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Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Women's and Gender Studies, BA

The Center for Women's and Gender Studies (WGST) at WVU advances interdisciplinary research and innovative teaching to inspire new generations of gender and sexuality scholars and leaders.

  • The mission of WGST is to examine the complex interplay of power and difference across multiple intersecting categories — including gender, race, sexuality, class, age, ability and nationality.
  • As a WGST student, you'll develop tools for addressing social inequities in everyday life.
  • WGST is an interdisciplinary field that embraces humanities, arts, social science and STEM fields. You'll investigate the meanings of categorization and difference on local and global levels.
Your Degree Plan The WVU Difference Learn by Doing Careers and Outcomes Meet Your Community Places and Spaces Frequently Asked Questions Admission Requirements Tuition and Aid Take the Next Steps

Your Degree Plan

Intro

Students look at a historical poster.

Learn to see past stereotypes and explore the ways gender, socioeconomic class, sexual identity, gender identity, nationality, race, ethnicity and age shape experience.

Through our interdisciplinary curriculum, you will learn to analyze inequities and differences while developing valuable real-world skills that will enable you to be an agent of change in your community and the world.

As a WGST major, you're required to take a sequence of core courses. These courses provide the analytic framework for the study of women, gender and sexuality that will inform all courses in the major.

Coursework
Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, Feminist Histories and Practices, Feminist Theories, Queer Theories and Senior Capstone

Elective Courses
After completing some of the core coursework, you will take a number of elective courses from various disciplines. This flexibility lets you shape your curriculum to support your career and professional development goals. You'll work closely with faculty advisers to select courses that balance breadth of knowledge with your specific interests.

You can find a list of electives in the undergraduate catalog. You may also petition for courses not listed in the catalog to count for the major.

Minor Field
You must complete a minor or second major. Our program's interdisciplinary nature gives you the freedom to explore a secondary field of your choice. Popular pairings include Psychology, Biology, English, History, Sociology, Philosophy, Criminology, Forensics and Native American Studies.

Tailor this major to your interests by taking one of these courses as you pursue your degree:

  • WGST 150:
    Women in Movies

    Through viewing popular Hollywood films, we will analyze femininity across the life span. Critical thinking and cultural analysis will be practiced as we study heroines, working girls, motherhood, brides, cheerleaders, and old women on screen.

  • WGST 225:
    Women in Appalachia

    Use variety of sources to explore how race, class, ethnicity, sex and gender impact lives of diverse Appalachian women, including portrayal of women, stereotypes, impact of stereotypes, and how women construct their own identities.

  • WGST 250:
    Women in Science

    History of women in science and methods of gender analysis applied to issues facing women in science in the United States.

  • WGST 260:
    Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies

    Overview of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer studies. Examines the construction of gender, biological sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, expression and performance related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, pansexual, and two-spirit identities. Also examines intersections with race, ethnicity, class, nation, culture, ability, and religion.

  • WGST 340:
    Gender and Violence

    Gender violence has implications for all members of society. This course will examine violence in the lives of women across the lifespan. Etiology, theories, effects, and prevention modalities will be evaluated.

  • WGST 345:
    Women in International Development

    Examines cultural diversities in the definition of women's roles and status; investigates women's access to education, health, income, credit and technology; and studies women's contributions in third world development.

  • WGST 448:
    Sexuality in American Culture

    Explores changes in sexuality in the United States from the seventeenth century to the present, examining social and cultural struggles and debates over the meaning of sexuality and sexual orientation in American society.

  • WGST 450:
    Sex and Science at the Movies

    Explores how bodies, sexuality, and other gendered traits are used in films to demonstrate techno-science's societal impacts. Examines the relationship between media representations and techno-scientific practice.

  • WGST 460:
    Men and Masculinities

    An advanced seminar in women's and gender studies that critically examines the concept of masculinity and its impact on men's and women's lives. Analyzes masculinities from cultural, historical, biological, philosophical, sociological, psychological, economic, and political perspectives.

Take advantage of special options related to this major:

  • Honors

    Expand your curiosity — and enhance your curriculum — through the WVU Honors College. Two programs are offered: Honors Foundations for first- and second-year students and Honors EXCEL for third- and fourth-year students.

    Explore Honors

The WVU Difference

What sets this program apart from its competitors?

  • Our faculty have international and national reputations for their research and teaching.
  • Our faculty are not only WGST experts in but are trained in a variety of fields including biology, geography, history and English.
  • You are never “just a number” in WGST! You'll receive a hands-on education and develop close relationships with faculty and students.
  • Our graduates work in a wide range of fields, from medicine to community organizing.
  • We offer a wide range of scholarships and awards.
  • You'll have opportunities for internships, independent studies, travel courses, study abroad, service learning and hands-on research with faculty.
  • Earn academic credit through Eberly internship courses.
  • 500+ scholarships awarded annually by the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
  • Academic Enrichment Program offers funding for activities that complement, extend and enhance your academic experience.
Scholarships

Over 92% of WVU freshmen receive grants or scholarships (2022-2023).

