Minor in Gender and Women’s Studies

This interdisciplinary minor is designed for students in any major who also want a concentration in the study of gender. The minor investigates how gender operates as an organizing axis of social, cultural, economic, and political institutions, as well as in the everyday lives and cultural products of people who must live within them. Special attention is paid to how gender intersects with other differences, including race, sexuality, class, religion, nation, disability, and age, and how power, resistance, and life chances are differentially distributed at these intersections. This minor will empower students to imagine a more just future and equip them with the tools to collectively enact it.

The minor provides a good foundation of critical reading, writing, and thinking skills that prepare students for work or graduate school in a variety of fields, including psychology, law, social work, medicine, nonprofit management, human resources, and more.

Students who wish to pursue Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies in even more depth can do so by:

  • Earning a certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies;
  • Majoring in Gender and Women’s Studies; or
  • Earning a minor in Critical Sexuality Studies
Ready to declare this minor?
Fill out a declaration of major form
and submit it to the Registrar’s Office through RT

Want to bring this information to your advising appointment?Download the Minor advising guide!

The Minor in Gender and Women’s studies consists of 18 credits, divided as follows:

CORE COURSES (9 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 480 Theories of Feminism
ELECTIVE CREDITS (9 credits)
  • 3 credits must be designated Range of Experience (RoE) courses
  • 3 credits must be at the 300 level or above
  • Students have the option to take up to 3 credits of independent study and 3 credits of internship towards completion of the minor
  • Topics courses (CSST 292, 392, 492, GWST 290, 390, 490) may be counted toward the 9 credits in electives

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

Course Number
Course Name
RoE
GEP
CSST 321 Queer Representation in Film and TV √ AH
CSST 345 Unruly Bodies √ AH/C
GWST/MLL 320 Transnational Feminist Film √ AH/C
GWST 340 Women, Gender, and Globalization √ SS/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