Requirements

The Women's Studies Major

The major in Women's Studies offers students a flexible and focused concentration in the study of women and/or gender across many disciplines. Students pursuing the major take three required Women's Studies courses plus two core and five elective courses selected from the Women's Studies course list published each semester. Of the five electives representing three different departments required as part of the major, students choose three to cluster into a topic area, which will provide the framework for the culminating project in the senior year. The director of Women's Studies advises on topic areas, approves course clusters, and meets with all students undertaking senior projects. With the Director's approval, one internship for academic credit may count as one of the electives. All 10 courses must be taken for a letter grade.

WS 72 Introduction to Women's Studies (Spring)

Two courses which explore the foundational arguments in feminist approaches to the discipline, covering a diversity of perspectives, including attention to international research on women and gender. Courses currently available in this category:

EDU 165	Educating Women & Girls
ENG 177	Feminist Literature & Theory
ENG 191	Black Feminist Theories
PHIL 48	Feminist Philosophy
REL 104	Feminist Theologies
SOC 30	Sex & Gender in Society
WS 73	Introduction to Queer Studies

Five elective courses chosen from the Women's Studies course list and representing at least three different departments. Three of these electives should be clustered into a specific topic area in the study of women and/or gender, towards developing the focus of the senior project. Students define their own topic areas, with the advice and approval of the director of the program.
WS 190 Doing Feminist Research (Fall)

WS 193 Senior Project (Fall, Spring)

* Please note: Students taking electives for credit towards the Women's Studies major or minor are expected to do their major papers or projects on a topic appropriate to or focusing on women and/or gender.

The Women's Studies Minor

Students pursuing the Women's Studies minor take a total of 6 courses, including 3 interdisciplinary courses offered by Women's Studies. In addition, students choose 3 electives (from at least two different departments) that study women and/or gender in specific contexts. The director of Women's Studies advises on course selection to fit each student's interests and to establish a basis for the culminating project in the senior year. The minor allows a focus on women and/or gender to complement a major concentration in a discipline or program and provides an interdisciplinary framework for the independent work of the project. All courses must be taken for a letter grade.

Required Courses for the Major and Minor

WS 72 Introduction to Women's Studies
Introduces students to the field of women’s studies and the major concepts, issues, and methods used in gender-based study and analysis of society and culture. We will examine some of the different historical, interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches to examining women’s lives and the significance of gender in social systems around the world.

WS 190 Doing Feminist Research
Practices and methods of feminist, interdisciplinary research in a cross-cultural framework. How feminist inquiry rethinks disciplinary assumptions and categories; what counts as knowledge; relation among subjects and objects of study; international issues in feminist analysis.

WS 193 Senior Project
A one-semester independent project culminating in a substantial interdisciplinary research paper or other creative or activist work with a written component, which explores and tests traditional and contemporary thinking about women and/or gender. Two faculty members from different departments advise student projects. Includes a series of group meetings throughout the year.

* Please note: Students taking electives for credit towards the Women's Studies major or minor are expected to do their major papers or projects on a topic appropriate to or focusing on women and/or gender.

Senior Project Guidelines >