In order to major in this multidisciplinary course of study, students must take 36 credits of Labor Studies & Employment Relations courses with a grade of C or better as part of the total 120 credits required to graduate from Rutgers. These courses must include one of the "Introduction to Labor Studies and Employment Relations" classes (but not both), "Perspectives on Labor Studies and Employment Relations", and one "capstone course" consisting either of the Senior Seminar, an independent study, or an internship related to the field. In place of 6 of these credits, students may substitute related courses from other departments.

Applying to the program

After being admitted to the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, (SAS), students may be conditionally admitted to the labor studies major, if they have a GPA of 2.0 or better, by going to the SAS major/minor sign-up website: mymajor.sas.rutgers.edu. Sign in with your NetID and password and simply, click  578 Labor Studies and Employment Relations as your major/minor.

The full admission decision is based on a one-page statement regarding why the applicant wishes to be a labor studies major and on their academic record in the "Introduction to Labor Studies" course and the university as a whole.

Review the Application Letter Guidelines for assistance.

Independent Study and Internships

Prior to taking "Perspectives", independent study or any internships, it will be necessary for you to email barbara.konopka@work.rutgers.edu a one-page application letter stating why you want to be a labor studies major (minors are exempt). Once the letter is approved by our director, you will be emailed a special permission number to register for the class you requested and you will be accepted as an official labor studies major.

Advising

As a new major/minor, you are strongly encouraged to email barbara.konopka@work.rutgers.edu to set up an advising appointment with Amy Marchitto, our student advisor, or Sattik Deb, so that you take full advantage of the major/minor and we can add you to our job/internship/special event listserve.