Women's Studies

Undergraduate Curriculum

Requirements for the major

The purpose of the program is to acquaint students with current scholarship on women and gender, to introduce them to feminist theory and research, and to provide opportunities and support for students to engage in feminist activism. Students are also encouraged to undertake their own feminist research projects. A flyer listing each semester's eligible courses is available through the Women's Studies office (757) 221-2457 and on the Women's Studies web page under "courses". Students may declare a major or a minor in Women's Studies.

The Women's Studies major prepares students who wish to gain a strong interdisciplinary perspective in advance of employment and/or graduate or professional study leading to careers in a wide variety of fields including, for instance, law, education, politics, business, social action, the arts, medicine and so on. Graduates of Women's Studies programs nationwide report reasons for choosing this field of study that range from lifelong interest in feminism, to discovering new intellectual challenges, to providing themselves with the confidence and freedom to "do whatever you choose to do."

The following guidelines have been reviewed and approved by the Women's Studies Curriculum Committee, the Women's Studies Executive Committee and the Committee for Honors and Interdisciplinary Studies. Because the program's curriculum offers a wide variety of choices, each major or minor is asked to work closely with a Women's Studies advisor to select related courses in a content area reflecting a specific interest in Women's Studies. For example, students might seek out courses in anthropology, Black Studies, English, history, literary and cultural studies, psychology, sociology and so on, that help them consider issues relating to their interests in women's roles in a variety of cultures and in women's history, health, creativity, etc. In other words, majors are asked to select courses according to an organized plan that allows them to build expertise in a subject from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

Requirements for Major

An interdisciplinary major in Women's Studies requires a minimum of 32 credit hours. Not more than 10 credits of introductory courses, excluding WMST 205, and 6 credits of independent study may count toward the major. Successful completion of WMST 405 satisfies the Major Writing Requirement. The major computing requirement is satisfied by successful completion of WMST 375 ("Feminist Research Methods"), or by successful completion of any of the Computer Science courses designed for this requirement, or by petitioning Women's Studies to substitute a course offered to meet the requirement by another department. Computing proficiency credits are not counted in the major's 32 hours or QPA, unless you are using WMST 375 to fulfill the requirement.

All students must complete at least 32 credit hours distributed across four groups of courses as follows:

A) three "core" courses. Take 10 credits including both:

  • WMST 205, "Introduction to Women's Studies" (4 credits)
  • WMST 405, "Feminist Theory" (3 credits)
  • Choose from the following 3 or 4 credit courses: Independent Study (WMST 480, 1-3 credits each); Interdisciplinary Honors (WMST 495, 496, 3 credits each); Internship (WMST 498, 1-3 credits); Senior Seminar (WMST 490 or other, 3 or 4 credits); WMST 375 (4 credits, "Feminist Research Methods")

B) at least 9 credits in humanities courses (list available from major advisor and at www.wm.edu/womensstudies/Forms/major.doc)

C) at least 9 credits in social science courses (list available from major advisor and at www.wm.edu/womensstudies/Forms/major.doc)

D) approved electives

Major declaration forms are available in the Women's Studies office and on the WMST webpage at www.wm.edu/womensstudies/Forms/major.doc, and upon completion, are filed with the Office of the Registrar and with the student's advisor.