Bachelor of Arts in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies (General Studies)

The innovative Bachelor of Arts degree in Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies (MWGS) prepares students for a wide range of careers, as well as professional and graduate studies.  In general, MWGS students gain strong transferable skills in reading, comprehension, speaking, writing, and active listening.  Employers call these “soft” skills and they are highly desirable in the workplace.  Students on all three tracks take a common set of courses, which allows students to change tracks or make decisions about which track to pursue later in the program.  A capstone class near the end of the program helps students prepare to transition to professional life and graduate or professional studies.  Each track requires a minor to provide a strong foundation in a discipline that will support the student's career goals. More specifically, two of the three tracks in the program prepare students to follow distinctive career paths in community leadership and health education. 

The general track is more flexible and can be adapted by students in consultation with an advisor to support those interested in careers as doctors; professors; attorneys; human resource specialists; researchers; or diversity, equity and inclusion consultants. This track also prepares students for positions in research and service organizations that focus on social, political, and economic issues that impact women’s lives.  The general track includes a cluster of prescribed elective courses in the arts, social sciences, and humanities that focus on women and prepare students for a variety of graduate programs in the liberal arts including Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS), English, Sociology, Psychology, and the Arts. Students’ early grounding in the discipline of WGS will provide them with the tools to examine ideologies of gender, race, class, and sexuality while taking these elective courses.  Elective courses require approval of the advisor.  Students on the general track are encouraged to pursue an internship for elective credit.

Marketable Skills

Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."

  1. Communicate ideas effectively orally and in writing.
  2. Engage in critical and analytical reasoning about social and political problems from an intersectional feminist/womanist perspective.

  3. Systematically research and evaluate information in a range of disciplines from an intersectional feminist/womanist perspective.

  4. Develop methods for engagement in political, cultural, and scholarly areas in pursuit of social justice. 

Admissions

All applicants must meet the general undergraduate admission requirements.

Degree Requirements

Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH):   120

Major: 18 SCH

Program Code: MLCLWMGNST.BA.GEN    CIP Code: 05.0207.00

Texas Core Curriculum

ENG 1013Composition I3
ENG 1023Composition II3
Mathematics3
Life & Physical Sciences6
Language, Philosophy, & Culture3
Creative Arts3
HIST 1013History of the United States, 1492-18653
HIST 1023History of the United States, 1865 to the Present3
POLS 2013U.S. National Government3
POLS 2023Texas Government3
Social & Behavioral Sciences3
CAO: Women's Studies3
CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics3
Total SCHs42

Courses Required for Major

WS 2013Gender and Social Change: An Introduction to Multicultural-Women's Studies3
WS 2033Womanist Spiritual Activism: Social Justice Theories for Wellness and Transformation3
WS 3023U.S. Women of Colors3
WS 4023Sexualities and Identities: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies3
WS 4493Feminist Theory3
WS 4793Senior Capstone in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies3
Total SCHs18

 Departmental Requirements

WS 3793Feminist Research Methods3
WS 4903Special Topics (Womanist/feminist theories and Social Justice)3
Social Science Courses
Select 6 SCH from the following6
Women in Politics
Woman's Roles
Psychology of Women
Current Social Problems
Culture, Inequality, and Self
Crime in America
Topics in Urban Sociology
Social Inequality
Internet and Society
Children's Rights and Services
Culturally Competent Practice
Humanities Courses
Select 6 SCH from the following6
Introduction to Literature by Women
Women in Politics
Ethics and Feminism
Women and Western Religions
Gender, Identity, and the Law
Feminist Research Methods
World Literature to 1600
World Literature, 1600 to the Present
Fiction
Poetry
Multicultural Literature
Advanced Grammar and Composition
American Literature: Colonial through Romantic
American Literature: Realism to the Present
Professional Writing
Elementary Spanish I
Elementary Spanish II
Arts Courses
Select 6 SCH from the following6
Women in the Visual Arts
Women in Music
Gendered Images in Dance and Performance
Global Perspectives in Art
Wellness through Movement
Understanding the Arts: Dance
World of the Imagination in Art, Dance, and Film
Global Perspectives of Dress and Adornment
Gender, Theatre, and Performance
Total SCHs24

