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Requirements for the Women's and Gender Studies Program Major (36 semester hours)

There are 36 semester hours required for the WGS major [prerequisites are listed in brackets behind each course]

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) [WGS134 or WGS245]

  • One disciplinary methods/theory course (should be chosen in consultation with an advisor and dependent on WGS interests and proposed senior thesis) [WGS134 or WGS245--NOTE: Some courses also require WGS353W]

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

      • AES330 Theory and Methods of American Ethnic Studies (4) [AES150; junior or senior standing; and at least one elective course in AES]

      • ARTH362W Theories and Methodologies of Art History (4) [A 200-level art history course]

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

      • HIST306 History through Biography: Women in World History (4) [no prerequisites]

      • PHIL335 History, Sexuality, and Power (4) [One Philosophy course or consent of instructor; closed to first year students]

      • PSYC252W Research Methods and Analysis 1 (4) [PSYC210 or consent of instructor]

      • SOC402W Qualitative Methods in Social Research (4) [SOC303 or WGS353W]

  • WGS499W Senior Thesis [WGS353W and at least one disciplinary methods course plus senior standing]

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) [CCM220W, CCM 221, WGS245 or WGS353W or consent of instructor]

  • CLAS247 Women in Roman Literature and Life (4) [no prerequisites]

  • CLAS260 Gender and Sexuality in Greek Society (4) [no prerequisites]

  • ENGL355 Feminist Film Criticism (4) [Previous course in ENGL, FILM, or WGS, or consent of instructor]

  • ENGL381 Latinx Literature and Culture (4) [ENGL101W or other]

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

  • HIST 131 Culture, Power, Society (topic dependent) (4) [first and second-year students only]

  • HIST262 Gender and Women's History in the United States (4) [no prerequisites]

  • HIST306 History through Biography: Women in World History (4) (may count as methods/theory course instead) [no prerequisites]

  • HIST375 Women and Gender in Medieval Europe (4) [no prerequisites]

  • PHIL335 History, Sexuality and Power (4) (may count as methods/theory course instead) [One philosophy course or consent of instructor; closed to first-year students]

  • PPLE351W Women in American Politics (4) [PPLE210 or consent of instructor]

  • RUSS245W From Russia with Love: Family and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Russian Literature (4) [no prerequisites]

  • SOC399 Topics in Sociology: (topic depending) (2-4) [SOC186 or any 100-level Sociology course)

  • SPAN435 Contemporary Latin American Women Writers (4)

  • SPAN438 Contemporary Spanish Women Writers (4) [SPAN340, SPAN352, SPAN353, SPAN355, SPAN356, or consent of instructor]

  • SPAN445 Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Spanish Literature (topic dependent) (1) [SPAN340, SPAN352, SPAN353, SPAN355, SPAN356, or consent of instructor]

  • WGS390 Independent Study in Women's and Gender Studies (4) [WGS major or minor and consent of instructor]

  • WGS394 Internship in Women's and Gender Studies (2-4) [WGS353W, junior or senior standing, or consent of department chair]

  • 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.

Willamette University

Women’s and Gender Studies