Minor in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies

The interdisciplinary minor in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGS) introduces students to gender and sexuality scholarship in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. In consultation with the directors of undergraduate studies, WGS minors have the opportunity to build an intellectually diverse and student-centered program that reflects their particular interests and provides a valuable complement to their majors.

Requirements

Students must complete six 4-credit CAS WS or other approved courses with a grade of C or better. The six courses must include:

  • Two core courses: CAS WS 101 and WS 102 Gender and Sexuality: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
  • One upper-level (300 or higher) WS course selected from the list below
  • Three additional elective courses, two of which must be upper-level, may be selected from over 50 courses from 14 departments or programs that provide credit toward the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies minor.

Courses offered by Metropolitan College, Boston University’s Study Abroad and Internship Programs, or other University schools and colleges may be taken as electives with the approval of the directors of undergraduate studies. For additional information, please email Prof. Barbara Gottfried at gotfried@bu.edu. Website: www.bu.edu/wgs.

Core Courses

  • CAS WS 101 Gender and Sexuality I: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
  • CAS WS 102 Gender and Sexuality II: An Interdisciplinary Introduction

Elective Courses

This is a partial list of courses that may be taken to satisfy the elective requirement. An updated list of courses counting toward the minor can be found on the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program website.

  • CAS WS 200 Thinking Queerly: An Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
  • CAS WS 213 Sexism in the Twenty-First Century
  • CAS WS 233 The Evolutionary Biology of Human Variation (also offered as CAS AN 233)
  • CAS WS 240 Sex & Social Life (also offered as CAS SO 240)
  • CAS WS 263 Behavioral Biology of Women (also offered as CAS AN 263)
  • CAS WS 305 Topics in Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies
  • CAS WS 326 Arts of Gender
  • CAS WS 328 Cultural Constructions of Motherhood
  • CAS WS 340 Women, Race, and Gender in Mass Media
  • CAS WS 346 Women and Film
  • CAS WS 350 Women and Politics (also offered as CAS PO 309)
  • CAS WS 352 American Masculinities (also offered as CAS SO 352)
  • CAS WS 356 Women and Comedy in America
  • CAS WS 360 Global Feminism: Race and Gender in International Perspectives (also offered as CAS IR 358)
  • CAS WS 396 Philosophy of Gender and Sexuality (also offered as CAS PH 256, CAS PO 396)
  • CAS WS 430 Global Maternal and Child Health (also offered as SAR HS 430)
  • CAS WS 450 Internships: Women, Gender, and Social Change
  • CAS 452 Contemporary Debates in Sexualities Research (also offered as CAS SO 452)
  • CAS WS 454 Religion and Sexuality in the US (also offered as CAS RN 454)
  • CAS WS 516 Gender and Politics (also offered as CAS PO 516)
  • CAS WS 558 Biology of Sex Differences (also offered as CAS AN 558)
  • CAS WS 594 Historical Traditions of Feminist Theory (also offered as PO 594)