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Women's and Gender Studies Requirements

The information here may reflect program requirements for future academic years. If you are a current student and would like to see the current or prior years’ requirements for this program, please see the University Catalog.

Women's and Gender Studies (BA)

1. Students must take at least one of the following courses: (4 semester hours)

  • WGS134 Thinking Sex (4)

  • WGS245 Feminism, Gender, and Society (4)

2. Students must take the following three required courses: (12 semester hours)

  • WGS353W Feminist Theory (4)

  • One disciplinary methods/theory course (should be chosen in consultation with an advisor and dependent on WGS interests and proposed senior thesis)

    • Courses that will count (additional courses considered by petition):

      • AES330 Theory and Methods of American Ethnic Studies (4)

      • ARTH362W Theories and Methodologies of Art History (4)

      • CCM220W Analyzing Public Discourse (4) [no prerequisites]

      • HIST306 History through Biography: Women in World History (4)

      • PHIL335 History, Sexuality, and Power (4)

      • PSYC252W Research Methods and Analysis 1 (4)

      • SOC402W Qualitative Methods in Social Research (4)

  • WGS499W Senior Thesis

3. Five additional courses chosen from the following: (20 semester hours)

  • CCM258 Gender and Mass Media in Asia (4)

  • CCM341 Feminist Media Before 1920 (4)

  • CCM342 Feminist Media Since 1920 (4)

  • CCM361 Citizenship and the Public Sphere (4)

  • CLAS247 Women in Roman Literature and Life (4)

  • CLAS260 Gender and Sexuality in Greek Society (4)

  • ENGL355 Feminist Film Criticism (4)

  • ENGL381 Latinx Literature and Culture (4)

  • FREN285W Gender and Sexuality in African Literature and Cinema (4)

  • HIST131W Culture, Power, Society (topic dependent) (4)

  • HIST262 Gender and Women's History in the United States (4)

  • HIST306 History through Biography: Women in World History (4) (may count as methods/theory course instead)

  • HIST375 Women and Gender in Medieval Europe (4)

  • PHIL335 History, Sexuality and Power (4) (may count as methods/theory course instead)

  • PPLE351W Sex, Gender and American Politics (4)

  • RUSS245W From Russia with Love: Family and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Russian Literature (4)

  • SOC399 Topics in Sociology: (topic depending) (2-4)

  • SPAN435 Contemporary Latin American Women Writers (4)

  • SPAN438 Contemporary Spanish Women Writers (4)

  • SPAN445 Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Spanish Literature

  • WGS390 Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies (4)

  • WGS394 Internship in Women's and Gender Studies (2-4)

  • No more than 4 total courses at the 100-200 level and no more than 3 courses with same departmental prefix (other than WGS) can count toward the WGS major.

Women's and Gender Studies (Minor)

Requirements for the Women's and Gender Studies Program Minor (20 semester hours)

There are 20 semester hours required for the WGS minor

1. Students must take at least one of the following courses: (4 semester hours)

  • WGS134 Thinking Sex (4)

  • WGS245 Feminism, Gender, and Society (4)

2. Students must take the following required course: (4 semester hours)

3. Three additional courses of the following, at least one of which must be at the 300 level or higher: (12 semester hours)

  • CCM258 Gender and Mass Media in Asia (4)

  • CCM341 Feminist Media Before 1920 (4)

  • CCM342 Feminist Media Since 1920 (4)

  • CCM361 Citizenship and the Public Sphere (4)

  • CLAS247 Women in Roman Literature and Life (4)

  • CLAS260 Gender and Sexuality in Greek Society (4)

  • ENGL355 Feminist Film Criticism (4)

  • ENGL381 Latinx Literature and Culture (4)

  • FREN285W Gender and Sexuality in African Literature and Cinema (4)

  • HIST131W Culture, Power, Society (4)

  • HIST262 Gender and Women's History in the United States (4)

  • HIST306 History through Biography: Women in World History (4)

  • HIST375 Women and Gender in Medieval Europe (4)

  • PHIL335 History, Sexuality and Power (4)

  • PPLE351W Women in American Politics (4)

  • RUSS245W From Russia with Love: Family and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Russian Literature (4)

  • SOC399 Topics in Sociology: (topic depending) (2-4)

  • SPAN435 Contemporary Latin American Women Writers (4)

  • SPAN438 Contemporary Spanish Women Writers (4)

  • SPAN445 Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Spanish Literature (topic dependent) (1)

  • WGS390 Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies (4)

  • WGS394 Internship in Women's and Gender Studies (2-4)

Willamette University

Women’s and Gender Studies