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."
- Communicate ideas effectively orally and in writing.
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Engage in critical and analytical reasoning about social and political problems from an intersectional feminist/womanist perspective.
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Systematically research and evaluate information in a range of disciplines from an intersectional feminist/womanist perspective.
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Develop methods for engagement in political, cultural, and scholarly areas in pursuit of social justice.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 120
Major: 18 SCH
Program Code: MLCLWMGNST.BA.GEN CIP Code: 05.0207.00
Texas Core Curriculum
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | 3 |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Life & Physical Sciences | 6 | |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture | 3 | |
| Creative Arts | 3 | |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | 3 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | 3 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | 3 |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| CAO: Women's Studies | 3 | |
| CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 42 | |
Courses Required for Major
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| WS 2013 | Gender and Social Change: An Introduction to Multicultural-Women's Studies | 3 |
| WS 2033 | Womanist Spiritual Activism: Social Justice Theories for Wellness and Transformation | 3 |
| WS 3023 | U.S. Women of Colors | 3 |
| WS 4023 | Sexualities and Identities: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | 3 |
| WS 4493 | Feminist Theory | 3 |
| WS 4793 | Senior Capstone in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies | 3 |
| Total SCHs | 18 | |
Departmental Requirements
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| WS 3793 | Feminist Research Methods | 3 |
| WS 4903 | Special Topics (Womanist/feminist theories and Social Justice) | 3 |
| Social Science Courses | ||
| Select 6 SCH from the following | 6 | |
| 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 following | 6 | |
| 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 following | 6 | |
| 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 SCHs | 24 | |
Required Minor
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| Any 18 hour minor | 18 | |
| Total SCHs | 18 | |
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | TCCN | SCHs | |
| WS 2013 | Gender and Social Change: An Introduction to Multicultural-Women's Studies | 3 | |
| UNIV 1231 | Learning Frameworks: The First Year Experience | EDUC 1100, EDUC 1200, EDUC 1300 | 1 |
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | ENGL 1301 | 3 |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | HIST 1301 | 3 |
| Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| Creative Arts Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 16 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| WS 2033 | Womanist Spiritual Activism: Social Justice Theories for Wellness and Transformation | 3 | |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | HIST 1302 | 3 |
| Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| Wellness or Mathematics CAO Core | 2 | ||
| Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 17 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| MWGS Elective | 3 | ||
| Social & Behavioral Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | GOVT 2306 | 3 |
| Mathematics Core | 3 | ||
| 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 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| MWGS Elective | 3 | ||
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | GOVT 2305 | 3 |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core | 3 | ||
| 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 | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| WS 3023 | U.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 | |||
| Minor | 3 | ||
| Minor | 3 | ||
| MWGS Elective | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| WS 3793 | Feminist Research Methods | 3 | |
| WS 4493 | Feminist 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 | |||
| Minor | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| WS 4023 | Sexualities and Identities: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies | 3 | |
| Minor | 3 | ||
| Minor | 3 | ||
| MWGS Elective (3000 or 4000 level course) | 6 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| WS 4013 | Texts, Trends, and Issues in Women's Studies | 3 | |
| WS 4793 | Senior Capstone in Multicultural Women's and Gender Studies | 3 | |
| Minor | 3 | ||
| MWGS Elective (3000 or 4000 level course) | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 12 | ||
| Total SCHs: | 120 | ||
