Undergraduate Minors
Apply for complementary degree options that help you pursue another field of practice outside your main area of focus.
Overview
Stand out from the crowd
Student working on the ENGAGE! Mural project at CCA.
Expand career choices and possibilities
Minors at CCA are designed to complement your main area of study, whether you’re in architecture, design, fine arts, or humanities and sciences. They give you more opportunities to collaborate, create unconventional solutions, and get hands-on experience through project-based learning. A compelling, diverse portfolio of work may even boost your marketability after graduation.
Earn a minor without adding more units
Pursuing a minor is a great way to explore a second interest and still graduate on time. Here are a few things to keep in mind about the overall process:
- Declaring a minor doesn’t increase the total number of units you need for graduation
- Declaring a minor doesn’t affect the number of courses you’ll take within your chosen major or other areas of focus
- Coursework within your declared minor may replace other requirements, so it’s important to plan ahead with your advisor
Learn how to apply.
Options
CCA’s minor degree options
A student working in the Native Plant Garden.
Ecological Practices
The minor in Ecological Practices is an opportunity for artists and designers to pursue the study of ecology, environmental justice, sustainability, and resilience within the context of their practices. Students interested in exploring the interaction of human and natural worlds through their studio practices and writing are especially well-suited for this minor. Coursework goes beyond popular familiarity with topics such as climate change and biodiversity to investigate the deep connections between scientific ecological knowledge and students’ work as artists, designers, architects, or writers.
Required coursework
Students who declare an Ecological Practices minor must take the following 3-unit courses:
- Intro to Environmental Science (SCIMA 2160-1)
- SSHIS-2000/-3000 or PHCRT-2000/-3000 Ecological Practices designated course
- Any Ecological Practices designated studio course
- Two Ecological Practices designated 2000- or 3000-level courses (studio or HS)
Total: 15 units
While your total number of units or number of required courses for graduation do not increase when you declare a minor, it is important to consult with an advisor to determine how the minor requirements coordinate with your remaining degree requirements.
Academic advising
To discuss the Ecological Practices minor in more detail, please email minor coordinator Susanne Cockrell at [email protected].
Work featured at the CCA Hubbell Street Galleries student exhibition in 2018.
Computational Practices
The minor in Computational Practices is an opportunity to supplement your BA, BFA, or BArch degree with coursework focused on new computational technologies. You’ll incorporate technical skills, conceptual rigor, and ethical competencies related to this emerging field into your studio practice. In addition to understanding the roles and contexts of technology in your chosen discipline, you’ll reprogram existing tools and build/design new tools to advance your creative practice.
Required coursework
Students who declare a Computational Practices minor must take the following 3-unit courses:
- Computational Practices 1 (SCIMA-2120)
- Computational Practices 2 (SCIMA-3120)
- Technology Intensive (major requirement)
- Approved Tech and Culture/Society/Ethics course (SSHIS, PHCRT, or DIVSM; 2000/3000 level)
- Computational and Studio Practice (UDIST-3120)
Total: 15 units
While your total number of units or number of required courses for graduation do not increase when you declare a minor, it is important to consult with an advisor to determine how the minor requirements coordinate with your remaining degree requirements.
Academic advising
To discuss the Computational Practices minor in more detail, please email the program’s coordinator, J.D. Zamfirescu-Pereira, at [email protected]. If you’re a current student, contact your academic advisor.
Designers Shannon Harvey and Adam Michaels, founders of IN-FO.CO and Inventory Press, speak with students about their design and publication practices.
History of Art and Visual Culture
The minor in History of Art and Visual Culture enables motivated students to develop a critical approach to historical and contemporary culture while pursuing their studio practices. Through a curriculum focused on critical thinking and writing, you’ll learn to decode images and objects that surround us, investigate the social contexts of art and design, and explore the mechanisms of representation. History of Art and Visual Culture is an ideal minor for students who may want to pursue careers in arts criticism, curatorial practices, arts administration, or teaching.
