Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (BA)

This program was approved for students entering the university in the Summer 2022–Spring 2023 catalog year. For more information about catalog year, go to Catalog Year Information.

Bachelor of Arts in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Unit: College of Arts and Sciences (AS)
Department: Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Academic Plan Code(s): WGSTBA, WGSTBA_O

Program Information

This program can be completed in a traditional classroom format or entirely online.

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary major that draws its questions and approaches from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and arts. It helps students to develop theoretical, empirical, and methodological perspectives for studying gender as a crucial category for understanding the world. We offer extremely flexible scheduling for our majors: we have three core courses, offered regularly; students are allowed a fair amount of control in selecting the classes that will be most helpful to them in their chosen career path to complete the remainder of their requirements. Our students are required to engage in service learning opportunities outside the university, giving them useful career experience. Students in our program also find it easy to double major, if they so desire. 

WGST majors learn to: 

1. Apply gender analytics at the micro and macro level for research and practices of social change;
2. Examine complex social problems using gender–informed analysis, research and design;
3. Select appropriate methodologies  from the humanities and social sciences for analyzing data and texts;
4. Provide appropriate theoretical interpretation based on discipline-related concepts;
5. Draw conclusions based on the analyses of texts and qualitative and quantitative information;
6. Demonstrate effective written and oral communications tailored to specific audiences and contexts to increase the understanding and utilization of research findings;
7. Identify how social, cultural and scientific knowledges are produced by institutions such as academic disciplines, media, arts, and politics;
8. Understand  how gender intersects with other structures of power such as race, class, sexuality, disability and other structures of power in the U.S. and globally;
9. Draw from multiple fields of study to evaluate and generate  information and experiences related to gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, etc.

Completion of this degree requires work to be submitted for the department’s Learning Outcomes Measurement. For details, contact the department.

Degree Summary

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Some courses required in this degree program can satisfy multiple requirements. Using other courses to satisfy General Education requirements will require additional hours to complete the degree requirements or reduce the number of available electives. See the Degree Requirements and Track tabs for specific coursework.

Specific coursework information can be found on the Degree Requirements tab.

Accelerated BA-BS/MA in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies majors who are considering pursuing a master’s degree in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies can speed up the process by applying some of their undergraduate credit hours toward a master's degree. Students accepted into the Accelerated BA-BS/MA take three graduate courses (9 credit hours) as an undergraduate that apply toward both the bachelor’s degree and the eventual master's degree.  

Interested students must apply to the program during their Junior year (i.e., when they have accumulated 60-90 hours of credit). Students must complete an application for admission to the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department's Master of Arts program (including transcripts, two letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a writing sample). Applicants must have a minimum overall grade point average and major grade point average of 3.35 and must meet all other requirements for admission to the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department's Master of Arts program.

Students must retain a 3.35 GPA in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies during their senior year to remain in the program.

Departmental Admission Requirements

Admission to the BA in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 and a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on courses in the major. 

The Application for Major form can be found on the Arts and Sciences Advising Center website.

Accelerated BA-BS/MA in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Interested students should apply for entry into the accelerated program no later than the end of their Junior year.

To be considered for admission to the Accelerated Master of Arts in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies program, students must:

• Complete an application for admission to the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department's Master of Arts program (including transcripts, two letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a writing sample) no later than the end of their junior year.
• Have a minimum overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.35, a Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies GPA of 3.35, and meet all other requirements for admission to the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department's Master of Arts program.

General Education Requirements

All degrees require the completion of the University-wide General Education Program (link provided above).  Some General Education requirements may be met in the requirements for the major or supporting coursework, in which case additional electives may be required to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

College/School Requirements

Program/Major Requirements

Students should consult a Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies advisor about how topics and independent study courses count in the major (see list below).

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Topics/Independent Study courses

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In addition to the Humanities courses required in the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Core

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Completion of the intermediate level of a single foreign language

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May be incorporated into other degree requirements

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Students who satisfy General Education Requirements by courses defined by the program will require additional electives to complete the minimum hours for the degree.

Flight Plan

Degree Audit Report
Degree Audit reports illustrate how your completed courses fulfill the requirements of your academic plan.  What-if reports allow you to compare the courses you have completed in your current academic plan to the courses required in another academic plan.  Should you have questions about either report, please consult with your academic advisor.

To create either report:

1. Log into your ULink account.
2. Click on the Academic Progress tile.
3. Next, click on "View my Degree Audit" to run a Degree Audit report in the Undergraduate Advising area. 
4. To create a What-if report, click on "Create a What-if Advisement Report."

Click here to run a Degree Audit report, or create a What-if report.

Flight Planner
Based on your major, the Flight Planner tool may be available for you to create a personalized Flight Plan.  The Flight Planner can be found in the ULink Student Center.  Consult with your advisor for assistance with the Flight Planner.