To declare a major in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies please visit the Rutgers myMajor system.

For more information, please visit the SAS Student Page.

Read more about pdf Career Opportunities for Majors in Women's & Gender Studies (321 KB) .


Major requirements:

Students are required to complete twelve 3-credit courses (with a grade of C or better) in the major, for a total of 36 credits. 
18 credits must be in required 988 courses, and 18 credits must be in elective 988 courses or in approved cognate courses from other departments.

IF YOU DECLARED YOUR MAJOR AFTER MARCH 2020 FOLLOW THESE REQUIREMENTS:

I. Introductory Study

988:101 Introduction to Gender, Race, and Sexuality (3 credits)
or
988:130 Knowledge and Power (3 credits)

II. Feminist Practices and Methods

988:201 Feminist Practices (3 credits)
or
988:284 Feminist Knowledge Production  (3 credits)

III. Feminist Theory

988:301 Feminist Theory: Historical Perspectives  (3 credits) 
or
988:302 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Engagements (3 credits)

IV. Transnational Feminisms

988:303 Global Feminisms  (3 credits) 
or
One approved WGSS Transnational Feminism Course
Approved WGSS courses that focus on transnational feminisms
01:888:338 Transnational Sexualities
01:988:270 War: Critical Perspectives
01:988:310 South Asian Feminism
01:988:312 African Feminism
01:988:337 Globalization, Sex, and Families
01:988:405 Gender and Human Rights
01:988:407 Women's Global Health Movements
01:988:408 Impacts of Economic Inequality on Women's Health
01:988:409 The Growth Imperative, Global Ecology, and Women's Health
01:988:410 Debt, Crisis, and Women's Health
01:988:411 Gendered Health Impacts of Structural Adjustment Programs
01:988:412 Health Consequences of Global Trade in Food Commodities
01:988:413 Health Consequences in the Global Trade in Pharmaceuticals
01:988:414 Gendered Professions and the Transnational Care Economy
01:988:416 Women's Global Health: Special Topics
01:988:445 Feminist Advocacy for Women's Rights through the United Nations
01:988:486 Gender, Development, Environment: Policies, Politics, Perspectives

V. Intersectionality

988:235 Dynamics of Class, Race, and Sex (3 credits)
or
One approved WGSS Intersectionality Course
Approved WGSS courses that focus on intersectionality
01:988:258 Gender, Race, and Contemporary Art
01:988:311 Gender, Race, and Visual Media
01:988:329 Race, Gender, and Nation
01:988:368 Producing Identities: Race, Gender, Class, and Sexualities
01:988:394 Black Women in the United States
01:988:395 Race, Gender, Media, and the Law

VI. Senior Experience

Internship (988:422 or 988:426) or Senior Seminar (988:490) or 400-level special topics (988:491 or 988:492) or Honors Seminar (988:497 or 988:498)

VII. 6 elective courses

At least 4 approved electives must be 300 level or above

IF YOU DECLARED YOUR MAJOR PRIOR TO MARCH 2020 FOLLOW THESE REQUIREMENTS:

988:101 Introduction to Gender, Race, and Sexuality (3 credits)
or
988:202 Gender, Culture, and Representation (3 credits)
or
988:235 Dynamics of Class, Race, and Sex (3 credits)

988:201 Feminist Practices (3 credits)

988:301 Feminist Theory: Historical Perspectives (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:101, 201, 202 or 235, or by special permission)
or
988:302 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Engagements (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:101, 201, 202 or 235, or by special permission)

988:303 Global Feminisms (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:101, 201, 202 or 235, or by special permission)

988:370 Critical Feminist Investigations (3 credits)
(Pre-req:988:301) Required for all honors students
or
A 300 or 400 level WGS Elective

988:422 Internship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 credits)
For more information, please visit our department.
or
988:490 Seminar: Women & Contemporary Issues (3 credits)
Every semester the topics in these Seminars differ. This course offers a unique focus on the professor's specialty.
or
988:491,492 Special Topics (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:301, 302, or 303)
or
988:426 Internship for IWL Scholars (6 credits)
(Pre-req: Acceptance into IWL Leadership Scholars Program and 01:988:344, or by permission of instructor)

Six (6) WGS Electives

Elective courses chosen from either the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies core course list, the approved cognate course list, or other courses approved by a program adviser. At least four of these six elective courses must be at the 300-level or above.

