Women's and Gender Studies at EWU

Bachelor of Arts in Women's and Gender Studies

Women's and Gender Studies offers students an interdisciplinary examination of women's roles, contributions, history and experiences as well as a critical study of gender structures in societies and cultures in the U.S. and the world. It utilizes gender along with race and class as a category of analysis, helping students investigate the role that gender plays in our history, literature, art, politics, education, sports, health and family. The integrated B.A. degree program is comprised of courses from a broad array of disciplines in five different colleges and provides a strong foundation in the humanities and social sciences.

Career Opportunities

Women's and Gender Studies courses provide graduates with opportunities for employment with various types of organizations - public, private, government and non-profit. Women's and Gender Studies graduates can enter such fields as law, politics, the arts, education, communications, health care, counseling, business and sports.

Curriculum

All Women's and Gender Studies majors must meet the university general education requirements and graduation requirements expected for students to complete a B.A. in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The 45 - 52 credit B.A. in Women's and Gender Studies is structured so that students will have a solid core of courses in feminist scholarship and gender studies, with flexibility to pursue their specific interests and career goals through a sufficient number of electives and the completion of a minor or certificate. Women's Studies offers over thirty-five courses, most of which are cross-listed with other departments. Our courses offer a deeper insight to issues of oppression and create awareness to sexist, racist and other biases. Teaching students to expand their way of thinking, broaden their perspective, analyze difficult material, build convincing arguments and how gender interactions affect the business environment, as well as the cultural, emotional, familial, institutional and political impact.

Requirements (45 - 52 credits)

NOTE: Two years of a single high school foreign language or one year of a single foreign language at college level is required for this major.

Introductory Courses (4 - 5 credits)

Choose ONE of the following:

  • WMST/HUMN 101 Introduction to Women's Studies (5)
  • WMST/HUMN 310 Issues in Women's Studies (4) [This course is also offered Online]

Foundation Courses (9 - 10 credits)

  • CSBS 310 Foundations of Social and Behavioral Sciences Theory (5)

Plus ONE course selected from:

  • CSBS 320 Introductory Statistics for the Social Sciences (5)
  • CSBS 330 Integrated Social Science Methods (5)
  • CSBS 331 Documents-Based Research Methods (5)
  • DSCI 245 Data Analysis for Business (4)
  • ENGL 308 Advanced Exposition (5)

Core Courses (32 - 37 credits)

  • WMST/HUMN 410 Feminist Theory (4)
  • WMST 490 Senior Capstone Seminar (4)

Plus at least 4 credits from each for the 4 disciplinary perspectives below:

  1. Feminist Cultural Studies
    • ENGL/WMST 389 Women, Literature and Social Change (5)
    • CMST/WMST 414 Gender and Communication (5)
    • WMST/PHIL 417 Women and Ethics (5)
    • WMST/HUMN 319 Women Artists and Society (2)
    • WMST/PHIL 440 Women in Philosophy (5)
    • HIST/WMST 468 History of Modern American Women (4)

  2. Women & Social Change
    • SOCI/WMST 377 Alternatives to Domestic Violence (2)
    • HIST/WMST 394 Women in American History (4) [This course is also offered Online]
    • SOCI/WMST 483 Sociology of Children (5)
    • HIST/WMST 392 Women in the American West (4)
    • MGMT/WMST 424 Equity and Equality in the Workplace (3)
    • SOWK/WMST 450 Women and Social Reform (3)
    • SOCI/WMST 370 Sociology of the Family (5)
    • WMST/ECON 427 The Economics of Women & Work (5)

  3. Women, Body and Mind
    • SOWK/WMST 452 Gender and Sexual Assault (4)
    • BIOL/WMST 318 Biology of Women (3)
    • SOCI/WMST 321 Sex and Gender (5)
    • PSYC/WMST 331 Psychology of Women (4) [This course is also offered Online]
    • BIOL/WMST 338 Discovering Women in Science (1)
    • CMST/WMST 419 Sex, Sexuality and Communications (5)
    • WMST/HUMN 415 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies (5)

  4. Diversity and International Perspectives
    • IDST/WMST 411 Contemporary Indigenous Women (5)
    • AAST/WMST 430 From Mammies to Jamimas: The Black Women's Struggle (5)
    • SOWK/WMST 448 Gay and Lesbian Issues for the Social Work Practitioner (3)
    • ECON/AAST 424/WMST/426 Economics of Poverty and Discrimination (5)
    • SOWK/WMST 471 Human Rights and Women's Rights (4)
    • SPAN/WMST 475 Women's Writing in Latin America (4)
    • AAST/WMST 371 Cultural Study: African American Women and Hair (2)
    • WMST 498 Selected Women's Studies Seminar as approved by Women's and Gender Studies Program Director (4-5)

Electives (8 - 9 credits)

Choose 8 - 9 additional credits of electives from the Women's and Gender Studies Course Distribution List.

Women's and Gender Studies Prior Learning Option (49 - 56 credits)

Same as the Women's and Gender Studies major above with an added four credits for the Portfolio Development course (ITDS 300).

The prior learning options provides the adult learner who has acquired specialized professional or paraprofessional experience the opportunity to have his or her experiential learning evaluated for a block of elective credit. The credit awarded cannot exceed 45 credits and can only be utilized in the prior learning. The block of elective credit will count toward the 180 credits needed for the baccalaureate degree, but not toward university requirements or the major. Documenting prior learning requires the Portfolio Development course (ITDS 300) to guide the student in preparation of a portfolio that articulates and validates learning. The portfolio completed in the course can be submitted for evaluation by an Eastern Washington University faculty who determines the credit award. The Prior Learning Option can be taken in conjunction with the 45-credit major listed above. The ITDS 300 Portfolio Development course is 4 credits.

This major requires the completion of a minor certificate approved by a Women's and Gender Studies advisor or a second major.

Students must complete at least 25 credits of this major at Eastern Washington University.

What is Women's and Gender Studies?

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What Women's and Gender Studies can do for you