College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Our world is increasingly interconnected, with people of different cultures, nations, and worldviews coming into contact more than ever before. Global Studies experts adopt a global imaginary that appreciates that what happens in one part of the world affects and influences what happens in other parts of the world.

A Global Studies student in Spring 2024 said: “GS focuses on the voices throughout the world that have been silenced, or don’t have a platform. Global Studies as a field focuses on the world as a connected space and ways to better it [through] realistic efforts.”

Global Studies is a field similar to International Studies or International Relations, but with greater emphasis on voices “from the margins.” These include: Indigenous rights movements, workers’ rights movements, peasants’ rights movements, immigrants’ rights movements, environmental rights movements and the nonhuman world. In other words, in Global Studies we take seriously the voices and lived experiences of those most adversely impacted by globalization and the global capitalist economy, not just powerful nation states and corporations.

A Global Studies student in Spring 2024 said: “I love that GS approaches international relations-esque topics in a more human, empathetic, holistic way that promotes understanding and compassion for those victimized by global events outside their control.”

The field is transdisciplinary in that it incorporates fields such as political science, sociology, history, economics, geography, ecology, anthropology, business, media studies, the humanities, and more, but also in that there is an explicit emphasis on lived experience and local knowledge. These are not always valued in traditional Western academic disciplines. Global Studies also draws on often overlooked sites of knowledge production, like peasant movements, postcolonial theory, and Indigenous worldviews.

A Global Studies student in Spring 2024 said: “What I love about Global Studies as a discipline is that it focuses on hard to find knowledge, not just Western epistemologies, that it sees the local individual/community and not just nation-states. It is transdisciplinary, it looks at all parts to better understand the whole. It values non-humans as well as humans.”

Our students and alumni describe Global Studies as an education that changes your worldview.

• “What I love about Global Studies is how it changes the way we look at the world and each other.”
• “What I love about Global Studies is… there’s so much. I love how limitless the areas of studies are. Differences are supported and I feel like I have a better understanding and connection with people and beings on this globe.”

Our small class sizes (capped at 30 students) allow for one-on-one engagement with faculty and deep collaborative learning with classmates.

• “What I love about Global Studies [at CSUMB] is the class sizes and the face time you get with the professors. You can really tell they care about your education and goals.”

• “Not only was the professor supportive, but my classmates were also kind and helpful, contributing to a positive learning environment.”
• "The people in class tend to also make the experience enjoyable. Everyone was always so engaged and I loved hearing everyone sharing their opinions, thoughts, and questions; it was a nice change from having some courses where only a few students tend to share their thoughts unless provoked by the professor.”
• “I always felt comfortable asking questions, which greatly encouraged me to learn more without fear of judgment.”
• “My relationship with everyone so far has been great and we all have tremendous respect for each other.”

• “What I love about the Global Studies major is the opportunity to look at global issues through the lenses of multiple different disciplines, and to work with like-minded people.”
• “What I love about Global Studies is that we discuss a wide range of subjects about our world and how it works, and also how different cultures, systems, and ideas connect to each other.”

The Global Studies major coursework includes:

• 5 required core courses: including an introductory course, Major ProSeminar, Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR), and Capstone courses
• University and GE graduation requirements: students choose from lists of course options in Global Studies to fulfill the upper division Service Learning requirement, the upper division social sciences GE requirement, and the upper division science and quantitative reasoning GE requirement
• 4 area focus courses: one chosen course from options in each of four areas:
  1. Global culture, ideology, and representation
  2. Global politics/peace and conflict
  3. Global political economy
  4. Historical formations and international development

Look up the most recent catalog (course requirements) for the Global Studies major and minor here. 

As a program for those passionate about traveling and being exposed to a wide diversity of worldviews and ideologies, we partner with International Programs on Education Abroad programs in 20+ countries around the world! Our students have studied abroad in Australia, Chile, Germany, Ghana, Iceland, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the West Indies.

