Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 University Catalog 
    
2020-2021 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies, BA


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About the Program

The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Purdue University offers courses that critically assess the historical and social context and meanings attached to the categories of man and woman as well as the salience of gender identities that exist outside and beyond that dichotomy. Our courses provide students with the opportunity to examine systematically the role and politics of sexuality and to interrogate the discriminatory practices disadvantaging those who reject or fall outside of compulsory heteronormativity. Our program sponsors student engagement on issues central to feminism, promotes equality for all people regardless of the way they express their gender or sexuality, and nurtures academic research and scholarly inquiry that supports these core values.

Please visit Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies for more information.

Degree Requirements


120 Credits Required

Liberal Arts Curriculum


Each liberal arts major is designed as a four-year plan of study and includes three types of courses: Major, Core, and Elective. Most students take five courses per semester, with some of each type.

Professional academic advisors meet individually with each of our students on a regular basis to help with course selection, academic planning, and career development, as well as to help students find additional resources on campus.

Departmental/Program Major Courses (24 credits)


Other Departmental (31-55 credits)


The College of Liberal Arts Other Departmental area is designed to be experiential, informative, and relevant to life in a rapidly changing universe. It combines courses that fulfill University Core foundational outcomes, discipline diversity, social diversity, and other languages to produce a well-rounded background for students. Coursework is integrative and collaborative and fosters insight, understanding, independence, initiative, and the desire to reach across divides and redefine our relationship to the peoples and the worlds that surround us.

Core I: Disciplinary Diversity (6-18 credits)


Choose 1 course in 6 different disciplines within the College of Liberal Arts.

Note: Disciplines are differentiated by course prefix. Undistributed credit does not count to satisfy this requirement.

Core II: Social Diversity (1-3 credits)


Culture, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity all play a role in how others perceive us and how we experience the world, and as such, are meaningful categories for analyzing social change and social problems past and present. The purpose of this category is to acquaint students with the pluralistic nature of the world and foster an appreciation and awareness of the diverse range of lived human experience. Courses in this list will expose students to important aspects of human diversity and foster understanding about different world views.

Choose one course from the Social Diversity Selective List .

Core III: Linguistic Diversity (3-4 credits)


Proficiency through Level IV in one world language. Courses may be required to reach Level IV proficiency; these courses will be counted toward electives.

Foundational Requirements (21-30 credits)


Students must complete approved coursework that meet the following foundational outcomes. Many of these can also be used to fulfill Core I, Core II, or Core III.

  • Humanities - all approved courses accepted.
  • Behavioral/Social Science - all approved courses accepted.
  • Information Literacy - all approved courses accepted.
  • Science #1 - all approved courses accepted.
  • Science #2 - all approved courses accepted.
  • Science, Technology, and Society - all approved courses accepted.
  • Written Communication - all approved courses accepted.
  • Oral Communication - all approved courses accepted.
  • Quantitative Reasoning - all approved courses accepted.

Notes


  • Double counting of courses is allowed across the various categories.
  • All accredited programs whose accreditation is threatened by CLA Core requirement, both professional BAs and BFAs, are exempt from Liberal Arts Core I & II in order to meet accreditation standards and requirements. Liberal Arts Core III: Linguistic Diversity is still required for such programs.
  • “Degree +” students (students with a second major outside of Liberal Arts) are exempt from the CLA Core.

Electives (41-65 credits)


University Core Requirements


For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the Provost’s Website.
  • Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
  • Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
  • Information Literacy (IL)
  • Oral Communication (OC)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
  • Science #1 (SCI)
  • Science #2 (SCI)
  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
  • Written Communication (WC)

Prerequisite Information:


For current pre-requisites for courses, click here.


 

Program Requirements


Fall 1st Year


15-16 Credits


Spring 1st Year


  • Women’s Studies Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core I: 2 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • World Language 10200 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science, Technology & Society- Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Information Literacy - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 2nd Year


15 Credits


Spring 2nd Year


  • CLA Core I: 4 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • World Language 20200 (CLA Core III) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


  • Women’s Studies Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core I: 5 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 3rd Year


  • Women’s Studies Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core II: Social Diversity - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 4th Year


  • Liberal Arts Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • CLA Core I: 6 of 6 - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 4th Year


  • Liberal Arts Selective (30000 or higher) - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Electives - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Notes


  • Students must receive a grade of “C” or better in order for a course to be accepted toward the major. The P/NP option is not available for this requirement.
  • 2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Arts degree.
  • 32 credit hours at 30000 level or higher required for Bachelor of Arts degree.
  • Liberal Arts offers a streamlined plan of study for students pursuing a second degree outside CLA. Contact the CLA Advising Office for more information.

World Language Courses


World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor.

ASL-American Sign Language

ARAB-Arabic CHNS-Chinese FR-French
GER-German GREK-Greek (ancient) HEBR-Hebrew (Biblical) HEBR-Hebrew (modern)
ITAL-Italian JPNS-Japanese KOR-Korean LATN-Latin
PTGS-Portuguese RUSS-Russian SPAN-Spanish  

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.  Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful.  These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program”. 

Disclaimer


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

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