Undergraduate
Women's and Gender Studies Program Minor
The Women's and Gender Studies Program is an interdisciplinary forum for the study of women's past and present position in society. The concept of gender relations is considered a primary factor in our understanding of women's roles in various institutions and societies. The Program analyzes the similarities and differences among women as a result of such factors as race, class, religion, and sexuality.
Boston College students may decide to minor in Women's and Gender Studies at any time prior to graduation, provided that the requisite scope and number of courses have been completed with satisfaction.
Required Courses
- ENGL 2125聽Introduction to Feminisms
Cross-listed with HIST 2502, SOCY 2225.聽Minors are encouraged to take Introduction to Feminisms prior to taking other WGS electives.聽
- SOCY 5593 or COMM 4941聽Advanced Topics聽
Always taken as a Senior during Spring semester
Electives
Four electives (12 or more credits) from a variety of departments are required and can be tailored to your own interests.
Guidelines
- No more than two electives (6 credits) can be courses within the same department.
Note:聽Many courses that count for the minor are cross-listed with other departments. To avoid having to select an alternative course, you can select the department from which you wish to register the course. For example, if you have three additional courses from the Sociology department, one may be cross-referenced with the Communications department; therefore, you would register for it as a COMM course rather than an SOCY course.
- Students must select at least three of the courses from three different Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences departments. At least 15 credits used for the minor cannot be used to fulfill requirements in another major or minor. With the approval of the program, students may share one course between the interdisciplinary minor and their major or another minor.聽The Women's and Gender Studies program does not guarantee that one of our courses will satisfy any major/minor requirements in other departments.聽You are responsible for knowing whether or not your respective department will accept a WGS elective for major credit. Please contact聽gender@bc.edu聽if you have any questions or concerns.
Courses
Please visit the site for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
Fall 2024
Undergraduate Required Courses
Undergraduate Elective Courses
1. In order to request that a course taken abroad substitute for a Women's and Gender Studies minor elective, you must provide the following:
- Syllabus for course taken abroad and/or course description
- Course reading list (if available)
- Printout of student course history as proof that you have taken and passed the course in question. This can be accessed through the Agora Portal.
2. Once these items have been prepared, contact聽gender@bc.edu聽to schedule a meeting with the WGS Program Director. The director will review the provided materials and work with you to determine whether or not the course will qualify for a 香蕉秀 course substitution. It is helpful to think about, prior to meeting, under what academic department the course most appropriately falls. If you have a 香蕉秀-equivalent course in mind, this can expedite the process.
Please contact聽gender@bc.edu聽with any questions regarding the above procedures.
FAQ
You must complete six, 3-credit courses (or 18 credits) from the list of approved Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Courses above. The two courses (or 6 credits) we require are Intro to Feminisms, which builds the foundation for your WGS minor, and Advanced Topics, which is offered in the Spring semester for graduating seniors. The remaining four courses (or 12 credits) are electives that may be taken from a variety of departments.
Please note that no more than two electives (or 6 credits) can be courses within the same department, and that only one course can 鈥渄ouble count鈥� toward the WGS minor and another requirement (ex: core, major, or another minor). You are also strongly recommended to take Intro to Feminisms prior to taking any WGS electives.
If you believe a course should count toward the minor (meaning, that it deals majorly with women鈥檚, gender, or sexuality themes) but it is not listed, please email聽gender@bc.edu.
Any Boston College undergraduate student may apply for the Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies interdisciplinary minor in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences.
You can register for the minor by filling out and submitting the Undergraduate Registration Form.
You may register at any time during the year and at any point during your program of study.
Yes, pending approval. If you have taken, or plan to take, a study abroad course that you believe might count towards the minor, email gender@bc.edu with a catalog course description and any other supporting documentation such as syllabi and reading lists which may assist in the approval process. Once the course has been approved, you will need to complete the OIP degree audit course substitution form for study abroad and bring the signed form(s) to Student Services in Lyons Hall.