Advising from the Global Studies program coordinator ensures that coursework taken abroad transfers back to CSUMB, so that students are still progressing toward on-time completion of their Global Studies B.A. while abroad. For Global Studies minors, classes taken abroad can also fulfill course requirements.

Minors offered at CSUMB that have been popular with Global Studies students include: Ethnic & Gender Studies, Journalism & Media Studies, Peace Studies, Pre-Law, Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Latin American Studies, Japanese Culture & History, Business Administration, Environmental Health Policy, International Health Policy, Nonprofit Management, Social Work, Community Health Education, Health & Wellness, Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, and Communication Design.

Search the full list of minors and required coursework through CSUMB’s catalog.

College should be a time to explore your interests and define your future goals. But the rising costs of tuition makes exploration feel like a risky move. We’ve designed the Global Studies major to have fewer units, so that students can explore again, without fear of delaying timely degree completion. 

We also believe that the Global Studies major imparts skills and strengths that will help you see the world, and any topic or issue, in any field, with: empathy and a social-justice orientation, cultural competence, critical thinking, and a global imaginary. Professors in other departments regularly compliment our students on the rigor, thoughtfulness, and care they bring to their classes. 

So take a class you’re interested in, just because you’re interested in it, without delaying degree completion and increasing costs to you! You never know what you might learn.

Community development, civil service, foreign affairs, international relations, staff in local, state, and federal government, international law and public practice, serving in presidential and congressional campaigns, political consultants, public relations, international diplomatic corps, policy development, politics, and public service.

NGOs locally and around the world (environmental, women’s rights, health, and peacemaking), volunteer coordinator, environmental lobbying, disaster and disease relief, environmental and labor organizing, Peace Corps, World Social Forum, UN-affiliated organizations, community and social services, community healthcare, and organizing around labor, migrant rights, and food sovereignty.

Communications, banking, market research, healthcare administration, marketing, business analyst, international business, social entrepreneurship, trade specialist, international trade compliance, sales and business, and tourism.

Art, teaching (at all levels), media and journalism, broadcasting, advertising, photography, universities, librarians, and public and private education.

Our students are committed to:

• ethical reasoning centering marginalized voices, and a belief that analyses of global processes should always take into account the people, communities, and environments who ultimately feel the impacts of those processes, even when impacts are unintended or unforeseen
• engaging in anti-oppressive practices that actively challenge the systems, structures, and policies of racism and inequity
• developing competency in a range of methodologies that are deeply intersectional, including: feminist, critical race, postcolonial, and indigenous methodologies
• practicing personal and professional values that strengthen community relationships and contributions

Our students are adept at:

• clearly and effectively exchanging information, ideas, facts, and perspectives
• demonstrating the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from diverse cultures and backgrounds
• understanding social positioning and how it is reflected in our worldviews, ideologies, and cultural biases
• building and maintaining collaborative relationships to work effectively toward common goals, while appreciating diverse viewpoints and shared responsibilities
• and often they have multiple language proficiency

Our students demonstrate competency at:

• flexible thinking, attending to power imbalances and interrogating taken-for-granted assumptions about the workings of power and related social, legal, economic, and political concepts
• identifying and responding to needs based upon an understanding of situational context, historical context, and logical analysis of relevant information 
• interpreting and evaluating events, information, and ideas
• understanding and evaluating complex interrelationships and identifying and predicting trends
• understanding and evaluating structural inequalities as central features of the modern world, including ongoing colonialism and imperialism

Our students develop a global imaginary that trains them in:

• developing a holistic, problem-based approach to make sense of a complex, interconnected world
• seeing the connections between people and places and how those connections shape both human and nonhuman life on our planet
• identifying the local implications of global processes, and how localized movements shape global change
• analyzing our highly integrated world by identifying persistent patterns across time and space
• recognizing the interrelated dimensions of any issue and the local implications of global processes, and how localized movements shape global change

Nat Rojanasathira (class of 2005) majored in Global Studies and minored in Business Administration, and went on to an MA in Public Administration before becoming Assistant City Manager for the City of Monterey! He says: “While you might wonder ‘what does Global Studies have to do with local government?’ My answer is that it has EVERYTHING to do with local government. The issues that we face globally (whether they’re environmental, political, social, or humanitarian) are issues that we face locally, and vice versa.”

