Major in Women's and Gender Studies

The Major in Women’s and Gender Studies prepares individuals for the needs and opportunities of an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world by building awareness of the range of human experience, potential, and accomplishment that place women and gender at the center of inquiry.

Please visit the department website for more information. 

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of the program of study, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate mastery of knowledge of academic disciplines from feminist and intersectional perspectives.
2. Analyze historic and contemporary contributions of women of all cultures.
3. Demonstrate effective oral communication, writing, and research skills.
4. Implement critical thinking, writing, and reading skills to their intellectual, professional, and personal lives.
5. Assess critical ideological understandings regarding women and gender implicit in social institutions and structures.

Change of Major

To add or change your major to Women's and Gender Studies, you can either call the College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising Center at 970-491-3117, or send them an email. 

Effective Fall 2026

Students in the Women's and Gender Studies major must earn a minimum grade of C (2.000) for all WS and ETST courses required for the major.

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Select enough elective credits to bring the program total to a minimum of 120 credits, of which at least 42 must be upper-division (300- to 400-level).

Intersectional Electives 

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
ETST 201	Introduction to Queer Studies	3
ETST 254	La Chicana in Society	3
ETST 300	Queer Studies and Women of Color	3
ETST 305	Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in the U.S.	3
ETST 342	Queer Indigenous Studies	3
ETST 352/SOWK 352	Indigenous Women, Children, and Tribes	3
ETST 411	Black Feminism(s)	3
ETST 413	Queer Creative Expressions	3
ETST 420	Disability, Race, Gender in the Environment	3
WS 248	Global Gender	3
WS 258/ETST 258	Race, Sex, Climate Change	3
WS 267/ETST 267	Genderqueer and Transgender Studies	3
WS 268	Whiteness, Gender, and Sexuality (GT-SS3)	3
WS 269	Women of Color in the United States (GT-SS3)	3
WS 340	Race and Sexuality	3
WS 350	Feminist Solidarity and Action	3
WS 362/ETST 362	Indigenous Consciousness and Gender	3
WS 375	Intersectionality--Theory, Method, Practice	3
WS 417/ETST 417	Queer Theory	3

Women's and Gender Studies Program Electives

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
ANTH 338	Gender and Anthropology	3
ANTH 416	Gender, Culture, and Health	3
ANTH 447	Gender Equity in Development	3
ART 314	Gender and Feminisms in Art History	3
E 330	Gender in World Literature	3
E 331	Early Women Writers	3
E 332	Modern Women Writers	3
E 334	LGBTQ+ Literature	3
ECON 211	Gender in the Economy (GT-SS1)	3
HIST 304	Women in Ancient Greece and Rome	3
HIST 312	Women in Medieval Europe	3
HIST 320	Women and Gender in Europe, 1450-1789	3
HIST 358	American Women's History, 1492 to Present	3
HIST 359	American Women's History Since 1800	3
HIST 369	History of Sexuality in America	3
IE 470	Women and Development	3
LSPA 445	Women Writers in the Hispanic World	3
PHIL 353	Feminist Philosophies	3
PSY 327	Psychology of Women	3
PSY 437	Psychology of Gender	3
SOC 330	Social Inequality	3
SOC 333	Gender and Society	3
SOC 334	Sociology of Intersectionality	3
SOC 357	Women, Crime, and Victimization	3
SPCM 335	Gender and Communication	3

Distinctive Requirements for Degree Program: Students in the Women's and Gender Studies major must earn a minimum grade of C (2.000) for all WS and ETST courses required for the major.