The interdisciplinary field of Women’s Studies includes the totality of women’s actions, experiences, movements, and contributions across time and cultures. Goals of the program include:

• to study women’s lives, histories, traditions, voices, and identities
• to understand and respect the diversities and commonalities among women
• to appreciate that women have been, and are, significant actors in history and all fields of human endeavor
• to understand the causes and consequences of women’s oppression and to relate it to other forms of oppression, such as race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, age, and ability
• to help students learn to act effectively in the public and political spheres, and in their personal lives

The Women’s Studies program is interdisciplinary in nature, with courses and faculty drawn from throughout the College. Students may obtain a minor in Women’s Studies, in conjunction with a major in any area of study. All students wishing to pursue a Women’s Studies minor must declare so through the Women’s Studies coordinator.

Note: All Women’s Studies courses are open to all students, male or female, whether or not they are pursuing a Women’s Studies minor or certificate.

Requirements for Women's Studies Minor:

Total credits:  15 or 16

*Electives must be taken in at least two different disciplines and with at least two different instructors. Electives may be chosen from A and B described on the following page.

**The clinical component of NSG 2051 may fulfill the WS field experience requirement. RN Nursing students whose clinical practice has focused on women’s issues or been women-centered in other ways may apply for a waiver of the WS field experience requirement.

A. The following courses are fully approved for the minor in women’s studies because they have a primary
focus which directly relates to the study of women or gender.