Department of Chicana(o) and Latina(o) Studies

At the Department of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies (CLS), we don’t just teach, we ignite transformation. Rooted in the legacies of transformative critical consciousness, our program centers the vibrant, intersectional experiences of Latinx, Chicanx, Indigenous, and diasporic communities, including Afro Latinx, Queer, Trans, Gender Non-Conforming, immigrant, and disabled people. We embrace education as a tool for liberation, not assimilation or erasure.

Our classrooms are spaces where ancestral knowledge, activist scholarship, and lived experiences collide. From social justice in education and health equity to cultural resistance through literature, art, and history, our curriculum prepares students to challenge oppressive systemic power and embody radical love and accountability.

At CLS, you’ll learn with faculty who uplift the path of conocimiento (inner knowing and public acts), guiding students to become spirit protectors and agents of change. Whether your future is in education, law, public health, nonprofit advocacy, or beyond, you’ll leave empowered with the tools to serve your comunidad with courage and care. With California’s growing investment in ethnic studies, graduates are particularly well-equipped to meet the demand for culturally sustaining educators, advocates, and leaders across various sectors. Graduates of Chicanx/Latinx Studies go on to careers in education, social work, law, public health, arts and media, community organizing, nonprofit leadership, and government, bringing culturally grounded knowledge and a commitment to justice into every field they enter.

We believe in the power of comunidad, corazón, esperanza, y cambio social. Join us in this journey of healing, learning, and resistance because the work we do here doesn’t stay in the classroom. It transforms the world.