Note that only a few select courses are available each term. You may also obtain a list at our Department. To see current semester course listings click here.

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Offered Courses:

01:988:101 Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality (3)
Introductory survey examining key concepts and themes in women's, gender, and sexuality studies, including: body image and media, class, feminisms, gender/sex, globalization and neoliberalism, intersectionality, patriarchy and privilege, race, reproductive justice, sexuality and queer theory, social justice and human rights, violence, conflict, and terrorism.

01:988:130 Knowledge and Power: Issues in Women's Leadership (3)
Study of gender, in the construction of knowledge in different fields, and the factors that encourage women to achieve agency and leadership.

01:988:160 Women in the Global Economy
This course examines issues related to women's paid and unpaid work as world markets integrate. Analyzes actions of governments, unions, women's movements, employers, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to promote equality and women's well-being.

01:988:201 Feminist Practices (3)
Examines development of women's and gender studies as interdisciplinary field of study; explores relationship of feminist scholarship to activism; introduces students to basic research techniques.Required for major.

01:988:202 Gender, Culture, and Representation (3)
Examines how gender is represented in cultural texts and artifacts; introduces students to theories of representation.

01:988:235 Dynamics of Class, Race, and Sex (3)
Examination of dynamics of, and connections among, classism, racism, and sexism in contemporary American society; ways they influence and are influenced by the structure of society at large; their effect on individuals; and strategies for personal and social change.

01:988:240 Gender and Science (3)
Role of gender, race, and class in production and use of scientific and medical knowledge. Impact of gender bias on research in the life, physical, and social sciences.

01:988:250 Feminist Perspectives (3)
Feminist examination of significant contemporary issues. The issue chosen will vary each year. Students should check the department's website for information. Issues to be considered include war, trafficking, poverty, environment, migration, globalization, and religion.

01:988:252 Mentoring, Leadership, and Young Women's Lives (3)
Feminist theory, model, and practice of mentoring. Topics include definitions and history of mentoring; personal narratives and mentoring practices; and mentoring women's leadership for social change.

01:988:255 Gender, Art, and Society (3)
Women artists, their achievements, and impact. Social and cultural reasons for their neglect in the visual arts and how that neglect is being remedied today. Different ways in which men and women are depicted in art and how those differences relate to culture and society.Please note that this is an online course.

01:988:257 Gender and the Body: Representation and Pornography (3)
Examination of representations of gendered bodies in art, sexuality, gender, politics, and pornography. Examines how to understand who defines what is obscene and why some work is called pornography.

01:988:258 Gender, Race, and Contemporary Art (3)
Intersection of gender and race in contemporary American art. Black and white racial politics in relation to gender and contemporary art in the United States. Special focus on African-American artists.

01:988:259 Homosexuality and Visual Culture (3)
Central role of homosexuality and homoeroticism in visual culture in the distant and recent past as well as the present. Marginalization of homosexual artists, critics, and patrons despite direct participation in cultural production of art and popular culture.

01:988:260 The Modern Girl (3)
Examines the so-called "modern girl" of the 1920s and 1930s. Representations in fiction, film, and advertisements. Concentrates on the West, with comparative evidence from Asia and Africa.

01:988:270 War: Critical Perspectives (3)
Critical examination of the nature, functions, and effects of war with particular attention to racialized and gendered dynamics of militarization, terrorism, counterterrorism, and genocide.Credit not given for both this course and 01:920:273.

01:988:280 Introduction to Critical Study of Masculinities (3)
Interdisciplinary and comparative introduction to the study of masculinities in the United States. Includes social history, and analyses of contemporary national and international contexts.

01:988:284 Feminist Knowledge Production (3)
Investigation of how to study the complexity of women¿s, men¿s, and trans¿ lives in ways that take race, gender-power, ethnicity, class, and nationality seriously. Includes projects that use different techniques of knowledge production including qualitative methods.

