Critical Ethnic and Community Studies

The Program  |  Our Approach  |  Students   |  Blog

The Program 

UMass Boston's Critical Ethnic and Community Studies program (formerly Transnational, Cultural, and Community Studies, or TCCS) is a critical comparative ethnic studies graduate program with signature elements emphasizing transdisciplinarity and the recognition of transnational global–local connections. The Critical Ethnic and Community Studies program program centers on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and other social categories related to power and privilege that impact the experiences of both U.S.-born and immigrant members of racialized communities in the United States. This transdisciplinary program brings together scholarly research, cultural expression, and meaningful community partnerships in order to understand the histories and contemporary lives of racialized communities in the United States, their experiences as part of diasporic communities with transnational linkages, and their agency and self-determination. As part of this learning, students engage in critical analysis of how migration–to, from, and within the United States–forms an integral part of the experiences of racially and economically marginalized communities.

• Students and faculty of the Critical Ethnic and Community Studies program share their thoughts on our blog.

Our Approach 

Our transdisciplinary approach emphasizes the mobilization of knowledge for social justice. Transdisciplinarity entails integration across relevant disciplines as a means of addressing complex social issues that impact the everyday lives of individuals and communities beyond academia. A highly creative, flexible, and collaborative approach, transdisciplinarity is particularly apt for the social justice mission of the Critical Ethnic and Community Studies program and UMass Boston. 

The Critical Ethnic and Community Studies program aims to develop critical understandings and action skills in students with diverse career goals, providing a core of shared knowledge while enabling students to tailor their programs to meet particular interests. Students receive individual mentoring and advising as part of a community that fosters a collaborative learning environment and meaningful community partnerships to promote student success and contributions to the social, economic, political, and cultural empowerment of racially diverse communities.

Students 

• Work with a racially and ethnically diverse, nationally recognized faculty with expertise in transdisciplinary research and teaching practices that draw from ethnic studies, cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, history, psychology, public health, public policy, gender and sexuality studies, and literary and popular culture studies.
• Join a group of students with diverse life experiences, identities, professional goals, and academic backgrounds committed to promoting social transformation and collective empowerment.
• Individualize their programs in order to develop more-focused understandings and skills in analysis, research, program development, program evaluation, education, and other applications necessary for pursuing a wide array of careers.
• Foster skills and experience partnering with community-based organizations working with racially and economically marginalized communities to mobilize strengths promoting resilience, growth, and social justice.
• Benefit from close mentoring in developing a capstone project that integrates student learning from the curriculum in relation to a real issue or challenge of the student's choice.

Learn about application requirements.

Program contacts:

Administrative Assistant 

Amanda Achin
Wheatley Hall, 4th Floor, Room 144-33
[email protected]
617.287.5129

Program Director

J. Cedric Woods
[email protected]
617.287.5784

Admissions

Ping-Ann Addo
[email protected]
617.287.6845

• Choose which graduate program is the best fit.
• Review your program’s application requirements and deadlines.
• Submit your application, statement of purpose, and transcripts through Liaison’s Centralized Application System (CAS):

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    P.O. Box 9221
    Watertown, MA 02471
     
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    P.O. Box 9217
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• If GRE or GMAT scores are required for your program, request official scores be sent to the University of Massachusetts Boston (institution code 3924).
• If you are an international applicant, please review our bachelor’s equivalency and English language proficiency requirements. If submitting TOEFL or IELTS scores, request that they be sent to the University of Massachusetts Boston (institution code 3924).
• If we are unable to determine international degree equivalence, we may ask applicants to submit an external evaluation from the Center for Educational Documentation (www.cedevaluations.com). The foreign evaluation does not replace the official transcript requirement.

If you need to submit other hardcopy materials or cannot send materials to a P.O. Box, you can send materials directly to our office (please allow for additional processing time):
UMass Boston Graduate Admissions
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125