Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies Major, B.A.

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Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy

College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Available Program Format(s): In-Person

About the Program

The Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies identifies and critically examines systems of power utilizing intersectional and transnational frameworks that allow for self-reflection and active engagement in social change. It prepares students for professional and graduate education, as well as employment in many different fields, such as victim advocacy, health care, LGBTQI+ services, prevention education, public policy, family services, counseling and therapy, and media.

Student Outcomes

Upon graduation, students in this program will be able to:

KNOWLEDGE

Describe the main social, economic, political, technological, psychological, and cultural issues facing sexed and gendered individuals in a transnational context.
Describe and identify major actors and events within feminist and LGBTQ activism and movements in the United States.
Critique and apply feminist and LGBTQ thoughts and theories and research methods to the social realities of lived intersectional experiences.

WRITTEN AND ORAL SKILLS

Demonstrate college level written and oral skills that show information literacy and grammatical, organizational, and stylistic sophistication appropriate to their audience.
Create and support a focused and coherent analytical essay that demonstrates effective use of library collections and other scholarly resources.

CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS

Utilize self-reflexivity to appraise one’s sociopolitical location in relation to scholarship and activism.
Design and implement an applied feminist experience through an internship, service learning, research or teaching assistantship.

General Degree Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the four areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

Program Requirements

A total of 120 semester hours are required for graduation.
A grade of C- or better is required for each course in this program to count toward the bachelor’s degree. Students should note that programs differ in the minimum grade required.
Students must take GWS 3510 or GWS 3280 and GWS 4750 in sequence.

General Studies Requirements: 33 credits

Students should consult the General Studies Requirements for a list of courses that fulfill the General Studies Requirements for degree completion.

Written Communication (6 credits)
Oral Communication (3 credits)
Quantitative Literacy (3 credits)
Arts and Humanities (6 credits)
Historical (3 credits)
Natural and Physical Sciences (6 credits)
Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 credits)
Global Diversity (0 or 3 credits**)

** Students will fulfill the global diversity requirement by taking an approved course within one of the following categories: arts and humanities; historical; natural and physical sciences; or social and behavioral sciences.

Ethnic Studies & Social Justice Requirement: 0 or 3 credits

Students should consult the Ethnic Studies & Social Justice Graduation Requirement for a list of courses that fulfill the ESSJ Requirement for degree completion.
Many programs include courses that meet this requirement. Students should consult with their advisor to determine what program courses may fulfill this requirement.

Core Required Courses: 18 credits

The recommended sequence for courses are as follows: 1000-level introductory courses, 2000-level courses, 3000-level theory course followed by GWS 4750 Feminist Research and Activism.

Choose Two 1000-Level Courses:
GWS 1001 - Introduction to Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies Credits: 3
GWS 1200 - Multicultural Study of Sexualities and Genders Credits: 3
GWS 1550 - Introduction to Transgender Studies Credits: 3
Complete Two Required 2000-Level Courses:
GWS 2100 - Women of Color Credits: 3
GWS 2200 - Feminist and Queer Research Methods Credits: 3
Choose One 3000-Level Theory Course:
GWS 3510 - Feminist Theories and Practices Credits: 3
or
GWS 3280 - Queer Theory Credits: 3
Choose One 4000-Level Experiential Course:
GWS 4920 - Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies Internship Credits: 1-12
or
GWS 4970 - Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Training Credits: 3

Core Elective Requirements: 15 credits

A minimum of 15 additional semester hours in GWS courses selected in consultation with and approved by a Department of Gender, Women and Sexualities Studies advisor. Among those courses for students to choose are:

GWS 1001 - Introduction to Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies Credits: 3
GWS 1030 - Introduction to Social Justice and Decoloniality Credits: 3
GWS 1200 - Multicultural Study of Sexualities and Genders Credits: 3
GWS 1550 - Introduction to Transgender Studies Credits: 3
GWS 2400 - Women’s Folklore and Folklife Credits: 3
GWS 2600 - Meditation and Activism Credits: 2
GWS 3130 - Independent Study in Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies Credits: 1-6
GWS 3170 - Social Justice, Self, and Citizenship: A Service Learning Course Credits: 3
GWS 3230 - Bodies and Embodiment Credits: 3
GWS 3270 - Beauty Cultures Credits: 3
GWS 3280 - Queer Theory Credits: 3
GWS 3300 - Women’s Leadership Credits: 2
GWS 3310 - Women and the Law Credits: 3
GWS 3365 - Structural Violence, Poverty and Human Rights Credits: 3
GWS 3395 - Transnational Genders and Sexualities Credits: 3
GWS 3530 - Gender and Global Politics Credits: 3
GWS 3540 - Women in the Developing World Credits: 3
GWS 3780 - Gender and Disaster Credits: 3
GWS 3910 - Women’s Spirituality Credits: 3
GWS 3920 - Gender Politics of Health Credits: 3
GWS 3930 - Theories of Love and Sex Credits: 3
GWS 3940 - Victim Advocacy for Survivors of Interpersonal Violence Credits: 3
GWS 4240 - Gender and Violence Credits: 3
In addition to the courses listed above, new classes may be developed as part of the permanent catalog offerings, and other courses that are appropriate for the major may be offered as a cross-listed course, or under a variable topic, omnibus, or internship heading. Please refer to the online schedule and see a GWS advisor for more information.

Interdisciplinary Electives: 6 credits

An additional six credit hours is required in any GWS prefix course.

Senior Experience: 3 credits

GWS 4750 - Feminist Research and Activism Credits: 3

Summary of Requirements

General Studies Requirements	33 credits
ESSJ Requirement	0-3 credits
Core Required Courses	18 credits
Core Electives	15 credits
Interdisciplinary Electives	6 credits
Senior Experience Requirement	3 credits
Unrestricted Electives	42-60 credits
Total for the Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies Major, B.A.	120 credits

Required courses for the major may also count for General Studies and ESSJ requirements, so the total credits listed may be greater than the number required to complete the degree. Therefore, it is important that you work with your advisor to make sure you are meeting requirements for your degree.