Academics

Hunter College builds a foundation for its Women and Gender Studies majors to move on to professional work in government, public service, research and education. Our majors have an academic background that makes them ideal candidates for pursuing professional degrees and graduate studies in a variety of fields, including social work, policy, health, law and the arts.

• Major
• Minor
• Honors
• Program Learning Outcomes

MAJOR

Several courses within this major may fulfill parts of the Hunter Core Requirement.

The 12 core credits required of Women and Gender Studies majors are:

WGS 10000 Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies, 3 credits
WGS 20100 Classics in Feminist Thought, 3 credits
WGS 24400 Transnational Feminisms, 3 credits
WGS 31000 Research Seminar: Feminist Theory and Methodology, 3 credits

Area of concentration requirement – 9 credits:

Students must select one area of concentration among these six areas of concentration:

1. Feminist Thought and Theory
2. Sexuality
3. Gender and Public Policy
4. Labor, Migration and Globalization
5. Women and Gender Across Cultures
6. Gender, Literature and the Arts

Electives – 6 credits:

Students are also required to take two elective classes (6 credits). One of these classes (3 credits) must be outside the student’s primary area of concentration.

NOTE: One of the classes in the primary area of concentration or under the electives must be at the 300-level or above.

Learn More about the Women and Gender Studies Major

MINOR

The Women and Gender Studies minor consists of 12 credits, distributed as follows:

WGS 10000 Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies, 3 credits
WGS 20100 Classics in Feminist Thought, 3 credits
WGS 24400 Transnational Feminisms, 3 credits
WGS elective course, 3 credits

Learn More about the Women and Gender Studies Minor

HONORS

To graduate with honors in Women and Gender Studies, a student must have a 3.5 GPA in the Women and Gender Studies major and a college-wide cumulative index of at least 3.0. Students should submit an 18-to-20-page paper written for any Women and Gender Studies 300 level class, including but not limited to the Research Seminar (WGS 31000). The student must submit the paper by March 30 (for June graduation) or October 30 (for December graduation) to be considered for program honors. A faculty committee will read submitted papers and determine whether they merit honors.

See Course Catalog for a List of All Courses

Guidelines for Honors Research Project

The final honors paper provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of the WGS program learning outcomes (PLOs):

After completing of a major in Women and Gender Studies, students will be able to:

1. Describe the contributions of disenfranchised groups across historical and social locations.
2. Use gender, class, race, dis/ability, sexuality, and nationality as central and intersecting categories of analysis.
3. Develop interdisciplinary research skills and familiarity with critical Gender, Class, Race, and Sexuality theories and intersectional modes of inquiry.
4.  Demonstrate skills in oral communication, writing, information technology, media literacy, and critical thinking.
5. Connect academic work with social and political realities outside the university.
6. Apply social justice principles and ethics to their own lives and their engagement with surrounding communities.

In addition, students will demonstrate their:

• Research skills
• Ability to think critically about a chosen topic and the sources necessary to study and limit that topic
• Ability to combine information and ideas into a focused, organized, and supported argument
• Ability to write a grammatical, stylistic, and mechanically correct essay
• Ability to document and list sources accurately and usefully

A student exceeds departmental expectations and deserves honors if, in the submitted paper:

• The student’s analysis demonstrates a clear recognition of the intersections between gender, sex, race, class, and other structural and culturally/historically specific aspects of identity.
• The student’s work demonstrates a good understanding of critical Gender, Class, Race, and Sexuality theories and locates their project within a clear theoretical framing.
• The student places the paper at the intersection of multiple disciplines and or intellectual traditions.
• The paper identifies and deploys appropriately the research methods they used to develop the argument.
• The student identifies and properly uses several, varied sources appropriate to the research project.

Successful honors paper checklist:

1. Be sure that your paper meets the assigned page requirements, foot/endnotes, and a Works Cited page, using standard one-inch margins, 12-point font and double spacing.
2. Your paper must cover the topic you chose effectively and present a well-developed thesis, supported by evidence from primary and/or secondary sources (primary sources would be, for instance, interview transcripts for those working on a research paper based on interviews).
3. It must have a title page that includes your name and an appropriate title for your research.
4. It must demonstrate some understanding of the development of scholarship on the topic—that is, the paper itself must incorporate in the text and notes an adequate discussion of the scholarly works on the subject (both those covered during your WGS coursework and those generated through your own research).
5. It must demonstrate mastery of the conventions of scholarly writing—i.e., the physical appearance of the paper, grammar, syntax, punctuation, etc., and in accordance with an accepted Citation Format.
6. Pages, including a Works Cited page, must be numbered, starting on the first page of text. The one exception is the title page, which should not have a number. The first page of text of the paper should be page 1.