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Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Degree

gender spectrum symbol with diverse faces in the centerThe Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program offers a Bachelor of Arts in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and a Women’s Studies Minor.

Program of Study

The interdisciplinary field of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies has become an important part of university education in the last four decades. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies focuses on the social construction of gender and sexuality and explores the roles and contributions of people in societies around the world, past and present. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies also seeks to understand how gender and sexuality are related to other aspects of social identity and stratification, including race, ethnicity, culture, social class, nationality, religion, ability, and other factors that have dramatically shaped people’s lives.

WGSS class in session

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies students receive a quality liberal arts education. They learn about a wide range of academic approaches that have emerged in such diverse areas as literature, psychology, economics, the sciences, sociology, history, anthropology, the arts, communication, and many others.

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies students develop important skills in:

  • Leadership
  • Analytical thinking and problem solving
  • Writing proficiency and expertise
  • Applied learning
  • Community involvement
  • Public speaking
  • Collaborative work with others
  • A deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and cultural backgrounds

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies majors pursue careers or graduate education in many different fields, including the law, education, social services, business, counseling, the arts, public administration, and medicine. 

Program Student Learning Outcomes

Students who graduate with a B.A. in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies will be able to:

  1. Critically analyze the historical and present-day construction of gender and sexuality.
  2. Recognize and explain women’s role in and contributions to the economy, politics, the arts, culture, and society in the United States and around the world.
  3. Integrate the analysis of race and ethnicity, class, sexual identities, culture, religion, disabilities, and geography into explanations of women, gender and power relations in the contemporary world.

Special Conditions for the Bachelor of Arts in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

All courses counted toward the Minor and the Major, including Preparation for the Major, must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better.