Gender Studies Major BA
Gender studies is the interdisciplinary examination of the role of gender across the spectrum of human experience. The program investigates how gender functions and shapes the lives and experiences of women and men, including the institutional, social, and scientific forces that create meaning around gender, the struggles and achievements of women across cultures and time, and the study of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) identity and communities.
Courses in the gender studies program invite students to explore topics like the following: the social construction of femininity and masculinity from both historical and contemporary perspectives; the intersections of gender with race, class, religion, nationality, age, sexual orientation and other social categories; gender and the body; gender and sexual identity as organizing factors in social institutions and creative production; gender within international contexts; and feminist theory.
The gender studies program consists of a core set of courses taught by faculty from a variety of disciplines as well as electives from across the university. Students in the program build their understanding of gender through academic study as well as community-based learning and action. The curriculum as a whole enables students to develop the analytic and communication skills crucial to professional success, while at the same time deepening their understanding of the history and contemporary dynamics of gender.
Acceptance to the Program
To be eligible for acceptance to the Gender Studies major, students must submit a College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Program Declaration Form. Consult with a faculty advisor before enrolling in courses toward the major.
Prerequisite (2 credits)
Requirements (36 total credits)
- At least half of the credits for the major must be completed at Metropolitan State University.
- Up to 12 lower division credits (100 and 200 level courses) may be applied to the major.
- Students should select electives in consultation with a program advisor.
- Transfer courses may be applicable to major requirements. The university's degree audit will specify transfer courses that are directly equivalent to major requirements; other transfer courses must be approved by a faculty advisor in the program or one of the coordinators of the Gender Studies Program.
Core Courses
- GNDR 201 Introduction to Gender and Women's Studies
- GNDR 270 Gender, Race, and Popular Culture
- GNDR 345 Global Perspectives on Gender (must be taken at upper division level)
- GNDR 365/PHIL 365 The Cultural Politics of GLBT Sexuality (must be taken at upper division level)
- GNDR 501 Theories and Methodologies in Gender Studies
- GNDR 402 Gender Studies Capstone (Students register for the Gender Studies Capstone as a student designed independent study)
Electives (to reach 36 credits)
- ANTH 302 Gender and Culture
- ANTH 325 Women, Development and Social Change
- BIOL 106 Biology of Women
- CJS 318 Women and Crime
- COMM 321 Gender, Sport and Communication in the U.S.
- ECON 315 Economics of Diversity
- ETHS 354 Chicana/o Gender and Sexuality
- ETHS 363 Asian American Women: Myths and Realities
- GNDR 300 Topics in Gender Studies
- GNDR 220 Introductory Topics in Gender Studies
- GNDR 350I Gender Studies Individual Internship
- GNDR 369 GLBT Issues in Literature and Film
- HSER 306 Global Perspectives on Violence Against Women
- HIST 309 Women and Public Activism
- HIST 328 Women in Modern U.S. History
- HIST 339 History of Sexuality: Modern Perspectives
- HIST 357 Women in Early Modern Europe
- HIST 394 Comparative Women's History
- HIST 451 American Women's Movements
- IDST 330 Women in Math, Science and Technology
- LING 346 Language and Gender
- LIT 312 Women Writers
- LIT 315 Gender in Literature and Film
- LIT 362 Black Women Writers
- PHIL 306 Philosophy and Sexuality
- PHIL 364 Women and Philosophy
- POL 332 Gender and the Law
- PSYC 331 Psychology of Men
- PSYC 335 Psychology of Women
- PSYC 367 Human Sexuality
- RELS 377 Women and Religion
- SOC 317 Women in Minnesota Life: Education, Politics and Social Change
- SOC 325 Body Politics
- WRIT 231 Writing II: Writing about Gender