01:988:285 Lesbians and Gay Men and Society (3)
Introduction to various disciplines' contributions to understanding the relationship of homosexuality, particularly lesbianism, to society. Includes a section on the political organization and recent theory coming out of the gay movement.

01:988:290 Introduction to Critical Sexualities (3)
Introduction to the study of sexuality as well as sexual and gendered identity from multidisciplinary and historical perspectives. Includes U.S. and European approaches to sexology, legal regulation of sexual practices, and family formation.

01:988:299 Mentoring Leadership and Practice (3)
Explores meaning of women's leadership, knowledge, and power through the mentor experience. Topics include how gender shapes knowledge and power; the challenges women's colleges present to orthodox conceptions of leadership; and practical and theoretical applications of feminist pedagogies.

01:988:301 Feminist Theory: Historical Perspectives (3)
Introduction to feminist theories about women, sex, gender, sexuality, embodiment, politics, social relations; examination of feminist theories' challenge to Western literary, philosophical, and scientific traditions.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:302 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Engagements (3)
Introduction to basic concepts central to contemporary feminist thought; exploration of the critical, productive relationship between feminist and patriarchal theory.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:303 Comparative Feminisms (3)
Compares the development of feminist writing in several historical periods across different cultures. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:307 Women and the Law (3)
Areas of law that regulate the position of women, including birth control, abortion, marriage, alimony, child support and custody, child care, education, employment, criminal law (including rape, prostitution, women in prison, and the juvenile justice system), and constitutional rights. Readings in court decisions, statutes, and supplementary materials.

01:988:308 Women and Society in the Islamic Middle East (3)
History of women and gender relations in the Islamic Middle East: origins of gender inequalities, women's functioning within society, reality versus literary depictions, recent transformations.

01:988:310 South Asian Feminism (3)
Women's activism in South Asia in autonomous feminist movements, as participants in organized political movements, and in family and community. Credit not given for both this course and 01:925:310.

01:988:311 Gender, Race, and Visual Media (3)
Examines visual culture, especially Hollywood cinema and television, in light of the economic structure of neoliberalism. Race, gender, and sexuality as sites of power; visual texts; connections between culture and politics.

01:988:312 African Feminism (3)
What feminism means to Africa; how gender affects female socialization, women as state subjects; how diverse African feminist strategies differ from and/or parallel other feminisms.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235. Credit not given for both this course and 01:016:312.

01:988:317 Gender and Consumption (3)
Introduces feminist approaches to consumption through readings that examine the relation of consumption to body, race, nation, and sex work. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 235 or permission of instructor.

01:988:318 The Gendered Body (3)
Explores the processes by which the body is gendered in different cultures. How is the relationship between physical body, gender, and sexuality forged?

01:988:321 Queer Contexts (3)
Cultural construction and representation of same-sex desire in Western societies. Debates about identity, subjectivity, and the uses of experience included.

01:988:325 Women on the Fringe (3) 
Examines societal responses to female behavior deviating from prescribed norms of social and feminine behavior from the colonial period to the present through the use of historical narratives, literature, and film to treat such themes as heresy, madness, prostitution, adultery, criminality, drug addiction, political protest, and lesbianism.

 01:988:326 Psychology of Women (3)
Evaluation of some major psychological conceptualizations of women in light of current research. Bases for these formulations and their influence on the position of women today. Credit not given for both this course and 01:830:381.

01:988:329 Race, Gender, and Nation (3)
Feminist theories about race, gender, and nation. Focuses on U.S. nation formation, gender and American nationalism, and U.S. hegemony in a globalizing world.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:330 Memoir and Autobiography (3)
Involves intensive and extensive reading of several women's memoirs, all written within the last 50 years.

01:988:331 Theorizing Sexuality and Gender (3)
Examines how sexuality and gender became meaningful categories in Western culture through the emergence of sexual politics and queer theory.

01:988:332 The Color of AIDS: The Politics of Race During the AIDS Crisis (3)
Focuses on AIDS crisis, explores relationships between illness, race, ethnicity, and gender in health policy, research, and care for communities of color.

