Faculty: Bailey, Burleigh, Caballero, Keysor, Oliver, Riess, Shaw

The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major is a program in the Interdisciplinary Studies Area of Study. WGSS majors may complete any minor to satisfy the college requirement that the major and minor be in different areas of study.

Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies Major Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete a major in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies are expected to be able to:

• Show how critical analysis of gender and sexuality contributes to an understanding of the historical and contemporary formations of patriarchy, heteronormativity, and gender normativity; 
• Achieve a knowledge base about women’s and LGBTQ+ people’s role in history—their contributions, oppression, and resistance;
• Describe the manner in which race, class, gender, and sexuality intersect;
• Become aware of women’s and LGBTQ+ people’s experience in cultural contexts, both nationally and globally, including understanding the roles of gender and sexuality in social justice movements around the world; 
• Define and describe a range of theories that underlie feminist and queer analysis, understanding their similarities and differences; 
• Utilize feminist and queer theoretical approaches and explain their role in building knowledge;
• Compare and contrast different feminist and queer theories and methodological approaches;
• Critique scholarly works from a feminist and queer theoretical and methodological standpoint; 
• Develop a working knowledge of the connections between women’s studies and queer studies scholarship, activism, and social change

The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Major

The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major, consisting of 40 credits, leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree. At graduation, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies majors must have a GPA of at least 2.0 in the major. The calculation is based on the grades of all major courses. Only the most recent grade is considered for courses that have been repeated. All Allegheny courses required for the WGSS major must be taken on a letter-grade basis. A maximum of 12 transfer credits may be counted toward the major; exceptions must be approved by the department chair.

All courses marked with an asterisk (*) below have prerequisites.