Women's and Gender Studies (Minor)

What is women’s and gender studies?

In the women’s and gender studies minor, you’ll explore basic questions about gender roles, gender identity and social justice while examining the diverse experiences of women in various cultures and historical eras. You’ll study the intersection of gender with categories of identity including race and religion, and with topics including film and sports. You’ll also have the opportunity to pursue an intensive study of a specialized topic. Combine this minor with a major such as history, literature, international affairs, psychology or social work to enhance your future career opportunities or prepare for graduate studies.

Why study women’s and gender studies at UNH?

As a relatively small department in the College of Liberal Arts, we’ll provide you with a sense of community and opportunities to contribute directly to social justice, including through internships at innovative organizations both on and off campus. In a rigorous academic environment, our women’s and gender studies minor helps offer you a springboard for activism. You’ll benefit from a structured yet flexible undergraduate program on cutting-edge subjects that bridge theory and applied studies. Your course of study will be tailored to your interests. Additionally, you’ll receive excellent advising and mentoring to help you with career or graduate school preparation.

Potential career areas

  • Arts
  • Business
  • Education
  • Government
  • Healthcare
  • Human services
  • Journalism
  • Law
  • Non-governmental organizations
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Curriculum & Requirements

Women's and gender studies provides students with an understanding of the status of women in various cultures and historical eras, in the nexus of race, class, sexuality, religious and disability studies. Students learn the use of gender as a category of analysis and increase their knowledge of women's contributions to many fields. Women's studies courses offer students critical perspectives on such basic questions of the social order as assumptions about gender roles and gender identity.

As a relatively small department in the College of Liberal Arts, we provide students with a sense of community and opportunities to contribute directly to changing the campus climate. In a rigorous academic environment, women's and gender studies offers students a springboard for activism. Our internship program enables students to gain first-hand work experience across many fields.

A major or minor in women's and gender studies prepares students for careers where the changing roles of women are having a perceptible impact. Alumni go on to law school and graduate school in a variety of disciplines. Some have taken positions with social change or family service agencies, while others have found work in such fields as health care, journalism, education, human rights, social and environmental justice, and the arts.

Students who wish to minor in women's and gender studies should consult with the department chair or coordinator.

For the women's and gender studies minor, students must complete 20 credits of women's and gender studies courses with a grade of C- or better. Courses taken pass/fail may not be used toward the minor. No more than eight credits used to satisfy the requirements for another major may be used for the women's and gender studies minor. Students electing the women's and gender studies minor must complete:

Minor Requirements

The Women's and Gender Studies (WGS) minor requires students to complete 20 credits of WGS-approved coursework with grades of C- or better. Courses taken pass/fail may not be used toward the minor. 

WS 401Introduction to Women's Studies4
or WS 405 Gender, Power and Privilege
WS 798Colloquium (normally taken at the end of the course sequence)4
WGS-Approved Electives12
Three (3) courses approved for the WGS minor as elective coursework from the list below.
Total Credits20

WGS-Approved Electives

Students may double count no more than two (2) courses between the WGS minor and a major.

Click here to view a list of additional courses offered and approved for the WGS major and minor as elective coursework.

WS Courses
WS #444Trans/Forming Gender4
WS 444ARace Matters4
WS #444DCyborgs, Avatars, and Feminists: Gender in the Virtual World4
WS 505Survey in Women's Studies4
WS 510Framing Feminism: Gender Politics in Film4
WS 632Feminist Thought4
WS 795Independent Study1-4
WS 796Advanced Topics4
WS 797Internship4
WS 798Colloquium4
Additional courses approved for the WGS minor
ANTH 525Anthropology of the Body: Fat, Fitness and Form4
ANTH 625Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspectives4
ANTH 685Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa4
ANTH #750Islam and Gender: Gendered Lives of Muslims4
ARTH #444CSeeing Gender: Feminist Art and Visual Culture4
CLAS 550AIdentities and Difference in the Ancient World: Greek and Roman Women4
CMN 567Gender, Race, and Class in the Media4
CMN 614Gender, Race and Technology4
CMN 685Gendered Rhetorics4
ENGL 575Sex and Sensibility: The Rise of Chick Lit4
ENGL 585Introduction to Women in Literature4
ENGL 728Language and Gender4
ENGL 778Race and Gender in Film and Popular Culture4
HIST 565Women in Modern Europe4
HIST 665Themes in Women's History4
INCO 505ABecoming a Problem Solver4
INCO 505IInternship: Semester in the City (Boston) or Semester for Impact (NH)8
INCO 682AThe Washington Center Career Readiness Seminar4
INCO 682IWashington DC Internship4 or 8
ITAL 444BMamma Mia! Italian Motherhood from the Virgin Mary to Carmela Soprano4
JUST 410Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention (SHARPP) Peer Advocacy2-4
JUST 520Girls Gone Bad: Delinquent Girls in Cultural Context4
NURS 450Making Babies: Technology, Nature, and Social Context4
NURS 621Maternal and Newborn Nursing2
NURS 621CMaternal Newborn Nurs Clin2
PHIL 419Race, Gender and Social Justice4
or PHIL #419W Race, Gender and Social Justice
PHIL 510Philosophy and Feminism4
POLT 511Women & Politics4
POLT #721Feminist Political Theory4
SOC 570Sexual Behavior4
SW 715Affirming Practice with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ People4

 

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