Gabby Castaneda (class of 2013) works as an office manager for a local member of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, where she works closely with local constituents. She says “I think GS and the experience of studying abroad helped me get to where I am, and helped me get through the world generally.” She studied abroad near London while in the program, and went on to receive an MA in International Relations in Scotland and to intern with an organization that liaises with the UN.

Devan Burke (class of 2014) says that Global Studies built a foundation to challenge her and push her out of her comfort zone. She pursued a graduate degree in the Netherlands, and her passion for human rights and justice led her back to local government. She is currently an Analyst and Contract Manager for the California State Water Resources Control Board, where she collaborates with various stakeholders including NGOs, Indigenous groups and tribes, and the general public. She says “Global Studies has taught me accountability.”

Jon White (class of 2009) says that the Global Studies program provides a platform to explore complexity, which he grapples with in his role as senior consultant in the National Security segment of Guidehouse, a management consulting firm in Washington, D.C. He notes that national security issues are shaped hugely by varied forces, from states and markets, to people-centric movements, beliefs, and perceived grievances, and the histories that we construct. He credits Global Studies with exposing him to how these different forces shape our most pressing global challenges: “I would not be where I am today without the Global Studies program and I’m really glad I was part of it.”

Dr. Lauren Turich, MD, MPH (class of 2015) is a family medicine resident at the University of Nevada in Reno, a trajectory that she intentionally grounded in Global Studies. Lauren always wanted to be a doctor taking care of vulnerable populations, and says Global Studies was an important major for her because it helped her to better understand and think more deeply about things like social determinants of health, and how external factors like education and your zip code influence your health now and also your potential health outcomes. Lauren doesn’t think she could have gotten that experience with a more “science-y” undergraduate degree, and says that her Global Studies background allows her to see a patient as a full person and not just a disease.

Whitney Popp (class of 2008) started her own business as a storytelling photographer, a career she says connects to the stories and storytelling she learned in Global Studies and in her experiences after graduation. Previously, she worked in the Peace Corps in Northern Jordan, went on to a Masters degree in Cross Cultural and International Education, and worked in International Development in Washington, D.C. She advises students to stay open to your story changing, and to learning the stories around you.

Tonalla (Niya) Renteria (class of 2020) was attending the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in 2021, and working as an intern and cultural researcher at the Big Sur Land Trust, where her first project was a timeline of Indigenous and racial minorities’ land loss in Monterey County due to laws and local ordinances. Niya advises studying a second language, looking into internships, and thinking about both the practical and theoretical applications of your senior capstone thesis.

Juan Mayorga (class of 2016) knows that emergency room technician is not an obvious career choice for a Global Studies major, but he says that working with migrant field workers while in the GS program led to this career, as he saw firsthand the importance of emergency field aid. Prior to this position, Juan worked as migrant youth advocate for Salinas Union High School District Migrant Education Program. He was offered that position in part because of his experience as a McNair Scholar in UROC at CSUMB, where he researched undocumented migration in Central America. He encourages other students to also pursue internships, research opportunities, and study abroad, because you never know where it’s going to lead.

Julia Wolfson (class of 2017) works to end homelessness in her community in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is not a career she expected (though now she can’t imagine doing anything else), and her journey to it began in Service Learning at CSUMB. Directly after graduation she worked for AmeriCorps and became a case manager for unhoused youths in Austin, Texas. She can’t recommend AmeriCorps enough!

