The study of gender is an important element in the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Interdisciplinary Program Director: Jean Keller

Our Gender Studies program envisions a world where gender equality and social justice are achieved for all persons. We strive to center the experiences and perspectives of marginalized communities to advocate for a more inclusive and equitable society. This interdisciplinary and intersectional field of study provides students with the tools to understand, analyze, and critique hierarchies of power and oppression. We offer courses with applied learning opportunities to emphasize the connection between theory and practice. These include social action projects, applied research opportunities with community partners, creative cultural productions, and service learning or internships. This hands-on experience prepares students to be contributors to the common good as they live and work in an increasingly diverse world. 

Major (None)
Students who wish to major in Gender Studies should contact the Program Director to discuss constructing an individualized major.

Minor (20 Credits)

Requirements:

1. Foundations of Gender Studies. Choose one course from a list of approved courses. (4 credits)

Students in these courses are introduced to key concepts and issues related to gender, sexuality, and power.  They explore how gender functions in their own lives, shaping their identities and interactions with others. Students examine how sex and gender are socially constructed, changing across time and culture, and address how they intersect with other aspects of identity, such as race, class, age, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, and religious identity.

2. Choose one course from a list of approved courses. (4 credits)

Praxis courses take two different forms:

1. Social Justice and Activism. Students in these courses analyze and critique social systems of power that create and reinforce hierarchies of difference in their local or international community. They develop their cultural agility skills and learn to develop and apply the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) skills necessary to become agents of positive social change in their communities.
2. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) in the Workplace. Students in these courses analyze and critique social systems of power that create and reinforce hierarchies of difference in the workplace. They develop their cultural agility skills and learn to develop and apply the DEIJ skills necessary to become agents of positive social change in the workplace.
3. At least 3 additional approved elective courses (total of 12 credits)

Note: at least 12 credits (three courses) must be at the 200 or 300 level; no more than two courses can be taken in one department.