Women and Gender Studies
Degree ...BA
Students may earn a bachelor of arts degree in women's studies or a women's studies minor to supplement study in their major field.
Since 1974, the Women and Gender Studies Program has offered an interdisciplinary curriculum encompassing social sciences and humanities. Courses reflect the new scholarship on women: they focus on the interface of the public and private spheres of women's lives; on the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, nation and class; feminist theory; gender identity and theories of inequality. The curriculum is multifaceted, offering courses on women of color, women and development, global feminism, feminist research methods, and gender and sexuality. The program houses a reading library and sponsors colloquia, workshops, and other cultural and educational events.
A women's studies major is useful in pursuing careers in law, medicine, government, public health, public policy, social work, teaching, counseling, advocacy, journalism, television production, union/labor organizing, public relations, education, politics, fundraising for non-profits, small business development, librarianship, arts administration, and the Foreign Service.
The undergraduate degree in women's studies emphasizes knowledge and awareness of:
- the historical and cross-cultural variability of social norms of masculinity and femininity;
- the ways in which ideas of masculinity and femininity shape and interact with class, race, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, and nationality;
- the centrality of gender at the local, national, and international levels of society, politics, and the economy;
- the diversity of global feminism;
- how women interact with the global economy;
- how power and privilege function in relation to the intersections of gender, race, class, sexuality, and nationality;
- women's participation in, contribution to, and transformation of areas of social life including culture, society, politics, economy, and religion;
- institutionalized discrimination and violence against women;
- women's activism and resistance to oppression;
- the varied research methods and theoretical perspectives used in women, gender, and sexuality studies scholarship, including the relationship between theory and practice; and
- the history of women and gender studies as an academic discipline and the main themes that have characterized its emergence.
In addition, students completing the program in women's studies are expected to acquire the ability and skills to:
- express ideas clearly in spoken form;
- employ creative problem-solving techniques;
- organize and synthesize material in new ways;
- analyze texts and information critically;
- articulate clearly complex ideas in written form; and
- participate in teamwork successfully.
Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the required courses listed below. Current requirements are being updated by the program. Contact the Department of Women and Gender Studies for more information.
| Required Courses | Semester Hours |
| Students must complete a minimum of 36 credit hours with grades of C- or better in women and gender studies courses, a minimum of 24 credits of which must be upper division. These 36 credit hours should be distributed as follows: | |
Basic Requirements (18 hours) +
| WMST 2000 Introduction to Feminist Studies | 3 |
| WMST 2200 Women, Literature, and the Arts or WMST 2400 Women of Color and Activism (same as HIST 2636) | 3 |
| WMST 2600 Gender, Race, and Class in Global Context | 3 |
| WMST 3020 Methods of Inquiry in Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality | 3 |
| WMST 3100 Feminist Theories | 3 |
| WMST 4800 Senior Colloquium in Feminist Studies | 3 |
Lower-division Electives (3 hours) +
| In addition to the basic requirements, students may choose from a WMST course not already used to satisfy other major requirements, or one additional course from the list below to complete their 12 lower-division hours. | |
| ANTH 1170 Exploring Culture and Gender through Film | 3 |
| HIST 2616 Women's History | 3 |
| HIST 2626 Gender and Culture | 3 |
| ENGL 2707 Introduction to Lesbian, Bisexual, and Gay Literature (same as LGBT 2707) | 3 |
| LING 2400 Language and Gender | 3 |
| SOCY 2026 Man and Masculinity | 3 |
| WMST 1006 Social Construction of Sexuality (same as SOCY 1006) | 3 |
| WMST 1016 Sex, Gender and Society (same as SOCY 1016) | 3 |
| WMST 1260 Intro to Women's Literature (same as ENGL 1260) | 3. |
| WMST 2030 Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (same as LGBT 2000) | 3 |
| WMST 2020 Social Construction of Femininities and Masculinities | 3 |
| WMST 2050 Gender and Contemporary Culture | 3 |
| WMST 2100 Women in Ancient Greece (same as CLAS 2100) | 3 |
| WMST 2110 Women in Ancient Rome (same as CLAS 2110) | 3 |
| WMST 2290 Philosophy and Women (same as PHIL 2290) | 3 |
| WMST 2700 Psychology of Contemporary American Women. (same as PSYC 2700) | 3 |
| WMST 2800 Women and Religion (same as RLST 2800) | 3 |
III. WMST Upper-division Courses (15 hours) +
| Upper-division courses are to be selected from the seven cognate areas listed below. Cognate areas include WMST courses and courses that are cross-listed with other departments. Students may take up to 9 hours in one cognate area. Students are to see their academic advisor or the program office for additional courses that will satisfy cognate areas. | |
