Degrees and Certificates
Women’s Studies
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Note: The Women's Studies program is not accepting new students at this time. A formal minor in Women's Studies is available. Select the Women's Studies link at Formal Minors and Certificates for details.
Women’s Studies is the interdisciplinary field of research and teaching that places gender and women at the center of inquiry. Women's Studies raises important questions about gender as a socially and culturally constructed phenomenon that affects personal lives, artistic expression, work, social relationships, institutional structures, and the production of knowledge. Women's Studies places the social construction of gender in the context of national and international political and economic relations. Central to our consideration of gender are the ways class, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, age, and ability shape experience.
Women's Studies seeks to provide students with a systematic knowledge of the multidisciplinary scholarship about gender to enhance the qualifications of students preparing to work in today's diverse workplaces, to further university and societal goals of diversity and equity, and to work for social and institutional change.
Women's Studies at WSU emphasizes collaborative learning and critical thinking in a global and activist context, one which gives students ownership over their education. Students are encouraged to reevaluate assumptions, to analyze the structures and systems controlling and shaping the lives of people of all genders and to use their knowledge in practical and meaningful ways.
Women's Studies students tend to be people who want to make a difference in the world. Each student's personal goals and intellectual development is of major importance, and we prize our ability to give students individual attention.
Potential careers
Program of study
Women’s Studies graduates are employed in a wide range of careers, including human resources, social services, marketing, journalism, digital media, the arts, and education. Additionally, the program’s emphasis on critical thinking and writing skills provides a strong foundation for graduate and professional programs.
Visit the DDP Career Services Center to make an appointment with the DDP career counselor to discuss other career options.
WSU General Education Requirements (GERs) (Can be satisfied with a direct transfer degree; for a list of direct-transfer agreements, visit WSU’s Transfer Information Web page).
Required Courses
18 semester credits:
- W St 200 [S, D] – Gender and Power: Introduction to Women’s Studies
- W St 300 [S, M] – Intersections of Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality
- W St 332 [I] – Global Feminisms
- W St 410 – Internship
- W St 484 [T, D] – Lesbian and Gay Studies
- W St 481 [M] – Theoretical Issues in Women’s Studies
Women’s Studies Arts and Humanities Electives
6 semester credits; choose 2 courses:
- W St 309 [H] – Women Writers
- W St 335 [K] – Women in Latin American History
- W St 398 [H, D] – History of Women in the American West
Women’s Studies Social Sciences Electives
6 semester credits; choose 2 courses:
- W St 204 [S] – Family Systems: Understanding Family Interaction
- W St 230 – Human Sexuality
- W St 305 [S] – Gender and Politics
- W St 315 [S, D] – Women in Management and Leadership
- W St 324 [S, D] – Psychology of Women
- W St 351 [S, D] – The Family
- W St 384 [S, D] – Sociology of Gender
- W St 403 [T] – Violence Toward Women
- W St 406 [T] – Women and Work In Global Contexts
Race, Ethnicity, And Cultural Differences Requirement
3 semester credits:
- W St 316 [K] – Gender in Cross Cultural Perspective
Women’s Studies Electives
- 6 additional semester credits in Women’s Studies courses
College of Liberal Arts Graduation Requirements:
- 6 additional GER credits of Art & Humanities [H] or Social Sciences [S]
- 2 additional science elective credits, one of which must be a lab
- World (Foreign) language: One year (two semesters or three quarters) of one world language at the college level or OR two years of one world language at the high school level
Please review the online WSU catalog for additional information about specific degree requirements (WSU Catalog).
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