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Women's and Gender Studies, B.A.

  1. Graduates will be able to use central concepts from women’s and gender studies to analyze how culture and social institutions shape possibilities for justice in everyday life.
  2. Graduates will be able to demonstrate how contemporary feminist thought and movements can take different forms among diverse populations locally, nationally and globally.
  3. Graduates will be able to identify and analyze intersections between matrices of power, privilege and oppression across cultures, space and/or time.
  4. Graduates will be able to apply research skills and methodologies shaped by the discipline of women’s and gender studies in an original and substantial theoretical or empirical research project.
  5. Graduates will be able to clearly explain how their activist, service, or reflection in action project addresses a current social justice issue pertaining to intersections of social inequality.

Women's and gender studies students must complete a minimum total of 30 credits for the major.

Courses may simultaneously count for multiple majors and minors, and for core requirements. No single course can count as both a required course and an elective for the WGS major/minor.

University Undergraduate Core32-35
Major Requirements
Introductory Course
WGST 1900Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies3
Diversity and Identity Course
Select one course from the following:3
WGST 2700
Feminisms in the U.S.: Intersectional Approaches
WGST 3350
Women and Gender in Global Film
WGST 3860
Global & Transnational Feminism
Praxis Course
Select one course from the following:3
WGST 3850
Feminism in Action
WGST 4919
Women's and Gender Studies Internship
Theory Course
Select one course from the following:3
WGST 3775X
Feminist Theory: Gender Justice
WGST 4810X
Philosophy of Feminism
Junior/Senior Inquiry/Research Experience Course
Select one course from the following:3
WGST 4960
Women's and Gender Studies Capstone
WGST 3510
The Structure of Poverty, Globally and Locally
Elective Courses
Select a minimum of 15 credit hours 2000-level or above with either a WGST number, a WGST cross-listing, or a WGST attribute. Accepted courses include: 15
WGST 2100
Introduction to Sexuality Studies
WGST 2400
Gender and Popular Culture
WGST 3100
WGST 3315
Black Feminist Thought
WGST 3360
“Woke” Black Feminist Spectatorship
WGST 3800
Violence Against Women
WGST 4400
Em(body)ing Inequity: Marginalized in the Medical Sciences
General Electives55-58
Total Credits120

Continuation Standards

Students must maintain a GPA of 2.00 or above in courses for the women’s and gender studies major.

Graduation Requirements

  • Complete a minimum of 120 credits (excluding pre-college level courses numbered below 1000).
  • Complete the University Undergraduate Core curriculum requirements.
  • Complete major requirements: minimum of 30 credits required.
  • Complete remaining credits with a second major, minor, certificate or electives to reach the minimum of 120 credits required for graduation.
  • Achieve at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average, a 2.00 grade point average in the major(s), and a 2.00 grade point average in the minor/certificate or related elective credits.
  • Complete department- and program-specific academic and performance requirements.
  • Complete at least 50% of the coursework for the major and 75% for the minor/certificate through Saint Louis University or an approved study-abroad program.
  • Complete 30 of the final 36 credits through Saint Louis University or an approved study-abroad program.
  • Complete an online degree application by the required University deadline.

Roadmaps are recommended semester-by-semester plans of study for programs and assume full-time enrollment unless otherwise noted.  

Courses and milestones designated as critical (marked with !) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation. Transfer credit may change the roadmap.

This roadmap should not be used in the place of regular academic advising appointments. All students are encouraged to meet with their advisor/mentor each semester. Requirements, course availability and sequencing are subject to change.

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
FallCredits
CORE 1000 Ignite First Year Seminar (Must be taken in first 36 credit hours at SLU / Cannot carry attributes) 2-3
CORE 1500 Cura Personalis 1: Self in Community (Must be taken in first 36 credit hours at SLU / Cannot carry attributes / Must be taken at SLU) 1
CORE 1900 Eloquentia Perfecta 1: Written and Visual Communication (Should be taken in first 36 credit hours at SLU / Cannot carry attributes) 3
WGST 1900 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies (Core attribute: Dignity, Ethics, and a Just Society) 3
WGST Elective 3
General Electives 3
 Credits15-16
Spring
CORE 3200 Ways of Thinking: Quantitative Reasoning (Should be taken in first 45 credit hours at SLU) 3
CORE 1600 Ultimate Questions: Theology 3
WGST Elective 3
General Electives 6
 Credits15
Year Two
Fall
CORE 1200 Eloquentia Perfecta 2: Oral and Visual Communication (Should be taken in first 60 credit hours at SLU / Cannot carry attributes) 3
CORE 1700 Ultimate Questions: Philosophy 3
WGST Diversity and Identity courseCore attributes (varies by course): Ways of Thinking and Identities in Context, Reflection in Action, Global Interdependence 3
General Electives 6
 Credits15
Spring
CORE 3800 Ways of Thinking: Natural and Applied Sciences 3
CORE 2500 Cura Personalis 2: Self in Contemplation 0
WGST Elective 3
General Electives 9
 Credits15
Year Three
Fall
CORE 2800 Eloquentia Perfecta 3: Creative Expression 2-3
CORE 3400 Ways of Thinking: Aesthetics, History, and Culture 3
WGST Praxis course 3
WGST elective 3
General Electives 4
 Credits15-16
Spring
CORE 3600 Ways of Thinking: Social and Behavioral Sciences 3
CORE 4000 Collaborative Inquiry 2-3
WGST Theory CourseCore attributes: writing intensive, identities in context, dignity, ethics, and a just society 3
General Electives 6
 Credits14-15
Year Four
Fall
CORE 3500 Cura Personalis 3: Self in the World (May be added to a capstone for the major / Cannot carry attributes) 1
WGST Inquiry/Research Experience Course 3
General Electives 12
 Credits16
Spring
WGST Elective 3
General Electives 12
 Credits15
 Total Credits120-123

For additional information about this program, please contact wstd@slu.edu or call 314-977-2057.