Learn more

Learn by Doing

Learning happens outside the classroom. Get involved.

Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)
An 8-week WVU summer program for students interested in graduate school and research/creative work in their discipline or a related discipline. Participants work under the direction of a WVU faculty research mentor and a graduate or post-doctoral mentor. Students interested in research careers are especially encouraged to apply.

Research Apprenticeship Program RAP
A two-semester WVU program for students with limited or no research experience. Students can earn course credit and use federal work-study funds for undergraduate research apprenticeships with WVU research faculty.

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants
Many of our students are offered the opportunity to serve as undergraduate teaching assistants in WGST courses. This unique opportunity provides hands-on experience in the classroom.

While each student’s experience as an undergraduate teaching assistant varies, TAs typically assist with grading and classroom management. The supervising faculty member will provide each TA with an experience tailored to their goals, strengths and experience.

Students earn credit hours in WGST 491 for serving as an undergraduate teaching assistant. This course counts as an elective for WGST majors and minors.

Connect with other students who share your academic interests as a member of:

View all of the student organizations you can join.

Network with professionals in your field as a student member of:

We strongly encourage WGST students to complete internships. Working closely with your adviser, we tailor the internship destination and experience to your unique goals and skills.

If you're interested in pursuing careers in the non-profit sector, there are numerous opportunities to gain valuable experience at local and national organizations like the Morgantown Human Rights Commission, Planned Parenthood, Feminist Majority Foundation, Sexy Sex Ed, Appalachian Prison Book Project, The Stay Project, WVU Women's Resource Center and WVU LGBTQ+ Center, among others.

Attending college will prepare you for many things. The Women's and Gender Studies major will give you the following skills:

  • Demonstrate understanding of key concepts of the interdisciplinary field of Women's and Gender Studies, including how gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability and legal status shape experiences of individuals and interlocking systems of power from local to global scales.
  • Use critical thinking skills and interdisciplinary feminist, gender or queer approaches to research, revising and presenting knowledge.
  • Employ interdisciplinary feminist, gender or queer methodologies to problem solving evidenced through multiple modalities of communication.
  • Apply feminist, gender or queer theory, methods and praxis to scholarship, activism or public engagement in the classroom, social institutions, the community or the workplace.

Live, study and pursue outside-the-classroom learning in a residence hall community that shares your interests:

Outside of the Evansdale Crossing building.

What you learn outside of the classroom is just as important as what you learn during class. We’ll help you follow your curiosity.

Careers and Outcomes

How does this degree prepare students for a career?

Gender, Culture and Society

Career path: Social worker, counselor, educator, non-profit leader, national service

Suggested courses: Women in Movies; Feminist Histories and Practices; Women in Appalachia; Methods for Inclusive Research; Gender and Violence; Sexuality in American Culture Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies; Men and Masculinities; Teaching Practicum

Health and Medicine

Career path: Physician, nursing, healthcare administration, public health researcher, women's health professions, LGBTQ+ health professions

Suggested courses: Women’s Health and Fitness; Women in Science; Gender and Violence; Sex and Science at the Movies; Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies; Methods for Inclusive Research

Law and Justice

Career path: Law school, lawyer, policing, public policy

Suggested courses: Feminist Histories and Practices; Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies; Gender and Violence; Methods for Inclusive Research; Women's Movements Since 1960

Social Justice, Advocacy and Community Organizing

Career path: Nonprofit leader, community organizer, political office, nonprofit sector, social services

Suggested courses: Feminist Histories and Practices; Women in Appalachia; Gender and Violence; Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies; Methods for Inclusive Research; Women in International Development; Men and Masculinities

Fields of Study

Our students often go on to complete graduate programs in other fields at WVU including (but not limited to):

  • History
  • English
  • Social Work
  • Sociology
  • Medicine
  • Education
  • Public Policy
  • Psychology

WVU Graduate Certificate

While WVU does not have a stand-alone graduate program in WGST, we do have a Graduate Certificate.

This certificate program requires a student to be enrolled in a graduate program in any field at WVU. Students work closely with an adviser in WGST to tailor a minimum of 15 credit hours of courses relevant to women’s and gender studies.

Meet Your Community

The Women's and Gender Studies family will inspire and support you.

  • “If I could do undergrad all over again, I would not change a thing. My experience in WGST has been so transformative and beneficial to my knowledge of the world and social justice issues I wish to combat. I encourage every single student I meet to take a WGST course for the topics and conversations you are exposed to.”
    Isabel Thubron (she/her)

  • Dr. Kelly L. Watson

    Professional highlights:

