BA in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies

Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that investigates how gender and sexuality operate as organizing axes of social, cultural, economic and political institutions, as well as in the everyday lives and cultural products of people who must live within them. Emphasizing the importance of historical and cross-cultural and transnational perspectives, Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies at UMBC critically examines the intersections of gender and sexuality with other differences, including, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, and ability to make visible structures of power that otherwise remain hidden. We empower students to imagine a more just future and equip them with the tools to collectively enact it.

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Take a look at what four years in the GWST BA can look like: GWST BA academic pathway

The BA in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies consists of 36 credits, divided as follows:

CORE COURSES (15 credits)
Course # Course Name GEP Semester Offered
GWST 100 Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies SS/C
GWST 200 Studies in Feminist Activism SS Spring Only
GWST/CSST 300 Methodologies of Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies WI
GWST 480 Theories of Feminism
GWST 495 Colloquium: Research + Activism WI Spring Only
ELECTIVE CREDITS (21 credits)
  • 12 credits must be from the three content areas listed below
    • 6 credits in History and Public Policy
    • 3 credits in Representations as/in Culture
    • 3 credits in Material, Social and Technological Contexts
  • 9 additional credits of GWST electives
  • 6 credits must be designated Range of Experience (RoE) courses
  • 15 credits must be at the 300 level and above
  • Students have the option to take up to 3 credits of independent study and 3 credits of internship towards completion of the major
  • Selected topics courses (CSST 292, 392, 492, GWST 290, 390, 490) may be counted toward the 21 credits in electives

NOTE: A C or better is required in all courses applied toward the major

Course Number
Course Name
RoE
GEP
CSST 210 Introduction to Critical Sexuality Studies √ SS/C
GWST 315 Modern Masculinities — AH/C
GWST/HIST 325 History of Women in America to 1870 — SS
GWST/HIST 326 History of Women in American Since 1870 — SS
GWST327/AFST354/HIST323 African-American Women’s History √ SS
GWST/POLI 328 Women, Gender, Sexuality, + Political Power in the US — —
GWST 330/ANCS 320 Women + Gender in the Classical World — AH/C
GWST/POLI 338 Women, Gender, + Law — SS
GWST 340 Women, Gender, + Globalization √ SS/C
GWST/HIST 366 Doin’ It: Case Studies/History of Western Sexuality √ SS/C
GWST 373/HIST 379 “Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” – Women and Gender in Islam √ AH/C
GWST/HIST 374 European Women’s History 1200-1750 — SS/C
GWST/HIST 375 European Women’s History 1750-Present — SS/C
GWST/HIST 376 European Women’s History 1914-Present — SS/C
GWST/SOWK 377 Women and Social Policy — SS
GWST 379/SOWK 376 Intimate Partner Violence, a Social Work Perspective √ C
GWST/HIST 380 History of Women + Gender in Asia √ C
GWST/AMST 382 Perspectives on the Family — AH
GWST 383 History and Politics of Sexuality √ —
GWST/AFST 439 Women in Africa and the Diaspora √ —
Course Number
Course Name
RoE
GEP
CSST 321 Queer Representations in Film and TV √ AH
GWST/CSST 220 Introduction to Transgender Studies √ —
GWST/AMST 245 Arab and Muslim Experiences in the US √ AH/C
GWST/PHIL 258 Philosophy, Race, and Gender — AH
GWST/MLL 320 Transnational Feminist Film √ AH/C
GWST/MLL322/AFST347 Gender, Race, and Media √ AH/C
GWST 323 Gender and Sitcoms — AH
GWST/MUSC 334 Women in Music — AH/C
GWST 341 Indigenous and Decolonial Feminisms √ —
GWST 342 Gender in Modern South Asia √ AH/C
GWST 343 Gender, Human Rights, + Political Violence: Latin America √ AH/C
GWST 344 Transnational Femininities √ AH/C
GWST 348 Black, Queer, + Feminist Film √ —
GWST/THTR 349 Gender, Sexuality, + Theatrical Performance √ AH
GWST/ENGL 364 Perspectives on Women in Literature — AH/WI
GWST 365 Black Women Novelists √ —
GWST/PHIL 391 The Philosophy of Sex — —
GWST/MLL 413 Language, Gender, + Sexuality √ —
GWST/PHIL 458 Advanced Topics in Feminist Philosophy — —
GWST/ENGL 464 Studies in Women + Literature — —
Course Number
Course Name
RoE
GEP
CSST 345 Unruly Bodies √ AH/C
CSST 485 Sexuality + Queer Theory √ —
GWST/ECON 250 Gender Roles in Economic Life — —
GWST/MLL 255 Intercultural Paris √ AH/C
GWST/AMST 310 Gender + Inequality in America — AH
GWST/SOCY 332 Human Sexuality in Sociological Perspective — —
GWST/SOCY 333 Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective — SS/C
GWST/CMSC/IS 352 Women, Gender, and Information Technology — SS
GWST/SOCY 353 Marriage + the Family — SS
GWST/SOCY 355 The Sociology of Gender — SS
GWST/PSYC 356 The Psychology of Sex + Gender — —
GWST/PSYC 357 Psychology of Women + Gender — —
GWST/ANTH 367 Anthropology of Gender — —
GWST/AFST 370 Black Women: Cross-Cultural Perspectives √ SS/C
GWST/AFST 371 The Female Offender — —
GWST 378 Women, Gender, + Science — SS/WI
GWST 381 Reproductive Justice in the US √ —
GWST/SOCY 433 Gender, Work, + Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective √ WI
GWST/SOCY 434 Gender + the Life Course — —
GWST/PSYC 444 Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity √ WI