Minor in Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies | Worcester Polytechnic Institute

The minor in Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies (GSWS) offers WPI students the opportunity to interrogate interlocking systems of oppression, including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ethnocentrism, and colonialism, and their impact on people’s lives on campus and across the world. This interdisciplinary minor combines course work from the humanities and arts, social science and policy studies, and other areas to examine issues relating to the study of gender, sexuality, and women.

The GSWS minor also incorporates courses and areas of study unique to WPI's STEM interests, environment, and challenges, thus making it a unique opportunity for students of a variety of majors and academic foci. Interested students should speak with one of the GSWS-affiliated faculty in the Department of Humanities and Arts and/or Department of Social Science and Policy Studies for more information.

Curriculum

The GSWS minor consists of six courses distributed in the following way:

Two of the four core GSWS courses: HU 1500, HU 2501, HU 2502, HU 2901.

At least two HUA courses, at least one of which must be at the 2000 level, chosen from the following: EN 1257, EN 1259, EN 2226, EN 3226, HI 2318, HI 2900, HU 1500, HU 2501, HU 2502, INTL 2110, MU 2510, MU 2632, PY/RE 2716, RE 3723. Other courses, including applicable experimental courses, can be substituted with the approval of a GSWS advisor.

2/3: Two SSPS courses, at least one of which must be at the 2000 level or higher, chosen from the following list: ENV 2600, GOV 2320, PSY 1402, PSY 1404, PSY 1412, PSY 2407, PSY 2408, PSY 2504, PSY 3000. Other courses, including applicable experimental courses, can be substituted with the approval of a GSWS advisor.