01:988:333 Power, Subjectivity, and Resistance (3)
Examines development of feminist concepts of power and the relations between feminist and patriarchal theories.

01:988:337 Globalization, Sex, and Families (3)
Transnational intimacies, travel, and migration.  Case studies of transnational adoption, marriage, sex work, and domestic work.  Larger contexts of globalization and impact on families and sexual relations.

01:988:341 Gender and Popular Culture (3)
Use of varied theoretical approaches to examine how popular culture texts shape everyday perceptions of race, gender, family, and nation. Texts include film, television, and radio.Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 235 or permission of instructor.

01:988:344 Women and Leadership (3)
Course explores women's leadership for social change at work, in politics, communities, and the household in a variety of historical and contemporary meetings.
Prerequisites: By special permission of instructor. Students for this course must have applied and been accepted into the IWL Leadership Scholars Program.

01:988:350 Gender and Spirituality (3)
Class explores women's spirituality, feminist theology, and spiritual systems from around the world. How are spiritual systems and practices gendered?

 01:988:368 Producing Identities: Race, Gender, Class, and Sexualities (3)
Social constitution of the self and communities through emergence and transformation of concepts and categories (race, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality) associated with personal identity.

01:988:369 Feminism, Space, and Visuality (3)
Examines how space and vision have been associated with historically developed concepts of femininity and masculinity.

01:988:370 Critical Feminist Investigation (3)
Introduces modes of knowledge production, research methods, and strategies for interdisciplinary feminist scholarship.
Required for students pursuing honors in women's and gender studies. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or 201 or 301 or 302.

01:988:371 Making Change (3)
In-depth analysis of different ways women have organized for change. Focus on three or four case studies using cross-cultural perspectives to illustrate various themes of gender and collective action by women.

01:988:372 Contemporary Feminist Activism (3)
Autonomous women's movements in the 20th and 21st centuries. Select case studies illustrate themes of gender and collective action.

01:988:387 Feminism, Signs, and Representation (3)
Introduces major theories in contemporary critical theory including structuralism, recent critiques of structuralism. Focuses on the models and criteria to analyze cultural and social life.

01:988:392 Thinking Bodies (3)
Examines work of theorists questioning the subordination of body to mind in modern Western thought.

01:988:394 Black Women in the United States (3)Examines cultural stereotypes; political, economic, and social challenges confronting black women in the United States; and strategies of resistance developed by black women.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or by permission.

01:988:395 Race, Gender, Media, and the Law (3)
Considers relationship between gender, law, and race in contemporary popular and political culture. Addresses impact of rise in televised court cases on perceptions of legal system and in stimulating public debates about justice.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or 201 or 202.

01:988:396 Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3)
Selected topics in women's and gender studies. Topics vary each semester. Consult department.

01:988:397 Freud and Feminism I--Sexuality (3)
Introduces Freudian concepts, methods and terminology, and the corresponding issues and debates in feminist theory.

01:988:398 Freud and Feminism II--The Unconscious (3)
Examines Freud's account of the unconscious and its relevance to theories of subjectivity, especially to feminist theory and antiracist theory.

01:988:399 CESEP (1)
Community service placement in women's and gender studies. Corequisite: Must be taken in conjunction with a designated CESEP (Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnerships) course offered in the women's and gender studies program.

01:988:405 Gender and Human Rights (3)
Examines history and discourse of women's human rights; uses of humanitarian law in wartime; issues of gender-based violence, health, and sexuality.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or permission of instructor.

01:988:406 Women, Work, and Social Change (3)
Study of problems faced by women working in industry, unions, the home, and professions in light of modern agitation and social trends; analysis of sex-differentiated occupations, legislation, and service roles with attention to biological, psychological, and social differences between the sexes.

01:988:407 Women’s Global Health Movements (3)
Politics and structure of global women's health movements. Relationship between health and phenomena such as international politics, globalization, economic policy, and conflict and war.

01:988:408 Gender, Economic Inequality & Health (3)
Examines how resource distribution shapes health risk, access to health care, and clinical outcomes. Relationship of gender, class, race, sexuality, and nation to health. 

