College of Arts & Sciences

Women�s Studies encourages students to reexamine their own lives and the world around them in relation to gender, race, class, and sexuality. The curriculum reflects new subjects, theories, and methodologies based on a cross-cultural, multidisciplinary approach to the study of women. In the creation of new knowledge, Women�s Studies provides a critique of social, cultural, and institutional structures that include the traditional disciplines. Women�s Studies sees itself as connected to the social and political environment outside the university. Opportunities are available for internships, independent study, and innovative teaching for undergraduates. Students may take a major or minor in Women�s Studies or may enroll in individual courses.

Careers

A concentration in Women�s Studies prepares students for graduate and professional training in a variety of fields. Like other B.A. graduates, Women�s Studies majors may enroll in professional study at the graduate level in law, social welfare, education, public administration, and health care; they also find employment and continue on-the-job training in business, social services, public affairs, publishing, and private nonprofit organizations. Experience in critical thinking and writing and intensive reflection concerning issues of diversity and multiculturalism prepare Women�s Studies graduates with qualities that employers actively seek. Some Women�s Studies graduates find employment with community agencies (women�s centers, counseling centers, battered women�s shelters, rape crisis centers, women�s health centers, women�s vocational agencies), in affirmative action and diversity education (in schools, government agencies, and business), and with campus-based women�s programs.

Degree Requirements for the Major in Women�s Studies

Courses that are required for students who entered the program under the current requirements will continue to be offered on a regular basis.

I. Required core courses (12 credits)
a. Intersections: A Wss 240
b. Theory: A Wss 220
c. Research Methods: A Wss 490Z
d. Internship: A Wss 492
e. Substitutions must be approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee.

II. Coherent Concentration (choose one) (12 credits)
Society, Politics, and Policy:
Required: A Wss 260
Three courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A Wss 202 Intro L/G Studies
A Wss 262 Soc. of Gender
A Wss 326 Soc. R/G/C
A Wss 333 Women & the Law
A Wss 344 Soc. Wm Pol. Eco.
A Wss 346 Law, Civil Rights�
A Wss 360 Fem. S/P Thought
A Wss 365 Repro Technologies
A Wss 401 Sex/uality, Race, and Class in Science and Health
A Wss 412 Race, Gender and Cultural Politics in the Asian Diaspora
A Wss 430 Env. Justice

Information, Technology, and Science:
Required: A Wss 241
Three courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A Wss 109X Women Biology & Health
A Wss 342X Electronic Publishing in Women�s Studies
A Wss 281 Women & Media
A Wss 303 Popular Technology
A Wss 309 Activism & Health
A Wss 328 Gender, Space, Place
A Wss 360 Feminist Social and Political Thought
A Wss 365 Repro Technologies
A Wss 401 Sex/uality, Race, and Class in Science and Health
A Wss 430 Environmental Justice

Globalization & Cultural Studies:
Required: A Wss 308
Three courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A Wss 281 Women and Media
A Wss 328 Gender, Space and Place
A Wss 357 Chinese Women & Modernity
A Wss 360 Feminist Social and Political Thought
A Wss 362 Gender/Sex in Lit.
A Wss 381 Anthro of Gender
A Wss 412 Race, Gender and Cultural Politics in the Asian Diaspora
A Wss 451 G/C in Latin Am. Dev.

Art, Writing and Activism:
Required: A Wss 282Z Narratives & Counter-narratives
Three courses from the following, at least two of them at the 300-level or above:
A Wss342X Electronic Publishing in Women�s Studies
A Wss 280 Film and Popular Culture
A Wss 281 Women and Media
A Wss 362 Gen./Sex in Lit.
A Wss 366 Ethnicity in Lit.
A Wss 368 Women Writers
A Wss 412 Race, Gender and Cultural Politics in the Asian Diaspora
A Wss 430 Env. Justice
A Wss 450 Literature of Feminism
A Wss 475 Women in Art

Independent Student Design:
Required: A Wss 260
Three courses, as advised (at least two of them at the 300-level or above). Must be approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee.

III. Electives (12 credits)
At least one course must be at 300-level or above. Electives are to be selected from Women's Studies courses or other courses as approved by the Women's Studies Department, as approved by the Undergraduate Studies Committee.

Honors Program

Students may file an application for admission to the honors program in the department office in the second semester of the sophomore year or in the junior year. Junior transfers may apply at the time of their admission to the University.

The minimum requirements for admission include completion of at least 12 credits of course work applicable to the major, a minimum overall grade point average of 3.25, and a minimum 3.50 grade point average for all courses applicable toward the major.

Students in the program are required to complete all of the requirements for the major in Women�s Studies. As part of their elective credits for the major, students must also complete 3 credits of intensive work culminating in an independent research or creative honors project. Typically the project begins as a paper the student writes for an upper-division Women�s Studies course no later than spring of the junior year. During the senior year, honors students fulfill the requirements for the honors program by enrolling in AWSS 495 Honors Project during the fall semester concurrently with AWSS 490Z, Research Seminar in Women�s Studies. Alternatively, students who have been admitted into the honors program during their sophomore year may enroll in AWSS 490Z in the fall semester of their junior year in preparation for completion of the honors sequence during the subsequent two semesters.

Students in the honors program are required to maintain overall grade point averages of 3.25 or higher during the junior and senior years and overall grade point averages of 3.50 or higher for all courses applicable toward the major. Students not meeting the above standards may be unable to complete the honors program.

After completion of the above requirements, the records of the candidate will be reviewed by the department, which will recommend candidates for the degree with honors in Women�s Studies.

Combined Bachelor�s/Master�s in Women�s Studies

The combined B.A./M.A. program provides an opportunity for students with outstanding academic abilities to receive both a B.A. and an M.A. degree in five years (ten semesters).

The combined program demands a minimum of 142 credits, of which 32 must be graduate credits. Students must fulfill all university, college, and department requirements for both the undergraduate major and the M.A. in Women�s Studies.
Students accepted into the combined B.A./M.A. program apply up to 10 credits of graduate work toward both their undergraduate and graduate degree requirements. Students take two 4-credit graduate courses in addition to WSS 510 (2 credits), �Advanced Feminist Pedagogy and Theory,� to fulfill this requirement.

Undergraduate students who have completed a minimum of 60 credits with a GPA of 3.2 or above are eligible to apply. Students submit applications for the B.A./M.A. program in Women�s Studies directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Students will be admitted upon the recommendation of the department�s Graduate Admissions Committee, whose decision will be based on the student�s grade point average, statement of purpose, writing sample, and supportive letters of recommendation from faculty.