The Major

Students may individually tailor their program by focusing their courses in a specific area of interest or choosing a general approach. The department has a strong advising system. All students work one-on-one with a faculty sponsor, and professional academic advisers are available for general advising on the major or minor, internships, practica, and independent studies. Students design their programs selecting from the wide range of courses listed in the Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies Five College Course Description Guide (see above).

There are no prerequisites for entry to the major, but students must complete an application form, obtain a faculty sponsor, and attend an orientation session, in order to be formally admitted. Students considering a major are encouraged to contact an academic adviser in the program, who can offer assistance with completing the application process, obtaining a faculty sponsor, and identifying courses best suited to a student’s interests.

Requirements

A minimum of 36 related credits in Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies courses numbered 200 or above is required for the major. Courses which meet the requirements listed below are listed each semester in the Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies Five College Course Description Guide.

1) Required WOMENSST courses: 201 Gender and Difference: Critical Analyses; 301 Theorizing Gender, Race and Power or 394H Critical Race Feminisms. 394H can fulfill the theory requirement or a Women of Color requirement, but not both; and 391W Writing for Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies Majors, which fulfills the Junior Year Writing requirement.
2) At least two courses on women of color: one course on Women of Color in the U.S. and one course on Women of Color outside the U.S., including courses that take a diasporan or global approach.
3) Electives include: Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies approved courses offered in other departments at the University and the Five Colleges; or component courses, if the paper or project done by the student focuses on Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies. Elective credit may also be earned, when approved, in independent studies or practica related to the major (to a maximum of 15 credits). A Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies fieldwork coordinator is available for advising.

Optional Concentrations

Majors have the option of designing an individualized course of study focused on a particular theme. Examples of concentrations completed by Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies majors include topics in women’s health and sexuality; African American women; the impact of race, sex, and class in American history; the construction of white privilege; Latin American women; women, peace, and militarism; ecofeminism; women in poverty; women and labor organizing; feminist writing and criticism; arts management and women; women and organizational development; women and sexual violence; women in fashion and media; and women in Asia and South Asian studies. Students design their concentration in consultation with their faculty adviser.

Majors choosing to focus their academic work on a theme may also petition to have “skills courses” counted toward their major requirements. These are courses that are necessary to the components of their individualized programs within Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies, even if the courses are not directly part of the program itself. For example, students focusing on areas of women and health care might use biology courses to fulfill part of the elective credit requirement. No more than 12 elective credits may be earned in this manner. Faculty sponsors must approve these requests.

Honors Opportunities

Honors opportunities in Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies range from honors courses to research and project options. Students should contact the departmental honors coordinator for details. Opportunities are also available for upper-level honors research in the department through a departmental honors research track. Information on Commonwealth Honors College is provided elsewhere in this catalog.

Double Majors

Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies majors may also major in another field, as the interdisciplinary and integrative nature of the program allows flexibility to develop coherent and complementary programs of study in other disciplines. These might include second majors in the departments of Afro-American Studies, Anthropology, Art, Communication, Comparative Literature, Education, English, History, Journalism, Judaic Studies, Legal Studies, Nursing, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Social Thought and Political Economy, Sociology, Theater, and others.