Major in WGSS at Ohio State!
The WGSS major is interdisciplinary and flexible, allowing students to explore a variety of perspectives, pursue their unique interests, and chart their own path.
As an interdisciplinary field, WGSS brings together expertise from diverse disciplines, such as literature, philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, and biology. This means that WGSS students are trained to analyze and solve problems from a variety of perspectives.
The WGSS major also provides students with flexibility. Within the major, students can tailor their coursework to their areas of interest, such as leadership, law, and public policy; health and reproductive justice; and tech, science, and environmental feminisms, to name a few.
Additionally, many WGSS students are double majors. The WGSS major, just 33 credit hours, allows students to pursue a second major in another discipline, such as psychology, political science, or communication.
What can you do with a WGSS degree? A lot.
WGSS students become innovative thinkers and engaged citizens who understand the increasingly diverse world in which they live. They are prepared to make an impact in their communities and pursue a diverse array of career paths.
Students develop critical thinking, communication, collaboration, research, and leadership skills that can be applied in the nonprofit sector, education, public policy, law, and health care, among other fields and industries.
Additionally, the interdisciplinary training and analytical skills students acquire through coursework prepare them for graduate and professional school in a variety of fields.
Hear from our alumni
To amplify what makes WGSS at Ohio State so valuable, hear the following alumni success stories that demonstrate just a snapshot of the incredible work being done by recent graduates with degrees in WGSS. Whether through service-learning, leadership experiences, research theses, internships, or specialized coursework, WGSS students develop the most in-demand skills that prepare them to make a positive impact in the world as professionals and feminist change-makers.
Major in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (Autumn 2020 and beyond)
Overview
- 33 total credit hours, including prerequisite
- 1 prerequisite
- 3 core courses
- 7 electives
- 1 of these electives must be a Women of Color course
- 1 of these electives must be a Global and Transnational Feminisms course
Prerequisite (1 course, 3 credit hours)
- WGSST 1110: Gender, Sex & Power | Offered every semester; GE
Core Courses (3 courses, 9 credit hours)
- WGSST 2550: History of Feminist Thought | Offered every SP
- WGSST 3575: Feminist Methods & Inquiry | Offered every AU; WGSST 1110 is prerequisite
- WGSST 4575: Senior Research Capstone | Offered SP; WGSST 3575 is a prerequisite
- Note: Students may purse 4999: Thesis option to earn a research distinction. Research distinction projects must be longer and more in depth than a 4575 research project. See Senior Thesis for more information.
WGSS Electives (7 courses, 21 credit hours)
- Take any 7 courses in WGSS with some checkboxes along the way:
- 1 elective course must come from the list of approved Women of Color courses
- 1 elective course must come from the list of approved Global & Transnational Feminisms courses
- WoC & GTF courses must be distinct
- 3 electives must be upper division (at the 3000-level or above)
- 1 elective must be a 4000-level WGSST course (or above)
General Requirements
- Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies majors complete a 3-hour prerequisite and 30 credit hours of required coursework.
- Majors must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in approved courses, at least 9 of which must be at the 4000 level or above.
- A minimum course grade of C- and an average grade of C (2.0) in all courses used to fulfill the major requirements must be maintained.
- No more than 6 credit hours of combined Special Topics (WGSST 2194, WGSST 3320, WGSST 4194), internship credit (WGSST 3191, WGSST 3385), and/or Individual Studies (WGSST 5193) may be used to fulfill major requirements. Of those 6, no more than 3 may be in WGSST 5193.
- No more than 6 credit hours of approved-related courses outside of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies may apply to the major.
- Major courses may not be used to meet other curricular requirements, except as specified in the General Education Curriculum (GE) and ASC Degree Planning Manual.
- Please consult the WGSS Undergraduate Academic Advisor, Meg Downing, for additional guidelines if you're interested in double majors and dual degrees.
- If you're interested in WGSS Honors, please consult the WGSS Honors Advisor at wgssadvising@osu.edu.
Additional Information
- A maximum of 2 approved-related courses may count towards the major.
- All cross-listed courses, regardless of department of offering, are automatically approved to count towards the major.
- Single majors and duel degree students may not overlap any GEs, with the exception of 1110.
- Double majors may overlap up to 12 credit hours of GEs and/or double major coursework provided each major has 18 unique credit hours. Advisor approval required.
- No more than 6 credit hours of WGSS internship credit (3191 and 3385) may be used toward to fulfill major requirements.
- No more than 6 credit hours of research credit (5998) may be used to fulfill major requirements.
- No more than one half (15 credits) of the credit hours in the major can be transfer credit.
- Minimum C- required in all major classes. Minimum 2.0 major GPA required. No more than 3 credit hours of courses graded S/U.
- Unique circumstances may warrant a petition to the WGSS Undergraduate Studies Committee to alter requirements.
- Students may petition the WGSS Undergraduate Studies Committee to seek approved-related status for courses in other departments they feel are closely related to the curriculum goals of WGSS.