Required coursework
Students who declare a History of Art and Visual Culture minor must take the following 3-unit courses:
- Introduction to the Arts (HAAVC-1040)
- Introduction to the Modern Arts (HAAVC-1080)
- Media History course (major requirement)
- Introduction to History of Art and Visual Culture: Eye Openers (HAAVC-2200)
- Any 2000/3000-level History of Art and Visual Culture course (HAAVC-2280 is recommended)
- Advanced Visual Studies (HAAVC-3120) or Methods and Theory (HAAVC-3000)
- Any 3000-level History of Art and Visual Culture course
Total: 21 units
While your total number of units or number of required courses for graduation do not increase when you declare a minor, it is important to consult with an advisor to determine how the minor requirements coordinate with your remaining degree requirements.
Academic advising
To discuss the History of Art and Visual Culture minor in more detail, please email History of Art and Visual Culture chair Elizabeth Mangini at [email protected].
Writing and Literature
The minor in Writing and Literature is an opportunity to pursue your studio practice while engaging in the creative and critical literary arts. With a flexible curriculum that incorporates fiction, poetry, comics, screenwriting, and more, you’ll bolster your oral and written communication skills. Faculty, including award-winning novelists, poets, and memoirists, support your explorations of character and storytelling. Motivated students in the Animation, Illustration, Community Arts, Film, and Graphic Design programs are especially well-suited for this minor.
Required coursework
Students who declare a Writing and Literature minor must take one course from each of these 3-unit category options:
- Writing 1 (WRLIT-1010 or WRLIT-1030)
- Writing 2 (WRLIT-2010 or WRLIT-2030)
- 2000-level Literary and Performing Arts Studies (LITPA-2000)
- Workshop Studio Elective (WRLIT-1100/2040/3000)
- MH: Literary Theory (WRLIT-3600) or Ways of Reading Seminar (WRLIT-3200)
Students must also take two additional courses from any of these 3-unit category options:
- First Year Writer’s Studio (WRLIT-1100)
- Literature: Historical Topics (WRLIT-2080)
- Literature: Modern Topics (WRLIT-2100)
- World Literature Survey (WRLIT-2160)
- Workshop: Literary Forms (WRLIT-2040/WRLIT-3000)
- Literary and Performing Arts Studies (LITPA-2000)
- MH: Literary Theory (WRLIT-3600)
- Ways of Reading Seminar (WRLIT-3200)
- Literary Journal (WRLIT-3080)
- Workshop: Critical Essay (WRLIT-4000)
At least one course taken from the list above must be a 3000 level. The same course topic cannot be used to fulfill multiple requirements.
Academic advising
To discuss the Writing and Literature minor in more detail, please email Eric Olson, associate chair of the Writing and Literature program, at [email protected].
Design minors
Beginning fall 2022, four new minors will be available to students majoring in Industrial Design, Furniture, and Illustration. Minors are a great way to incorporate a second interest without adding more units for graduation.
How to Apply
Plan your course of study early
Meet with an academic advisor
Pursuing a CCA minor doesn’t affect the total number of classes you have to take, but because coursework within your chosen minor may replace some of your major requirements, it’s very important that you meet with an academic advisor to plan your course of study. If you plan to declare a minor, you should contact your academic advisor as early as possible.
Declare your intent to pursue a minor
You’ll also need to complete and submit our Undergraduate Minor Declaration Form, available as a download below. Once you have your advisor’s approval, you have until the first-semester priority registration period of your senior year to officially declare. Please note that failure to complete the minor, or formally withdrawal from it, may delay your graduation date.
Forge partnerships between disciplines
The creative community at CCA is ambitious, engaged, and curious. Rather than stick to one narrow path of study, we tend to work across multiple disciplines, pulling in inspiration from the Bay Area and hybrid, experimental practices. Our comprehensive undergraduate programs allow for tremendous flexibility throughout your time in studios and seminars.
Leverage skills for the 21st century
Our minor degree options amplify the sense of adventure present at CCA. An Illustration student, for example, could minor in Writing and Literature to incorporate sophisticated narrative devices into their studio practice. An Interaction Design student could minor in Computational Practices to learn how to create a user interface for a nonprofit arts organization. Whatever the reason, students who pursue minors are interested in approaching their thinking and making from multiple perspectives.
Find your creative community at CCA