Bachelor of Arts in Women and Gender Studies
Students wishing to declare Women and Gender Studies as their major can now do so online, via Campus Solutions. A follow-up email will be sent from the Department Chair. Students can also make an appointment with one of the undergraduate advisers and fill out an advising form before the appointment.
Students majoring in Women and Gender Studies may enroll in WGS courses and courses focusing on women, gender, and sexuality in any other department. The choice of electives is flexible, and your advisor will assist you in devising a program appropriate to your own needs and interests. With the consent of your academic adviser, you may also use courses with a focus on women taken at other colleges and universities as part of the Women and Gender Studies major.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to define and describe contesting theories, methods, histories, and representations of women, gender, and feminism.
- Students will identify the politics of knowledge production across multiple disciplines in relation to Women and Gender Studies.
- Students will be able to compare and distinguish historical understandings of gender in relation to structural inequality, social movements, and labor struggles.
- Students will be able to explain and situate the ways citizenship is shaped through both the institutional foundations of governance and ideological mechanisms of politics.
- Students will be able to examine women and gender in relation of race, class, sexuality, colonialism, multiculturalism, and/or globalization.
- Students will be able to conceptualize and analyze gender and feminism in a transnational framework and from an interdisciplinary perspective, using a range of methodological tools while also demonstrating writing proficiency.
- Students will be able to integrate their academic studies in Women and Gender Studies into their professional goals and be able to formulate and implement theoretically informed political, cultural, and community action.
General Education
Students may double-count a maximum of 12 units for both General Education and the Women and Gender Studies major.
Credit/No credit
A maximum of 9 units within the major can be taken credit/no credit, but students are strongly urged to take all courses within the major for letter grades.
Women and Gender Studies (B.A.) — 30 units
Women and Gender Studies majors who have completed WGS 300GW will have satisfied the University Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR).
Core Courses (12 units)
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Select Two: | 6 | |
| Introduction to Women and Gender Studies | ||
| Introduction to Feminism and the State | ||
| Introduction to Feminist Disability Studies | ||
| Introduction to Feminist Science Studies | ||
| WGS 300GW | Gender, Race, and Nation - GWAR | 3 |
| WGS 690 | Senior Seminar | 3 |
Praxis (3 units)
Select one:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGS 105 | Feminism and Self-Care: Perspectives and Practices | 1 |
| WGS 303 | Feminist Artivism & Praxis | 3 |
| WGS 305 | Women and Gender Studies Lecture Series | 3 |
| WGS 400 | That's Not What I Said: Feminism, Oral History, and Research Methods in Women and Gender Studies | 3 |
| WGS 602 | Feminist Cultural Activism | 3 |
| WGS 698 | Feminist Praxis and the Non-Profit Industrial Complex | 3 |
Body Politics (3 units)
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGS 554 | Gender and Global Migration | 3 |
| WGS 563 | Gender, Sexuality, and the Politics of Disability | 3 |
| WGS 591 | Critical Approaches to Transgender Health, Science, and Medicine | 3 |
| WGS 593 | Gender, Health, and the Environment | 3 |
| WGS 612 | Queer Theory | 3 |
Power and Violence (3 units)
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGS 160 | Gender, Politics, and Citizenship | 3 |
| WGS 511 | Women and Violence | 3 |
| WGS 513 | Gender, War, and Militarism | 3 |
| WGS 514 | Women and the Prison Industrial Complex | 3 |
| WGS 536 | Gender, Globalization, and Women's Human Rights | 3 |
Culture, Media, and Art (3 units)
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGS 304 | Gender and Popular Culture | 3 |
| WGS 542 | Gender and Popular Music | 3 |
| WGS/SXS 551 | Queer Literatures and Media | 3 |
| WGS 580 | Feminism and the Speculative: Another World is Possible | 3 |
Social Movements (3 units)
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGS 515 | Gender, Race, and Reproductive Justice | 3 |
| WGS 541 | Women Writers and Social Change | 3 |
| WGS 561 | Women, Ethnicity, and Social Movements | 3 |
| WGS 562 | History of African American Women | 3 |
| WGS 565 | Muslim Feminisms | 3 |
| WGS 578 | Feminist Environmental and Climate Justice | 3 |
| WGS 621 | Feminist Theories | 3 |
Elective (3 units)
Select One:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGS 150 | Women and Gender in U.S. History and Society | 3 |
| WGS/HIST 355/LTNS 533 | History of Women in Latin America | 3 |
| WGS/AIS 420 | Native Genders and Feminism | 3 |
| WGS/GEOG 423 | Geographies of Gender and Sexuality: Exploring Experiences, Identities, and Liberatory Possibilities | 3 |