01:988:409 Gender, Environmental Justice & Health (3)
Examines women's health in relationship to contradictions between capitalist growth and resource exhaustion. Health consequences of environmental crises linked to new markets and technologies. 

01:988:410 Debt, Crisis, and Women's Health (3)
*Explores relationship between debt and economic crisis; examines impact of austerity policies on women's health in various nations. 

01:988:412 Global Food Politics: Health Consequences (3)
Investigates shifting modes of food production, distribution, diet, and health. Compares consequences of changes for women in global North with women in global South. 

01:988:413 The Global Pharmaceutical Economy & Health (3)
Explores aspects of pharmaceutical industry. Analyzes burdens and benefits of drug research and development on different populations. 

01:988:414 Care Work (3)
Overview of "care economy." Explores recent efforts to heighten its profit-making potential; considers long-term implications of efforts to deskill and outsource care work. 

01:988:416 Women's Global Health: Special Topics (3)
Topic varies with instructor. The requirements for the course would be the equivalent of any 400-level course in the department.

01:988:420,421 Women's Global Health Internship (3,3)
RN Response Network provides medical assistance in the context of natural disasters wherever they may occur. This internship placement involves 150-180 hours of professional work with RN Response Network in conjunction with a research paper that links this professional experience with relevant academic work on humanitarian intervention.

01:988:422 Internship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3)
Students work in organizations related to women's and gender studies. Supervision by assigned staff at the placement. Paper, student journal, and assessment of work performed at placement required.Permission of undergraduate director required.

01:988:425 Internship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (6)
Interns work in organizations related to women's and gender studies. Supervision by assigned staff at the placement site. Seminar, student journal, paper, and assessment of work experience required.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303. Permission of undergraduate director required.

 01:988:426 Internship for IWL Scholars (BA)
Examination of women, community activism, and leadership for change; explores how women's leadership shapes organizations, social movements, and policy development. Interns work in placements relevant to their policy interests and produce proposals for social action projects.
Prerequisites: Acceptance into IWL Leadership Scholars Program and 01:988:344, or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:429 Engendering Development (3)
Examines gender differences in economic opportunity, human rights, and political representation across developing countries.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or 301.

 01:988:430 IWL Social Action Project (BA)
Independent action projects designed to address a particular problem or women's policy issue relevant to the work done at the internship site. Projects include gender component and development of leadership skills. Class meets biweekly.

 01:988:480 Ethics and Leadership (3)
This course will explore contemporary relations between ethics and politics, between conceptions of leadership and the production of depoliticized masses, between individual values and public beliefs.

 01:988:481 Feminism and Visual Culture (3)
Examines the history of cultural contexts of visual narratives that address gender and sexuality and their influence on cultural policies. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:482 Feminism, Policy, and the Poor (3)
Explores the contributions of feminist analysis, advocacy, and policymaking to antipoverty policy and social justice politics.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:485 Motherhood: Nature and Culture, Policy, and Politics (3)
Investigates how motherhood is shaped by intentional public policies and social, economic, political, and cultural forces in the United States and globally.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:486 Gender, Development, Environment: Policies, Politics, Perspectives (3)
Using ethnography and gender as a category of analysis, examines the experiences and implications of transnational development and environmental policies in specific localities.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:487 Language of Women's Health and Health Policy (3)
Examines the creation of narratives of women's health and health policy; through visits from health care experts, considers the impact of these narratives on practice.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:490 Seminar: Women and Contemporary Issues (3)
Intensive reading and discussion; designed for graduating seniors. Topic changes annually.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:491 Seminar in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies(3)
Advanced course on a selected topic in women's and gender studies. Paper is required.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:492 Seminar: Special Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3)
Selected interdisciplinary topics in women's and gender studies. Past topics included sexuality, popular culture, women and religion, and women and the arts.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:493,494 Independent Study (3,3)
Independent study project under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Permission of associate director required.

 01:988:497-498 Honors Research in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3,3)
Individual research project to be written as honors thesis. Open only to seniors who are candidates for honors in women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Permission of undergraduate director required. Both semesters required.

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