    • Director of Women's and Gender Studies and Service Associate Professor
    • Authored Insatiable Appetites: Imperial Encounters with Cannibals in the North Atlantic World (New York University Press), 2015
    • Contributed a chapter, “Sex and Cannibalism: The Politics of Carnal Relations between Europeans and American ‘Anthropophagites’,” to the award-winning volume To Feast on Us as Their Prey: Cannibalism in the Early Modern Atlantic from the University of Arkansas Press
    • Published an essay, "'Ourselves Writ Savage:' Disease, Desire, and Colonialism in Kuru Country," in a special issue on "Disease and Exploration" for the journal Terrae Incognitae
    • I returned to my Maryland roots for an essay I Published an essay, "Mary Kittamaquund Brent, ‘The Pocahontas of Maryland:’ Sex, Marriage, and Diplomacy in the 17th century Chesapeake" in the journal of Early American Studies, 2021
    • Has presented research at numerous conferences in the U.S., UK and Mexico
    • Distinguished Scholar Award, Avila University, 2017

    My proudest professional accomplishment is watching so many of my students make a real difference in the world!
  • Becky McDaniel (she/her)
     BA, Communication Studies and Women/Gender Studies, 2013
    “I started taking the Women's and Gender Studies courses to complete my credit hours to graduate. As I began to discover topics that interested me as a non-traditional student; I was learning more about myself at the same time. Prior to taking WGS courses I would not have described myself as a feminist, but I am and proud of who I am and what I stand for today. My education in WGS has helped me in my current position of managing the WVU Passport Acceptance Facility. For example, last year a faculty member brought their child in for a new passport they were changing the gender marker on the application. Sometime after the appointment, the faculty member made a special attempt to come by my office and thanked me for not being judgmental and understanding of the situation.”
  • Shaniyah Jasper (they/she)
    “The Women's and Gender Studies program got me to this place because of the values I developed through my education at WVU. There are populations of people that deeply matter to me and always have but now because of my education, I have a way to connect gender studies and social work; such as how gender impacts mental health and well-being but also how gender plays an impactful role on people's everyday lives. One of the ethical principles of social work is social justice and that is exactly what WGST prepared me for — helping make the folks who are often overlooked and unheard heard.”
  • Reginald Yankie (he/him/his)
     BA, Women/Gender Studies and Accounting, 2009
    “I have spent most of my career in banking as a business credit analyst and was recently promoted to the role of Vice President and Senior Credit Product Team Lead for the state of PA at WesBanco. While WVU's College of Business and Economics taught me to read and understand financial statements, it was the Women's and Gender Studies program that trained me to think critically and defend my position. These skills have been essential in my career. The WGST program introduced me to queer and/or trans theorists, educators and artists, which allowed me to imagine a future for myself that I did not know was possible. To pass that gift along, I volunteer as a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh in their Big Siblings program.”
  • Rita Alcala (Snyder Furr)
     BA, Women's and Gender Studies; Anthropology and Sociology concentration, 2010
    “I am currently the operational designer of several dual admission partnerships across Virginia, serving predominately low-income, first-generation and minority-majority student populations. The programs foster greater access to higher education and actively reduce institutional and financial barriers to bachelor’s degree attainment. The foundation I received at WVU in feminist, anthropological and sociological theories continues to inform my daily praxis by using concepts including social location, intersectionality, power, privilege and oppression while working within one of the largest social institutions influencing equality and social change. The incredible faculty and valuable education I received nurtured my passion for understanding social issues and gave me the tools requisite to dedicate my career to educational equity.”

    • FAQs

    Common questions and answers about Women's and Gender Studies.

      • Admitted students may submit the Change of Major form to request a new major.
      • This form is for prospective students only. Currently enrolled students must meet with their academic adviser.
      • Please review the admissions requirements to ensure that you are eligible for the requested major. Requests will not be processed if ineligible.

    Places and Spaces

    Learn about all of the places and spaces you'll learn in.

    Featurette - LGBTQ+ Center

    LGBTQ+ Center

    The LGBTQ+ Center offers inclusive programming and outreach initiatives for WVU students, faculty, staff and broader community members. We collaborate with and support the University’s larger social justice efforts by providing inclusive, academic and curricular development education on all WVU campuses, by advocating for members of our community and by building coalitions and services. We also work throughout WVU campuses and across the state to improve understanding of LGBTQIA+ issues and community engagement.

    Explore the LGBTQ+ Center

    Women's Resource Center

    The Women's Resource Center (WRC) offers an inclusive environment where students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in programs, obtain resources and services, and engage in dialogue related to gender awareness and equity.

    Explore the Women's Resource Center
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    Admission Requirements

    To be admitted to WVU's Women's and Gender Studies major, first-time freshmen must meet WVU's first-time freshman admission requirements. Interested in transferring? Review the transfer admission requirements.

    Tuition and Aid

    How much does Women's and Gender Studies at WVU cost? And how can you save?

    Tuition and Fees

    Estimated rates are available on our tuition website. Anyone who is not a current West Virginia resident, including international students, will be charged non-resident rates.

    View Tuition and Fees

    Scholarships

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    Ways to Save

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    Financial Aid

    The most important step toward funding your future with financial aid for the Women's and Gender Studies major is submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

    How to Complete the FAFSA

    Transfer Articulation Agreements

    To simplify the transfer process, we have formal agreements with certain institutions. These agreements outline the courses you should take to prepare for transferring to WVU.

    Review the full list of transfer articulation agreements to see if your institution is listed.

    Learn How to Transfer Course Credits

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