Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies BA Requirements
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies requires at least 30 credit hours (with a C or better) including:
Think of the WGSS BA requirements as a delicious layer cake. The top layer is the same for everyone, while the bottom layer contains two different pathways.
The top layer consists of your first 15 credits.
- WS 439: Feminist Theory, cross-listed as POLS 339 (3) DS
- WS 440: Feminist Methods and Research (3) DS
- Three courses from the list of "transnational courses."
The bottom layer, which is the last 15 credits, offers two different pathways:
The general design provides students with an overview of the entire field of WGSS.
- The general pathway consists of courses entirely within the WGSS department.
- Most of these courses should be at the 300 or 400 level (including 439 and 440); at least three of the total courses taken should be from the 300 level and 3 from the 400 level.
- The rest can be at any level, but we encourage our majors to explore the most advanced opportunities in our curriculum.
The special design gives students the opportunity to design a curriculum based on a specific topic of interests, such as gender and law or women and health.
- The special pathway plan can include up to 15 credits outside the department as long as the courses are upper division, are preapproved by the undergraduate advisor, and match the special design of the plan.
- Student's WGSS courses (including those from the top layer of the cake) should include 6 credit hours in 300-level courses.
- Students can include as few as one class (3 credits) or as many as 5 classes (15 credits) in 300- or 400- level courses outside WGSS to develop their special pathway.
- Depending on how many classes students take outside WGSS, they will take any needed additional course work in WGSS as necessary to complete 30 total credit hours.
Fully Online BA Option
Students are able to complete this BA degree fully online.
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the fully online BA in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is approved by WASC.
Admissions and Advising
Interested students should contact the undergraduate advisors Kathy Ferguson (kferguso@hawaii.edu) and Takeshi Shirakawa (takeshi8@hawaii.edu) for help in choosing classes, defining an area of interest, creating and developing proposals, exploring the fully online option, and finding the faculty advisor most suited to their areas of interest.