Mineko Inouye (class of 2012) works as Vice President of Client Communications for a Long Beach-based marketing agency. This is not the trajectory she imagined after graduating from CSUMB, but her passion for education led her to working for an after school center, then for CSU Long Beach, where she worked in marketing and communications before moving to her current organization. She says: “I think one thing that the Global Studies program really taught me was to think critically, which has made me a really great problem-solver and I think in any leadership role being able to solve problems and think critically is a really important ability.”

Marantha Croomes (class of 2019) has a post-Covid plan of creating her own marketing and social media company. She also has experience as a program manager for Monterey-area farmers markets, and credits a Global Studies class on farming – that taught about racial dynamics of farm work, water access, land rights, and more – with getting her interested in farming. Marantha says Global Studies helped her be who she is today, helped her think critically, and says “Once you’re GS, you’re always GS!” She knows that Global Studies can seem vast and overwhelming, and offers this advice: “Don’t let how broad it seems intimidate you from jumping in, you’re gonna find something that will fit what you’re interested in, you’re gonna find something that is gonna help you develop who you are, because you can see it from different perspectives.”

Lloyd Evans (class of 2013) says Global Studies had a major role in both his career trajectory and how he sees the world, pushing him to think critically about our individual and collective decisions and how they impact people on the other side of the world. He is the director of business operations for a company with the goal of ending single-use plastic by providing water manufactured and distributed in metal containers instead of plastic. Global Studies helped him see gaps in existing systems, and to build a more sustainable world. He also still nurtures friendships he made in the program: “This is a program that builds life partnerships, and you’ll never forget the time that you spent with the individuals here, and you’ll never forget the things you were taught throughout the program.”

Nicholas Day (class of 2011) is Vice President of Creative for a games company called Parium, which has global distribution. In his job he makes sure the content in games is ready and suitable for different cultural and linguistic contexts, and that it meets international standards and regulations. This requires a lot of research, which he learned to do well in Global Studies. “I never went into the [Global Studies] program thinking I would work in game development, but now that I have gone into game development I’m really happy I went into the program, and I think that it’s much of the reason that I’ve enjoyed the success that I have.”

Majid Binghalib (class of 2012) was an adjunct professor in 2021, soon to move to the University of Sharjah in the Emirates. He says that Global Studies helped him see the global in the local, and how localized programs can have huge global impacts. While working as a marketing manager for a manufacturing company, he created a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project that employed local people, used locally-produced tools, and locally-grown foods in small communities throughout India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and in the Emirates. This project utilized local forces instead of sending in outside “experts,” an ethos of Global Studies. Majid also credits Global Studies in helping him succeed in his Master’s program in History, because Global Studies (unlike International Relations, in his view) connects the present to the past, and shows how history continues to impact current events and how the world works.

Ellen Yeager (class of 2016) is a 7th and 8th grade English teacher finishing her Masters in Education and pursuing a PhD program. She says: “I one billion percent attribute my success, and just kind of who I am personally and as an educator to the Global Studies program.” Her teaching practice is deeply rooted in culturally relevant teaching, grounded in the Global Studies mindset of a diverse and inclusive world.

Kelly O’Connor (class of 2013) is a research librarian for the Napa County Historical Society, a position she says she is well-suited to because Global Studies taught her to look at history, and stories, from multiple perspectives. She says: “This program is really going to serve you well no matter what kind of path you decide to take. I didn’t really end up in an international studies-related field, but I enjoy being a librarian and I do think I am still using my undergraduate degree in this job.”

Erika Carrillo (class of 2016) is a school district behavior specialist who says that the Global Studies program prepared her to learn about other cultures, to expand her mindset, and to gain cross-cultural communication skills that have enabled her to create more effective relationships with her community. She says that as the world becomes more integrated, it is important to see how things are interconnected.

