Women's and Gender Studies - BA
Women's and Gender Studies is a flexible interdisciplinary program devoted to the critical analysis of gender and the pursuit of knowledge about women throughout history and around the world. Combining the methods and insights of traditional liberal arts disciplines with the special insights of scholarship on women’s and gender studies, our courses yield fresh perspectives on the nature of gender as it intersects with race, ethnicity, class, religion, and nation, and encourage students to look beyond their own culture and era in examining gender’s role in shaping society. Through interdisciplinary breadth and an emphasis on critical thinking, women’s and gender studies prepares students to employ critical learning in their private lives as well as in public roles as citizens and members of a diverse and complex workforce.
Majors in women’s and gender studies receive training in both humanities and social sciences approaches and are required to complete coursework that focuses on material beyond dominant U.S. culture; core courses have both theoretical and applied focuses. In addition, majors pursue a strong liberal arts education and complete a minor in another disciplinary or interdisciplinary area, enhancing career options and enabling students to complement their work in the major and further their educational objectives by gaining detailed knowledge of a second area.
Since gender has far-reaching influence on daily life, world culture, and public policy, this major equips students to enter a wide range of fields. As a liberal arts degree, women’s and gender studies is attractive to employers looking for recruits trained in critical thinking, organizational skills, reading, writing, and presenting in a wide range of subject areas. Expertise in women’s and gender issues is increasingly important to businesses, governmental agencies, and other organizations dealing with matters such as sexual harassment, flex-time, parental leave, and pay equity, just as specialists in women’s and gender studies find opportunities in education, law, health care, social work, counseling, media, public policy, and a wide range of other fields.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| ENGL 104 | Composition and Rhetoric 1 | 3 |
| WGST 200 | Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies | 3 |
| American history | 3 | |
| Foreign language 2 | 4 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Public Speaking | ||
| Communication for Technical Professions | ||
| Argumentation and Debate | ||
| Writing about Literature | ||
| Technical and Business Writing | ||
| American history | 3 | |
| Foreign language 2 | 4 | |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| WGST humanities elective 3 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Foreign language 2 | 3 | |
| Government/Political science | 3 | |
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Minor 4 | 3 | |
| WGST humanities elective 3 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| Government/Political science | 3 | |
| Foreign language 2 | 3 | |
| Minor 4 | 3 | |
| WGST elective 5 | 3 | |
| WGST social science elective 6 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Creative arts 7 | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Literature directed elective | 3 | |
| Minor 4 | 3 | |
| WGST elective 5 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Literature directed elective | 3 | |
| Minor 4 | 3 | |
| WGST social science elective 6 | 3 | |
| General elective 7,8 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| WGST 401 | Feminist Theory | 3 |
| Language, philosophy and culture 7 | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Minor 4 | 3 | |
| General elective 7,8 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| WGST 481 | Senior Seminar | 3 |
| Language, philosophy and culture or creative arts 7 | 3 | |
| Life and physical sciences | 3 | |
| Minor 4 | 3 | |
| General elective 7,8 | 1 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 13 | |
| Total Semester Credit Hours | 120 | |
| 1 | A minimum grade of C is required. |
| 2 | Complete 14 hours of a foreign language through the intermediate level. If you choose to enroll in a language you have studied previously without receiving college credit, you must first take a placement test. See academic advisor. |
| 3 | Select from WGST 302, WGST 330, WGST 333/ENGL 333, WGST 343/FILM 343, WGST 374/ENGL 374, WGST 409/PHIL 409, WGST 411/COMM 411, WGST 422/FREN 422, WGST 445, WGST 452/ITAL 452, WGST 461/HIST 461, WGST 473/HIST 473, WGST 474/ENGL 474, WGST 476/HIST 476, WGST 477/HIST 477. |
| 4 | Students are required to complete a minor chosen in consultation with the advisor. Minor courses can be used to satisfy up to 18 hours of student’s required general electives. |
| 5 | Select from WGST 289, WGST 291, WGST 303, WGST 391, WGST 484, WGST 485, WGST 489. |
| 6 | Select from WGST 207/SOCI 207, WGST 300/PSYC 300, WGST 303, WGST 307, WGST 308, WGST 309, WGST 310/SOCI 310, WGST 315/SOCI 315, WGST 316/SOCI 316, WGST 317/POLS 317, WGST 318/ECON 318, WGST 332/SOCI 332, WGST 334/HLTH 334, WGST 367/POLS 367, WGST 403, WGST 404/ANTH 404, WGST 407/COMM 407, WGST 420/COMM 420, WGST 424/SOCI 424, WGST 430/MGMT 430, WGST 439/ANTH 439, WGST 462/POLS 462, WGST 463. |
| 7 | WGST course may not be used to fulfill this requirement. |
| 8 | Minimum of 7 hours if 18-hour minor; minimum of 10 hours if 15-hour minor. |
Graduation requirements include 3 hours of International and Cultural Diversity courses and 3 hours of Cultural Discourse courses. A course satisfying a Core category, a college/department requirement, or a free elective can be used to satisfy this requirement. The required 6 hours may be met by courses satisfying other areas of a degree program. See your academic advisor for further information.
27 hours of WGST coursework required for the BA degree.
A minimum 2.0 GPR and a minimum grade of C for a course to count in the major. Completion of a minor in another field and completion of distribution requirements in the major as outlined.
At least 12 semester hours in the major must be completed in advanced courses (300- and 400-level), and at least 12 semester hours in the major field must be completed in residence at Texas A&M.
Minor Requirements
All Women's and Gender Studies majors, with the exception of those who are double-majoring, must complete a minor chosen from other departments or divisions within or outside the College of Liberal Arts. The minor will consist of 15–18 hours of coursework with a minimum of 6 hours in residence at the 300- to 400-level. A grade of C or higher is required if a course is to count in the minor. Courses taken toward the minor may also be used to satisfy University Core Curriculum requirements. Students should consult the advisor for the minor or the Undergraduate Student Services Office in the College of Liberal Arts for details about how to satisfy minor requirements.
College and University Requirements
Other courses may qualify. Students should consult the approved lists of courses available in the Undergraduate Student Services Office in the College of Liberal Arts. Students must complete a minimum of 36 hours of 300- or 400-level course work at Texas A&M University.