Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, B.A.

Offered by Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies . Gender, women’s, and sexuality studies is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry that investigates how gender and sexuality operate as organizing axes of social, cultural, economic and political institutions, as well as in the everyday lives and cultural products of people who must live within them. Emphasizing the importance of historical and cross-cultural and transnational perspectives, Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies at UMBC critically examines the intersections of gender and sexuality with other differences, including class, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, and ability to make visible structures of power that otherwise remain hidden. The major empowers students to imagine a more just future and equips them with the tools to collectively enact it.

University Requirements

Completion of Minimum University Requirements for an Undergraduate Baccalaureate Degree .

Minimum 120 credits and minimum GPA of 2.0
Completion of 45 upper-level credits, the residence requirement, the Writing Intensive requirement, and the General Education requirement

Major Requirements

Minimum 36 credits
Minimum grade of ‘C’ in courses applied to the major
Students completing the major in conjunction with the Critical Sexuality Studies Certificate or Critical Sexuality Studies Minor may share a maximum of two courses between programs

Course Requirements

Core Courses (15 credits)

Complete the following:

Elective Courses (21 credits)

Complete 21 elective credits: 12 credits must be from the three content areas as listed below, plus an additional 9 credits of GWST courses. Of these 21 elective credits, 6 credits must be designated Range of Experience (RoE) courses and 15 must at the 300 level and above. Students have the option to take up to 3 credits of independent study and 3 credits of internship towards completion of the major. Selected topics courses (CSST 292, CSST 392, CSST 492, GWST 290, GWST 390, GWST 490) may also be counted toward the 21 credits in electives.

History and Public Policy

Complete at least 6 credits from the following:

CSST 210 - Introduction to Critical Sexuality Studies (3) (RoE)
GWST 315 - Modern Masculinities (3)
GWST 325 - History of Women in America to 1870 (3) (cross-listed as HIST 325 )
GWST 326 - History of Women in America Since 1870 (3) (cross-listed as HIST 326 )
GWST 327 - African American Women’s History (3) (cross-listed as AFST 354 and HIST 323 ) (RoE)
GWST 328 - Women, Gender, Sexuality, and Political Power in the U.S. (3) (cross-listed as POLI 328 )
GWST 330 - Gender and Women in the Classical World (3) (cross-listed as ANCS 320 )
GWST 338 - Women, Gender, and Law (3) (cross-listed as POLI 338 )
GWST 340 - Women, Gender and Globalization (3) (RoE)
GWST 366 - Doin’ It: Case Studies in the History of Western Sexuality (3) (cross-listed as HIST 366 ) (RoE)
GWST 373 - ”Do Muslim Women Need Saving?” - Women and Gender in Islam (3) (cross-listed as HIST 379 ) (RoE)
GWST 374 - European Women’s History 1200-1750 (3) (cross-listed as HIST 374 )
GWST 375 - European Women’s History 1750 - Present (3) (cross-listed as HIST 375 )
GWST 376 - European Women’s History, 1914 - Present (3) (cross-listed as HIST 376 )
GWST 377 - Women and Social Policy (3) (cross-listed as SOWK 377 )
GWST 379 - Intimate Partner Violence, A Social Work Perspective (3) (cross-listed as SOWK 376 ) (RoE)
GWST 380 - Women and Gender in Asia (3) (cross-listed as HIST 380 ) (RoE)
GWST 382 - Perspectives on the Family (3) (cross-listed as AMST 382 )
GWST 383 - History and Politics of Sexuality (3) (RoE)
GWST 439 - Women in Africa and the Diaspora (3) (cross-listed as AFST 439 ) (RoE)

Representations as/in Culture

Complete at least 3 credits from the following:

CSST 321 - Queer Representation in Film and TV (3) (RoE)
GWST 220 - Introduction to Transgender Studies (3) (cross-listed with CSST 220 ) (RoE)
GWST 245 - Arab and Muslim Experiences in the United States (3) (cross-listed as AMST 245 ) (RoE)
GWST 258 - Philosophy, Race, and Gender (3) (cross-listed as PHIL 258 )
GWST 320 - Transnational Feminist Film (3) (cross-listed as MLL 320 ) (RoE)
GWST 322 - Gender, Race, and Media (3) (cross-listed as AFST 347 and MLL 322 ) (RoE)
GWST 323 - Gender and Sitcoms (3)
GWST 334 - Women in Music (3) (cross-listed as MUSC 334 )
GWST 341 - Indigenous and Decolonial Feminisms (3) (RoE)
GWST 342 - Gender in Modern South Asia (3) (RoE)
GWST 343 - Gender, Human Rights, and Political Violence in Latin America (3) (RoE)
GWST 344 - Transnational Femininities (3) (RoE)
GWST 348 - Black, Queer, and Feminist Film (3) (RoE)
GWST 349 - Gender, Sexuality and Theatrical Performance (3) (cross-listed as THTR 349 ) (RoE)
GWST 364 - Perspectives on Women in Literature (3) (cross-listed as ENGL 364 )
GWST 365 - Black Women Novelists (3) (RoE)
GWST 391 - The Philosophy of Sex (3) (cross-listed as PHIL 391 )
GWST 413 - Language, Gender and Sexuality (3) (cross-listed as MLL 413 ) (RoE)
GWST 458 - Advanced Topics in Feminist Philosophy (3) (cross-listed as PHIL 458 )
GWST 464 - Studies in Women and Literature (3) (cross-listed as ENGL 464 )

Material, Social and Technological Contexts

Complete at least 3 credits from the following:

CSST 332 - Sex and Society (3)
(cross-listed as SOCY 332 )
CSST 345 - Unruly Bodies (3) (RoE)
CSST 353 - Sociology of Families (3) (cross-listed as SOCY 353 )
CSST 485 - Sexuality and Queer Theory (3) (RoE)
GWST 250 - Gender Roles in Economic Life (3) (cross-listed as ECON 250 )
GWST 255 - Intercultural Paris (3) (cross-listed as MLL 255 ) (RoE)
GWST 310 - Gender and Inequality in America (3) (cross-listed as AMST 310 )
GWST 333 - Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3) (cross-listed as SOCY 333 )
GWST 352 - Women, Gender, and Information Technology (3) (cross-listed as CMSC 352 and IS 352 )
GWST 355 - The Sociology of Gender (3) (cross-listed as SOCY 355 )
GWST 356 - The Psychology of Sex and Gender (3) (cross-listed as PSYC 356 )
GWST 357 - Psychology of Women and Gender (3) (cross-listed as PSYC 357 )
GWST 367 - The Anthropology of Gender (3) (cross-listed as ANTH 367 )
GWST 370 - Black Women: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (3) (cross-listed as AFST 370 ) (RoE)
GWST 371 - The Female Offender (3) (cross-listed as AFST 371 )
GWST 378 - Women, Gender and Science (3)
GWST 381 - Reproductive Justice in the US (3) (RoE)
GWST 433 - Gender, Work, and Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3) (cross-listed as SOCY 433 ) (RoE)
GWST 434 - Gender and the Life Course (3) (cross-listed as SOCY 434 )
GWST 444 - Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (3) (cross-listed as PSYC 444 ) (RoE)

Four-Year Academic Pathways

The Four-Year Academic Pathways webpage offers helpful sample pathways for students eager to explore their academic options and stay on track for a four-year graduation. These pathways provide a starting point for students to plan how to complete their degree in four years. However, it’s important to remember that these are just samples. In consultation with their academic advisor, each student will create an individualized degree plan that reflects their unique academic background, interests, and career goals.

Students must develop their personalized degree plan by the time they’ve earned 45 credits and regularly update it with their advisor as their goals and academic journey evolve. This approach ensures that students make thoughtful, strategic choices that set them up for success throughout their time at UMBC.

Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Programs

Qualified students may apply to an accelerated program, which allows them to take graduate courses as undergraduate students and later apply those courses to master’s degrees. A student may apply to participate in an accelerated program even if the desired graduate program is in a department other than the one in which they are majoring. More information is available from the Accelerated Program page of the Graduate School website.