Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies (GWSS) is an interdisciplinary field that integrates theory and practice with the aim of transforming social relations, representations, knowledges, institutions, and policies. GWSS works toward these goals by producing and disseminating knowledge through research, teaching, and activism. The interdisciplinary field provides students with the skills to critically and actively engage with the world around them.
Through the GWSS major at EWU, students examine gender and sexuality as they intersect with other socio-political categories and relations of power, such as race, indigeneity, class, nationality, religion, age, and ability. Issues of justice, social and economic transformation, and agency are central at all levels of the curriculum. The major is comprised of courses from a broad array of disciplines and interdisciplines and provides a strong foundation in the humanities and social sciences.
The interdisciplinary major is designed to foster personal and intellectual development, cultivate civic engagement, and provide a sound foundation relevant for employment in a variety of occupations within academia, the private sector, the professions, government, and the nonprofit sector.
Note:
- students must complete at least 25 credits of this major at Eastern Washington University;
- two years of a single high school world language or one year of a single college-level world language is required.
Note: this 45 credit major requires the completion of a minor (minimum of 15 credits) for a total of 60 credits.
| Required Foundation Courses | ||
| GWSS/HUMN 101 | INTRODUCTION TO GENDER, WOMEN'S AND SEXUALITY STUDIES | 5 |
| GWSS 150 | GENDER, SEXUALITY AND POWER | 5 |
| Introductory Course–choose one | 5 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO LGBTQ+STUDIES | ||
| GENDER, REPRESENTATION AND POPULAR CULTURE | ||
| GENDER, HEALTH AND MARGINALIZATION | ||
| Intermediate Course–choose one | 5 | |
| TOPICS: ISSUES IN GENDER | ||
| BODIES, SOCIALIZATION AND CULTURE | ||
| TRANSNATIONAL FEMINISMS | ||
| Required Upper-Division–choose one | 5 | |
| FEMINIST THEORIES | ||
| QUEER THEORY | ||
| Required Electives | 15 | |
| Required Senior Capstone | ||
| GWSS 490 | SENIOR CAPSTONE | 5 |
| Total Credits | 45 | |
Plan of Study
The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.
Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.
This major requires the completion of the World Language requirement. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree must complete two years of a single language in high school or one year of a single language in college.
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| ENGL 101 | 5 | ENGL 201 | 5 | GWSS 220, 250, 266, ANTR 266, or DSST 2662 | 5 |
| GWSS 101 (Humanities & Arts BACR 1) | 5 | GWSS 150 | 5 | Humanities & Arts or Social Science BACR 21 | 5 |
| Social Science BACR 11 | 5 | MATH 107 | 5 | Natural Science BACR 11 | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| GWSS 339, 326, CDST 326, DSST 326, GWSS 340, or INST 3402 | 5 | Gender, Women's & Sexuality Elective3 | 5 | Gender, Women's & Sexuality Elective3 | 5 |
| Natural Science BACR 21 | 5 | Gender, Women's & Sexuality Elective3 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| Diversity - graduation requirement or Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective2 | 5 | GWSS 415, HUMN 415, PHIL 415, or GWSS 420 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Global Studies - graduation requirement or Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective2 | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | GWSS 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement) | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 | Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Total Credits 180 | |||||
- 1
University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
- 2
Course selection may impact choices for graduation requirements and BACRs.
- 3
Required Electives–the elective courses may be GWSS courses cross-listed with at least two other disciplines/programs. Students who want to do an internship or directed study may include 1–4 credits from GWSS 495 or GWSS 499 as elective credits.
University Competencies and Proficiencies
English
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB
General Education Requirements (GER)
- Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours
- 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
- 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
- Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0
Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)
Humanities and Arts
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
University Graduation Requirements (UGR)
Diversity Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List
Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).
Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
Requirements in Degree Works are based on these two catalog years:
- The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
- The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.
Students who earn a BA in Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies should be able to:
- analyze intersections among societal structures (such as gender, race, class, age, disability, national origin, and sexuality) that contribute to oppressions, power, or privilege;
- analyze the role of representation in producing/reproducing cultural attitudes about gender and other axes of identity;
- assess forms of collective action addressing global, regional, or local issues affecting marginalized identities;
- articulate multiple feminisms;
- communicate effectively from within feminist frameworks;
- integrate theoretical knowledge with feminist practice to solve problems.