The OtterPod is a social science and public humanities podcast by CSUMB undergraduates that focuses on issues of social, racial, and environmental justice. Through the creation and publication of podcast episodes, students:

1. disseminate peer-reviewed research that is publicly accessible and streaming from the CSUMB Digital Commons,
2. gain skills that can be included on a resume, gaining proficiency in conducting primary and secondary research, writing and revising scripts, and recording and editing audio, 
3. and showcase their creativity by using storytelling to validate diverse ways of knowing, lived experiences, voices, and positionalities.

Many of our student-created episodes have won first place and honorable mentions in the CSUMB Library Ethnic Studies Research Award multiple years running. 

Stream and download OtterPod episodes here!

This online journal of undergraduate social scientific writing and artistic work features an editorial board and authorship composed entirely of undergraduate students, led by Associate Professor of Sociology Amanda Pullum. Published works include academic research, poetry, artwork, and more.

Read Culture, Society, Praxis here!

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) at CSUMB engages students of all majors in undergraduate research to build students’ educational ownership, intellectual vibrancy, and scholarly identity. Numerous UROC Researchers have been advised by Global Studies faculty on projects including: redevelopment of the Former Fort Ord Army base; environmental justice in Israel/Palestine; and rights of migrant field workers.

The Global Otters is an ICC-recognized club for students with an interest in Global Studies. The club creates numerous opportunities for students to build community within and beyond the major, hosting game nights, hikes in Fort Ord, bonfires on the beach, speaker events, and other activities on campus. 

CSUMB students can join the Global Otters and learn about upcoming events through MyRaft.

Study abroad is a great way to learn both about yourself and about other people and places.

• “I think GS and the experience of studying abroad helped me get to where I am, and helped me get through the world generally.” – Gabby Castaneda, 2013
• “It’s a life-changing experience and broadens your worldview.” – Ruth Puge, 2018
• “As cliche as it may sound, it truly changed my life.” – Daniela Suarez, 2019

Get to know your professors and your peers, who are from a variety of backgrounds and worldviews, and from whom you’ll learn a lot!

• “Lean on your colleagues and professors, these friendships can be lifelong.” – Devan Burke, 2014
• “Connect with your professors to help guide your path. Global Studies is a broad major, so you can really enter into different parts of the workforce.” – Amanda Mauriz, 2019
• “This is a program that builds life partnerships, and you’ll never forget the time that you spent with the individuals here, and you’ll never forget the things you were taught throughout the program.” – Lloyd Evans, 2013

Global Studies alumni advise current and prospective GS students to stay open, curious, and get out of your comfort zone.

• “Global Studies gives you the skills and tools to do thorough and critical research. The world would be a better place if everyone had those skills and tools. They could research things they don’t know, things they don’t understand. And most importantly Global Studies will give you the confidence, like it did me, to say ‘I don’t know, let me figure it out, let me ask questions, let me learn.’” – Erin Heatley Binghalib, 2019
• “The Global Studies program has really helped foster my passion for knowledge and supported my need to constantly ask why.” – Devan Burke, 2014
• “No matter where you end up, Global Studies and what you learned is gonna show itself in some way, because that’s the world that we live in.” – Julia Wolfson, 2017

Global Studies is a broad field of study that includes topics and frameworks to interest all students.

• “Keep following your passion. GS is a huge field, once you find what you're passionate about it will lead you where you need.” – Gabby Castaneda, 2013
• “Many of us have turned to different degrees after graduating, had different interests. There is no right way to be a GS student.” – Devan Haddad, 2015
• “I absolutely recommend this degree. It’s applicable not only for medicine, as I was able to use it, but if you’re interested in law, if you’re interested in public health, it really gives you a wonderful perspective in not only your own life, but an ability to understand better other experiences that people are going through.” – Dr. Lauren Turich, 2015
• “I one billion percent attribute my success, and just kind of who I am personally and as an educator to the Global Studies program.” – Ellen Yeager, 2016
• “I never went into the [Global Studies] program thinking I would work in game development, but now that I have gone into game development I’m really happy I went into the program, and I think that it’s much of the reason that I’ve enjoyed the success that I have.” – Nicholas Day, 2011