Required Minor

Any 18 hour minor18
Total SCHs18
First Year
FallTCCNSCHs
WS 2013Gender and Social Change: An Introduction to Multicultural-Women's Studies 3
UNIV 1231Learning Frameworks: First-Year Seminar EDUC 1100, EDUC 1200, EDUC 13001
ENG 1013Composition I ENGL 13013
HIST 1013History of the United States, 1492-1865 HIST 13013
Life & Physical Sciences Core3
Creative Arts Core3
 SCHs 16
SpringTCCN
WS 2033Womanist Spiritual Activism: Social Justice Theories for Wellness and Transformation 3
ENG 1023Composition II ENGL 13023
HIST 1023History of the United States, 1865 to the Present HIST 13023
Life & Physical Sciences Core3
Wellness or Mathematics CAO Core2
Elective3
 SCHs 17
Second Year
FallTCCN
MWGS Elective3
Social & Behavioral Sciences Core3
POLS 2023Texas Government GOVT 23063
Mathematics Core3
Social Sciences Course I (Select 3 SCH)3
Women in Politics  
Woman's Roles  
Psychology of Women  
Current Social Problems SOCI 1306 
Culture, Inequality, and Self  
Introduction to Criminal Justice CRIJ 1301 
Topics in Urban Sociology  
Social Inequality  
Internet and Society  
Children's Rights and Services  
Culturally Competent Practice  
 SCHs 15
SpringTCCN
MWGS Elective3
POLS 2013U.S. National Government GOVT 23053
Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core3
Humanities Course I (Select 3 SCH)3
Introduction to Literature by Women  
Women in Politics  
Ethics and Feminism  
Women and Western Religions  
Gender, Identity, and the Law  
Feminist Research Methods  
Elementary Spanish I SPAN 1411 
Elementary Spanish II SPAN 1412 
World Literature to 1600 ENGL 2332 
World Literature, 1600 to the Present ENGL 2333 
Fiction  
Poetry  
Multicultural Literature  
Advanced Grammar and Composition  
American Literature: Colonial through Romantic  
American Literature: Realism to the Present  
Professional Writing  
Arts Course I (Select 3 SCH)3
Gendered Images in Dance and Performance  
Women in the Visual Arts  
Women in Music  
Wellness through Movement  
Understanding the Arts: Dance DANC 2303 
World of the Imagination in Art, Dance, and Film  
Global Perspectives in Art  
Global Perspectives of Dress and Adornment  
Gender, Theatre, and Performance  
 SCHs 15
Third Year
FallTCCN
WS 3023U.S. Women of Colors 3
Social Sciences Course II (Select 3 SCH)3
Women in Politics  
Woman's Roles  
Psychology of Women  
Current Social Problems SOCI 1306 
Culture, Inequality, and Self  
Introduction to Criminal Justice CRIJ 1301 
Topics in Urban Sociology  
Social Inequality  
Internet and Society  
Children's Rights and Services  
Culturally Competent Practice  
Minor3
Minor3
MWGS Elective3
 SCHs 15
SpringTCCN
WS 3793Feminist Research Methods 3
WS 4493Feminist Theory 3
Humanities Course II (Select 3 SCH)3
Introduction to Literature by Women  
Women in Politics  
Ethics and Feminism  
Women and Western Religions  
Gender, Identity, and the Law  
Elementary Spanish I SPAN 1411 
World Literature to 1600 ENGL 2332 
World Literature, 1600 to the Present ENGL 2333 
Fiction  
Poetry  
Multicultural Literature  
Advanced Grammar and Composition  
American Literature: Colonial through Romantic  
American Literature: Realism to the Present  
Professional Writing  
Arts Course II (Select 3 SCH)3
Gendered Images in Dance and Performance  
Women in the Visual Arts  
Women in Music  
Wellness through Movement  
Understanding the Arts: Dance DANC 2303 
World of the Imagination in Art, Dance, and Film  
Global Perspectives in Art  
Global Perspectives of Dress and Adornment  
Gender, Theatre, and Performance  
Minor3
 SCHs 15
Fourth Year
FallTCCN
WS 4023Sexualities and Identities: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies 3
Minor3
Minor3
MWGS Elective (3000 or 4000 level course)6
 SCHs 15
SpringTCCN
WS 4013Texts, Trends, and Issues in Women's Studies 3
WS 4793Senior Capstone in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies 3
Minor3
MWGS Elective (3000 or 4000 level course)3
 SCHs 12
 Total SCHs:  120