| WGS/AIS/SXS 440 | Native Sexualities and Queer Discourse | 3 |
| WGS/LTNS 445 | Gendered Borders: Latinas and Globalization | 3 |
| WGS/PLSI/SXS 470 | The Politics of Sex and Reproduction | 4 |
| WGS/BECA 485 | Women and Media | 3 |
| WGS/LTNS 505 | Gender, Sexuality, and Latino Communities | 3 |
| WGS/ENG/JS 546 | 20th Century American Jewish Women Writers | 3 |
| WGS/RRS 566 | Gender and Modernity in the Muslim and Arab Worlds | 3 |
| WGS 595/ANTH 590/CST 590 | Feminist Anthropology | 3 |
| WGS/RRS/SXS 640 | Race and Sexual Migration | 3 |
| WGS/RRS/SXS 645 | Sex, Race, Lies, and Love in San Francisco | 3 |
Note: A minimum of 30 upper-division units must be completed for the degree (including upper-division units required for the major, general education, electives, etc.). A student can complete this major yet not attain the necessary number of upper-division units required for graduation. In this case, additional upper-division courses will be needed to reach the required total.
Complementary Studies
Students completing a Bachelor of Arts in Women and Gender Studies are required to complete 12 units in Complementary Studies. Complementary Studies provides students with the opportunity to make connections across disparate forms of knowledge and inquiry. These units must come from courses bearing a prefix other than WGS and not cross-listed with WGS, and may be lower or upper-division units, as well as resident or transfer units. Students who complete two majors or a major and minor automatically complete the complementary studies requirement. Otherwise, WGS majors can fulfill this requirement through one of six pathways:
- 12 units through the study of a single language and/or literature other than English;
- 12 units taken in the College of Ethnic Studies;
- 12 units from partial completion of a minor or certificate;
- 12 units taken in an approved study abroad program (e.g., CSU Study Abroad); or,
- 12 units from a coherent group of courses approved by a major advisor as complementary to the major.
General Education Requirements
| Requirement | Course Level | Units | Area Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Communication | LD | 3 | A1 |
| Written English Communication | LD | 3 | A2 |
| Critical Thinking | LD | 3 | A3 |
| Physical Science | LD | 3 | B1 |
| Life Science | LD | 3 | B2 |
| Lab Science | LD | 1 | B3 |
| Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning | LD | 3 | B4 |
| Arts | LD | 3 | C1 |
| Humanities | LD | 3 | C2 |
| Arts or Humanities | LD | 3 | C1 or C2 |
| Social Sciences | LD | 3 | D1 |
| Social Sciences: US History | LD | 3 | D2 |
| Lifelong Learning and Self-Development (LLD) | LD | 3 | E |
| Ethnic Studies | LD | 3 | F |
| Physical and/or Life Science | UD | 3 | UD-B |
| Arts and/or Humanities | UD | 3 | UD-C |
| Social Sciences | UD | 3 | UD-D |
| SF State Studies | |||
| Courses certified as meeting the SF State Studies requirements may be upper or lower division in General Education (GE), a major or minor, or an elective. | |||
| American Ethnic and Racial Minorities | LD or UD | 3 | AERM |
| Environmental Sustainability | LD or UD | 3 | ES |
| Global Perspectives | LD or UD | 3 | GP |
| Social Justice | LD or UD | 3 | SJ |
Note: LD = Lower-Division; UD = Upper-Division.
First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)
The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.
SF State Scholars
The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree. Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree.
Transfer Student Roadmap (2 Years)
For students with an AA-T in Social Justice Studies.
SJS ADT Roadmap
This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in Social Justice Studies
California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T).
Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.
An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.
Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.
Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.
A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:
- How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
- How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.
Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.
General Advising Information for Transfer Students
- Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
- The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
- a course in U.S. History
- a course in U.S. & California Government
For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
- Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.
Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.
Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).
Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.
Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.
Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.
Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs
Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.
Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.
Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.