WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM INFORMATION
Towson University
has a fully independent major in Women’s and Gender tudies. It also offers a
minor, a master’s degree, and a graduate certificate program. Women’s
and Gender Studies at Towson University was changed from a program to a department
in spring, 2002. It is one of the nations oldest; courses were offered
as early as 1971 and the program itself began in 1973. During the
1980s, major grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the Ford
Foundation to advance “curriculum transformation” locally and nationally
led to the creation of
ITROW and
NCCTRW.
The Women’s
and Gender Studies Department is both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary.
Students choose an individually fashioned curriculum from
interdisciplinary women’s studies (WMST) courses and from an approved
list of courses selected from other disciplines, spanning several of
Towson University’s departments and colleges. Several of our courses
are also approved for the GenEd requirements.
UNDERGRADUATE
PROGRAM
Major in Women's and Gender
Studies
The Women’s and Gender Studies major is interdisciplinary; it offers students the opportunity to study the status and roles of women as individuals and as members of society, and how these statuses and roles are shaped by social, political, and cultural forces. Courses emphasize both commonalities among women and differences according to race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class.
The major consists of 39 credit hours:
• 6 hours of required core courses
• 3 credits of a culminating experience.
• 12 hours in a selected focus area, 6 credits of which must be departmental WMST
courses
• 18 distribution credits wherein majors take 6 credits in each of the three focus areas
other than the one selected.
The Women’s and Gender Studies major is structured to provide students with both breadth (through the distribution requirement) and depth (through the selection of a focus area). The focus areas are curricular/career paths that allow students to develop expertise in a particular area. The culminating experience provides students the opportunity to integrate the knowledge acquired in their courses, and to apply this knowledge to real world problems.
Recommended Program of Study
Women’s and Gender Studies majors should include: WMST 231 Women in Perspective
or WMST 232 Honors Seminar: Women in Perspective in their first
semester. This is an introductory course that fulfills some General
Education (GenEd) requirements. WMST 233 International Perspectives on
Women or WMST 234 Honors International Perspectives on Women is
recommended but not required and also fulfills GenEd requirements.
We also recommend that students majoring in Women’s and Gender Studies take the
advanced composition course offered by women's studies, WMST 333:
Women's Words, Women's Lives. A course on minority women (either a WMST
course or a departmental one) is strongly recommended. WMST 496
Internship is also recommended.
Students should consult the Undergraduate Catalog for the most
up-to-date information on electives, course descriptions and
prerequisites.
Transfer Credit Policy
All Women's and Gender Studies majors must complete a minimum of 18 credits toward
the major at Towson University, with at least 12 credits at the upper
(300-400) level.
All Women's and Gender Studies minors must complete a minimum of 12 credits toward
the minor at Towson University, with at least 9 credits at the upper
(300-400) level.
Minor in
Women's
and Gender Studies
Students may wish
to major in a traditional subject (history, english, sociology) but
minor in Women's and Gender Studies. Some students plan to do graduate work in a
traditional discipline, with emphasis on women within it.
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