| Women of Color and Critical Discourse | |
| SOCY 3026 Women of Color: Chicanas in U.S. Society | 3 |
| WMST 3210 American Indian Women | 3 |
| WMST 3220 Women in Islam | 3 |
| WMST 3505 Historical and Contemporary Issues of Black Women (same as ETHN 3502) | 3 |
| WMST 3600 Latinas: History, Culture, and Social Activism | 3 |
| WMST 3900 Asian American Women (same as ETHN 3900) | 3 |
| WMST 4619 Women in Asian History (same as HIST 4619) | 3 |
| Historical/Social/Psychological Concepts | |
| WMST 3004 Women and Education. (same as HONR 3004) | 3 |
| HIST 3016 Seminar in the History of Gender and Science | 3 |
| SOCY 3046 Topics in Sex and Gender | 3 |
| WMST 3016 Marriage and Family in U.S. Society | 3 |
| WMST 3302 Facilitating Peaceful Community Change (same as INVS 3302) | 3 |
| WMST 3656 History of Women in Progressive Social Movements (same as HIST 3656) | 3 |
| WMST 4016 Sex Gender and Society 2 (same as SOCY 4016) | 3 |
| WMST 4063 Women in Victorian England (same as HIST 4063) | 3 |
| WMST 4086 Family and Society (same as SOCY 4086) | 3 |
| WMST 4471 Russian Women in 20th Century Russian Culture (same as RUSS 4471) | 3 |
| WMST 4614 Women and Society in Industrial Europe (same as HIST 4614) | 3 |
| WMST 4616 History of Women in the U.S. to 1890 (same as HIST 4616) | 3 |
| WMST 4626 History of Women since 1890 (same as HIST 4626) | 3 |
| WMST 4636 Lesbian and Gay History | 3 |
| WMST 4640 Women, Gender, and War (same as HIST 4640) | 3 |
| WMST 4700 Women and Mental Health (same as PSYC 4700) | 3 |
| Global Gender Political Studies | |
| ANTH 3180-3 Gender, Culture, and Sexuality | 3 |
| WMST 3012-3 Women, Development, and Fertility (same as SOCY 3012) | 3 |
| WMST 3208 Women in Nordic Society | 3 |
| WMST 3500 Global Gender Issues | 3 |
| WMST 3650 Women and Politics in Latin America | 3 |
| WMST 3670 Immigrant Women in the Global Economy | 3 |
| WMST 3672 Gender and Global Economy | 3 |
| WMST 3730 Third World Women and the Politics of International Development | 3 |
| WMST 4300 Sex, Power, Politics: International Perspectives | 3 |
| Feminist Theory and Transnational Feminisms | |
| HUMN 3065 Feminist Theory/Women's Art | 3 |
| ITAL 4730 Italian Feminism, Culture, Theory, and Narratives of Discourse (same as HUMN 4730) | 3 |
| WMST 3090 Critical Thinking in Feminist Studies | 3 |
| WMST 3110 Feminist Practical Ethics (same as PHIL 3110) | 3 |
| WMST 3135 Chicana Feminism and Knowledge (same as ETHN 3136) | 3 |
| WMST 3200 Religion and Feminist Thought | 3 |
| Gender, Law and Public Policy | |
| WMST 3000 Gender, Work, and Public Policy | 3 |
| WMST 3300 Women and the Legal System | 3 |
| WMST 3044 Race, Class, Gender, and Crime (same as SOCY 3044) | 3 |
| WMST 3314 Violence against Women and Girls (same as SOCY 3314) | 3 |
| WMST 4271 Sex Discrimination - Constitutional Issues (same as PSCI 4271) | 3 |
| WMST 4291 Sex Discrimination - Federal and State Law (same as PSCI 4291) | 3 |
| Queer Studies | |
| WMST 4287 Studies in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Literature (same as ENGL 4287) | 3 |
| WMST 4636 Lesbian and Gay History (same as HIST 4636) | 3 |
| LGBT 3796 Queer Theory (same as ENGL 3796) | 3 |
| Gender, Sexuality, the Arts and Humanities | |
| ARTH 3209 Art, Culture, and Gender Diversity, 1400 to 1600: Renaissance Art | 3 |
| ENGL 3217 Topics in Gender Studies | 3 |
| FILM 3013 Women and Film | 3 |
| HUMN 3065 Feminist Theory/Women's Art | 3 |
| THTR 4073 Performing Voices of Women | 3 |
| WMST 3267 Women Writers (same as ENGL 3267) | 3 |
| WMST 3601 German Women Writers (same as GRMN 3601) | 3 |
| WMST 3800 Advanced Writing in Feminist Studies | 3 |
| WMST 4769 Gender Studies in Early Modern Visual Culture (same as ARTH 4769) | 3 |
| WMST 4277 Topics in Women's Literature (same as ENGL 4277) | 3 |
| WMST 4287 Studies in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Literature (same as ENGL/LGBT 4287) | 3 |
| WMST 4331 Women and Popular Culture (same as JOUR 4331) | 3 |
| Internship | |
| WMST 3930 Internship | 1-6 |
| Special Topics: | |
| WMST 3700 Contemporary Topics in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| WMST 3710 Topics in Global Gender Studies | 3 |
| WMST 4000 Senior Seminar: Special Topics | 3 |
Graduating in Four Years +
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for more information on eligibility. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress in women and gender studies, students should meet the following requirements:
| Declare major by the beginning of the second semester. | |
| Complete WMST 2000 and 12 additional credit hours of major requirements by the end of the fourth semester. | |
| Complete WMST 3100 and 27 total credit hours of major requirements by the end of the sixth semester. | |
| Complete WMST 4800 and one additional 3-credit course of the major requirements by the end of the eighth semester. |
Minor Programs +
A minor program in women's studies is offered. Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at CU-Boulder, regardless of college or school. For information, see www.colorado.edu/artssciences/students/undergraduate/academics/minors.html.
