Rich and rewarding as the American Studies major is in its own right, it also comes with an added bonus for students who might like to pursue other majors as well (e.g. History, English, Film Studies, Political Science, CSRE, etc.). The fact that American Studies is an interdisciplinary program makes it especially conducive to the addition of a secondary major.
What is a secondary major? Like double majoring, the secondary major allows students to complete more than one major. The main difference is that with a secondary major you can “double-count” courses—that is, individual courses can be counted toward both majors. So, for instance, any History courses you take for your American Studies major—including the core courses AMSTUD 150A (HIST 150A) and AMSTUD 150B (HIST 150B)—could also count toward a secondary major in History. Or you could simultaneously apply any English courses taken for American Studies—including the core courses AMSTUD 150 (English 11B) and AMSTUD 160 (English 165)—to a secondary major in English. And so on.
The secondary major will not appear on your diploma, but it will appear on your transcript.
Talk to your advisor or American Studies Academic Services Administrator An Nguyen (antnguyn [at] stanford.edu (antnguyn[at]stanford[dot]edu)) about adding a secondary major to American Studies, or about adding American Studies as a secondary major.
More information on the difference between double majors and secondary majors, and a link to the Registrar's Office page on secondary majors can be found here:
Secondary Major
