Undergraduate Catalog 2021-2022

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (BA)

General Education Requirements 42 credits 
Major Requirements 36-40 credits
Electives 38-42 credits
Total Credits Required 120

Major Requirements

WGS 201Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies(CO)(P&D)(TALA)

4

32 in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies courses at or above the 200-level, with at least 12 credits at the 300-level or higher, including:

At least one WGS course with a focus in economics, history, American studies, or African and African Diaspora studies chosen from the following:

WGS 206/ECO 206Women and the Economy(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 217/HST 217Introduction to Women's History(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 259/HST 259Histories of Sexuality in the Modern World(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 286/HST 286History of American Women(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 305/HST 305Women in Latin America(RLA)

4
WGS 386/HST 386The Recovery of Women's Past(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 389/HST 389Themes in American Women's History(CO)(P&D)

4

At least one WGS course with a focus in English, modern languages, or arts chosen from the following:

WGS 204LGBTQ Narratives(CO)(CW)(P&D)

4
WGS 222/ENH 222Women and Literature(RLA)(TALA)(P&D)

4
WGS 266/LNG 266Women in European Literature to the Renaissance(RLA)(TALA)(P&D)

4
WGS 267/LNG 267Women in European Literature after the Renaissance(RLA)(TALA)(P&D)

4
WGS 270/ART 240Women and the Fine Arts(RLA)(TALA)(P&D)

4
WGS 271/CIN 271Women and Film(RLA)

4
WGS 272Women as Creative Persons(RLA)

4
WGS 280/ENL 280Introduction to Women's Written Expression(RLA)

4
WGS 308/CHN 308/LNG 308Gender and Sexuality in China and Japanese Literature(RLA)

4
WGS 348/ENL 348Women Novelists(RLA)

4
WGS 353/AAD 353/FRN 350Gender in the Francophone World(CO)(CW)(P&D)(TALA)

4
WGS 368/ENL 368Queer Studies(TALA)(P&D)(CO)

4
WGS 369/ENL 369Gender and the Negotiation of Difference(RLA)

4
WGS 380/DRA 380Women in Performance(RLA)

4
WGS 384/ENL 384Major Women Author I(TALA)(P&D)(RLA)

4
WGS 385/ENL 385Major Women Author II(RLA)

4
WGS 387/ENL 386Major Women Author III(RLA)

4
WGS 390/ENL 390Studies in Women in Literature and the Arts(RLA)

4
WGS 391/ENL 391Woman as Hero(RLA)

4
WGS 442/ENL 442Women's Written Expression(RLA)

4

At least one WGS course with a focus in psychology, political science, sociology, or anthropology chosen from the following:

WGS 202/SOC 202Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Class(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 230/SOC 230Sociology of Women(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 235/PSY 235Gender and Sexuality(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 238/SOC 238Sociology of Men(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 240Sex Roles and the Law(RLA)

4
WGS 268/PSY 268Psychology of Women(P&D)(CO)

4
WGS 312/SOC 312/ANT 312/GEG 312Food, Self, and Society(RLA)

4
WGS 330/SOC 330/ANT 331Women and Work(CO)(P&D)

4
WGS 340/PSY 340Mentoring and Adolescent Development(RNL)

4
WGS 355/PSY 355Contemporary Issues in Human Sexuality(RNL)

4
WGS 375/ANT 375/SOC 375Sex and Society(RLA)

4
WGS 420/SOC 420Birth and Death(RLA)

4

Additional WGS course chosen from the above focus areas or from the following:

WGS 203/INT 230Gender in the Contemporary World(CW)(P&D)(CO)

4
WGS 300Research Problems in Feminism(RLA)

4
WGS 306Community Workshop(RLA)

4
WGS 490Gender Based Activism Internship(RLA)

4

Foreign Language Requirement

ARB/ASL/CHN/FRN/ITL/SPNDemonstration of proficiency in a foreign language through the Intermediate level 213 or above

0-4

Total Credit Hours: 36-40

Depending on course selection, additional coursework may be required prior to enrolling for some 200-level at or above courses.

Total Credit Hours: 120

Honors

Graduating Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies majors may apply for graduation with honors in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. To graduate with honors a student must have:

  1. Fulfilled the requirements for the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major
  2. Earned a 3.5 grade point average or better in WGS courses
  3. Been recommended for Honors by the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Honors Committee. To be recommended, a student must have submitted a proposal for an honors thesis and have completed this thesis to the satisfaction of the Honors Committee.

The honors thesis should be a substantial research paper supervised by a committee of two Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty members. One member of this committee will be the primary supervisor with whom the student will register for up to eight credits of Independent Study. Candidates should ask a Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty member of their choosing to be their primary supervisor. The primary supervisor and the program coordinator will appoint the other member of the candidate’s committee in consultation with the candidate. The thesis submitted need not be a new work; it can be an extension of a paper previously submitted in a course. Theses submitted to the Honors Committee Chair must have the signature of both members of the candidate’s committee on the title page.

Students planning to apply for graduation with honors must submit a one-page proposal for their Honors thesis, signed by the members of their committee, to the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Honors Committee in the final semester of their junior year. Honors thesis for majors graduating in January must be submitted to the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies office (Building 2N, Room 105) by November 20; for majors graduating in June or August, thesis must be submitted by April 1.