Law 4
DIS STD M148 Sociology of Mental Illness 4
DIS STD M149 Disability Rights Law 4
DIS STD M157 Rechoreographing Disability 4
DIS STD M161 Sports, Normativity, and Body 4
DIS STD M162 History of Mass Media and Deaf Community 4
DIS STD M166 Health-Care Ethics 4
DIS STD M172 Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 2
DIS STD M172XP Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 3
DESMA 171 Topics in Interactivity and Games 5
EDUC 104A Introduction to Exceptional Learners 4
GENDER 152 Gender, Disability, and Education 4
NURSING M172 Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 2
NURSING M172XP Care Work: Disability Justice and Health Care 3
PSYCH 132A Learning Problems, Schooling Problems: Policy and Practice 4
SOC GEN M166 Health-Care Ethics 4
SOCIOL M120 Disability Rights Law 4
SOCIOL M148 Sociology of Mental Illness 4

The Major: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability (16 units): Category 3: Representation, Embodiment, and Disability Cultures

Select one course from:

Code Course Title Credits
COM LIT 180 Variable Topics: Health Humanities in Comparative Contexts 4
DIS STD M103 Studies in Disability Literatures 5
DIS STD 111 Disability as Spectacle: Performing Nonnormative Bodies 4
DIS STD M112 Disability and Musical-Dramatic Arts: Representation, Embodiment, Themes, and Practices 5
DIS STD M114 Variable Topics in Performance and Disability Studies 4
DIS STD M115 Enforcing Normalcy: Deaf and Disability Studies 4
DIS STD M121 Topics in Gender and Disabilities 4
DIS STD M139 Perspectives on Autism and Neurodiversity 4
DIS STD M157 Rechoreographing Disability 4
DIS STD M161 Sports, Normativity, and Body 4
DIS STD M162 History of Mass Media and Deaf Community 4
ENGL M103 Studies in Disability Literatures 5
GENDER 104 Bodies 4
GENDER M121 Topics in Gender and Disabilities 4
PSYCH M139 Perspectives on Autism and Neurodiversity 4
THEATER M114 Variable Topics in Performance and Disability Studies 4

The Major: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Disability (16 units): Category 4: Global and Historical Perspectives

Select one course from the following. Anthropology 149 may only be applied if the topic offers an interdisciplinary perspective of disability.

Code Course Title Credits
ANTHRO 137P Anthropology of Deviance and Abnormality 4
ANTHRO 149 Selected Topics in Social Anthropology 4
COM HLT 132 Health, Disease, and Health Services in Latin America 4
COM LIT 180 Variable Topics: Health Humanities in Comparative Contexts 4
DIS STD M103 Studies in Disability Literatures 5
DIS STD M161 Sports, Normativity, and Body 4
DIS STD M162 History of Mass Media and Deaf Community 4
ENGL M103 Studies in Disability Literatures 5
GENDER 152 Gender, Disability, and Education 4
GENDER M161 Sports, Normativity, and Body 4
HIST 179A Variable Topics in History of Medicine 4
HIST 179B History of Medicine: Foundations of Modern Medicine 4
HIST 179C Medicine and Society in 20th-Century America 4

The Major: Internship or Research Practicum (8 units)

Select one of the following options:

The Major: Internship or Research Practicum (8 units): Option 1

Complete two quarters of Disability Studies 195CE.

Code Course Title Credits
DIS STD 195CE Community and Corporate Internships in Disability Studies 4

The Major: Internship or Research Practicum (8 units): Option 2

Complete two quarters of Disability Studies 196.

Code Course Title Credits
DIS STD 196 Research Apprenticeship in Disability Studies 4

Honors Program

All honors students must complete their capstone requirement by taking courses 198A and 198B, in which they research, write, and present an honors thesis.

Code Course Title Credits
DIS STD 198A Honors Research in Disability Studies 2
DIS STD 198B Honors Research in Disability Studies 4

Click a course code or title to read the full course description.

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