Capitalism Studies (Graduate Minor)

Overview

The Capitalism Studies graduate minor is offered through The New School for Social Research.

This minor introduces students to foundational texts that have informed approaches to the study of capitalism. It will ground their understandings of capitalism as both an intellectual formation and as a historically and geographically contingent object of empirical enquiry and will allow students to familiarize themselves with the major debates animating the study of capitalism, both past and present. The minor provides a robust architecture for exploring the multiple disciplinary insights and methodological resources that scholars have brought to bear in understanding the multivalent, historically contingent, and geographically diverse formations of capitalism.

Students in the minor also have access to a wide range of resources and activities through the Robert L. Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies — from lectures and seminars by visiting scholars to research fellowship opportunities.

Curriculum

This graduate minor requires successful completion of 9 credits. Students are encouraged to select one course from each of the subject areas in the chart below, and may shape their course selection to match their research interests.

Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework in other subject areas to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisors.

Fall 2026 courses are listed below. Please consult this spreadsheet for an archive of past courses.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed this graduate minor will be able to:

• Distinguish between a variety of disciplinary approaches to the study of capitalism and identify the key theoretical frameworks and political positions that have influenced and continue to shape the field of capitalism studies
• Demonstrate, through written work and oral presentations, knowledge of capitalism's historical emergence and pivotal transmutations
• Employ insights from interdisciplinary scholarship to engage in informed debates and discussions about contemporary issues ranging from inequality to the regulation of markets and corporations to the global ecological implications of capitalist development
• Apply both research techniques and theoretical insights to produce original scholarship on capitalist formations, both past and present

Eligibility

The Capitalism Studies graduate minor is available to graduate degree students across The New School. 

Students can retroactively apply successfully completed courses toward a minor upon declaring or applying.

After a student successfully completes a minor's requirements, the minor will appear on the student's academic transcript at graduation.

For questions about this minor, please contact William Milberg, Director of the Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies, at milbergw@newschool.edu.