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Major

Major in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (Autumn 2020 and beyond)

Key features:

  • 33 total credit hours, including prerequisite
  • 1 prerequisite
  • 3 core courses
  • 7 electives
    • 1 of these electives must be a Women of Color course
    • 1 of these electives must be a Global and Transnational Feminisms course

Prerequisite (1 course, 3 credit hours):

  • WGSST 1110: Gender, Sex & Power | Offered every semester; GE

Core Courses (3 courses, 9 credit hours):

  • WGSST 2550: History of Feminist Thought | Offered every SP
  • WGSST 3575: Feminist Methods & Inquiry | Offered every AU; WGSST 1110 is prerequisite
  • WGSST 4575: Senior Research Capstone | Offered SP; WGSST 3575 is a prerequisite
    • Note - Students may purse 4999: Thesis option to earn a research distinction. Research distinction projects must be longer and more in depth than a 4575 research project. See Senior Thesis for more information.

WGSS Electives (7 courses, 21 credit hours):

  • Take any 7 courses in WGSS with some checkboxes along the way:
    • 1 elective course must come from the list of approved Women of Color courses
    • 1 elective course must come from the list of approved Global & Transnational Feminisms courses
      • WoC & GTF courses must be distinct
    • 3 electives must be upper division (at the 3000-level or above)
    • 1 elective must be a 4000-level WGSST course (or above)

Additional Information:

  • A maximum of 2 approved-related courses may count towards the major.
  • All cross-listed courses, regardless of department of offering, are automatically approved to count towards the major.
  • Single majors and duel degree students may not overlap any GEs, with the exception of 1110.
  • Double majors may overlap up to 12 credit hours of GEs and/or double major coursework provided each major has 18 unique credit hours. Advisor approval required.
  • No more than 6 credit hours of WGSS internship credit (3191 and 3385) may be used toward to fulfill major requirements.
  • No more than 6 credit hours of research credit (5998) may be used to fulfill major requirements.
  • No more than one half (15 credits) of the credit hours in the major can be transfer credit.
  • Minimum C- required in all major classes. Minimum 2.0 major GPA required. No more than 3 credit hours of courses graded S/U.
  • Unique circumstances may warrant a petition to the WGSS Undergraduate Studies Committee to alter requirements.
  • Students may petition the WGSS Undergraduate Studies Committee to seek approved-related status for courses in other departments they feel are closely related to the curriculum goals of WGSS.

Key differences between the major before and after AU20

  • WGSST 2300: Feminist Inquiry is replaced by WGSST 3575: Feminist Methodology
  • Instead of completing a track, students take 7 WGSST courses of their choosing, with some checkboxes to complete along the way.
    • One elective must come from the Women of Color course list
    • One elective must come from the Global and Transnational course list
      • These must be separate courses
    • Three electives must come at the 3000-level of above
    • One elective must be a 4000-level WGSST course

These checkboxes can be completed as separate requirements, or overlap (with the exception of the Women of Color and the Global and Transnational Feminisms courses). For example, you could take a 2000-level WoC course and a different 4000-level course, or you could take a 4000-level WoC course to fulfil both requirements.

Major in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (before Autumn 2020)

Pre-requisite (3 credit hours)

WGSST 1110 - Gender, Sex and Power

Core Courses (12 credit hours)

  1. WGSST 2300 Introduction to Feminist Analysis (3 cr. hr.)
  2. WGSST 2550 History of Feminist Thought (3 cr. hr.)
  3. At least ONE Women of Color course from the following list; this course may not be applied to the concentration area requirement (3 cr. hr.)
  • WGSST 2340 Latina Experience in the U.S.
  • WGSST 2367.02 U.S. Latina Writers: Text and Context
  • WGSST 2367.04 Black Women Writers: Text and Context
  • WGSST 2702(H) Modern Arabic Literature in Translation
  • WGSST 2750(H) Natives and Newcomers: U.S. (Im)migration and Migration
  • WGSST 3505 Feminist Perspectives on Globalization
  • WGSST 4401 Asian American Women: Race, Sex and Representations
  • WGSST 4402 Black Women: Representation, Politics and Power
  • WGSST 4404 Regulating Bodies: Global Sexual Economies
  • WGSST 4405 Race and Sexuality
  • WGSST 4520 Women of Color and Social Activism
  • WGSST 4540 Women of Color: Art, Literature and Culture
  • WGSST 4560 Chicana Feminism
  • WGSST 4576 Women and Visual Cultures in Latin America
  • WGSST 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Class and Sexuality
  • WGSST 5623 African Women: History & Socioeconomic Change
  • WGSST 5624 Women and Social Change in Latin America

    4.     Senior Experience (3 cr. hr.)

Majors must select ONE of the following:

  • WGSST 4575 Issues in Contemporary Feminist Theory (Senior Seminar)
  • WGSST 4999(H) Distinction Thesis or Distinction Honors Thesis 

Concentration Area (9 credit hours)

Majors are required to choose one Concentration Area from the four areas of study listed below. Students must take 3 courses (9 credit hours) within their chosen concentration. A comprehensive list of WGSST and Approved-Related courses that fulfill each concentration courses can be helpful.

  1. Race, Sexualities and Social Justice (formerly Difference & Diversity)
  2. Narrative, Culture and Representation (formerly Culture & Representation)
  3. Power, Institutions and Economies (formerly Political Contexts & Social Change)
  4. Global and Transnational Feminisms

Open Electives (9 credit hours)

The remaining elective hours may be chosen from courses in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and/or Approved-Related courses. No more than 6 credit hours of electives can be chosen outside of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Note: "Topics in" and "Studies in" courses vary by semester and are not listed as approve-related courses. Students may petition the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies undergraduate advisor for permission to apply an unlisted course to their major program. Students must obtain written approval from the department before enrolling in the course.

General Requirements

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies majors complete a 3-hour pre-requisite and 30 credit hours of required coursework.

  • Majors must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in approved courses, at least 9 of which must be at the 4000 level or above.
  • A minimum course grade of C- and an average grade of C (2.0) in all courses used to fulfill the major requirements must be maintained.
  • No more than 6 credit hours of combined Special Topics (WGSST 2194, WGSST 3320, WGSST 4194), internship credit (WGSST 3191, WGSST 3385), and/or Individual Studies (WGSST 5193) may be used to fulfill major requirements. Of those 6, no more than 3 may be in WGSST 5193.
  • No more than 6 credit hours of approved-related courses outside of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies may apply to the major.
  • Major courses may not be used to meet other curricular requirements, except as specified in the General Education Curriculum (GE) and ASC Degree Planning Manual.

Please consult the WGSS Undergraduate Academic Advisor for additional guidelines if:

  • you're interested in double majors and dual degrees 
  • you declared a major under quarters

If you're interested in WGSS Honors, please consult the WGSS Honors Advisor at wgssadvising@osu.edu. 

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