Academics
Women's, Gender,and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) is an interdisciplinary academic program that challenges students to critically engage the ways that intersecting categories of gender, sexuality, race, class/caste, age, dis/ability, and citizenship shape our lives, cultures, and communities. Our Program has been a vibrant part of the ISU community since 1972. We offer an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor, Queer Studies concentration, and two different Graduate Certificates. The WGSS Resource Center and Rachel Cooper Art Gallery are open during business hours.
WGSS Undergraduate Minor
The minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) offers undergraduate students the opportunity to study gender and its intersections with race, ethnicity, sexuality, class/caste, nationality, dis/ability, and other aspects of identity - within the student's chosen fields of interest. Our rigorous and flexible curriculum invites students in the humanitites, arts, and social sciences to learn and apply the critical tools they need to examine the persistence of injustices in both historical and contemporary contexts. Students may choose to include the Queer Studies concentration as part of the minor.
The WGSS minor requires 21 hours of coursework (seven classes), including four core classes. Course electives for the upcoming semester are also posted on the WGSS webpage the week before registration. WGSS Minor brochure.
Queer Studies Concentration
The WGSS Program's Queer Studies Concentration is an option for students wanting to enhance their understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQIA+) issues or whose undergraduate curriculum or professional goals would be enriched by additional course work in this emerging vibrant field. The concentration focuses on LGBTQIA+ histories, political movements, aesthetics, arts, cultures, literatures, scholarship, contemporary experiences, and social formations. Students who complete the sequence can apply their knowledge to positions in education, government, nonprofit organizations, activism, journalism, law, public policy, social services, health services, and careers in the humanities and fine arts. For more information, please review our Queer Studies Concentration brochure.
WGSS Graduate Certificate
The graduate certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) offers graduate students the opportunity to study gender and its intersections with race, ethnicity, sexuality, class/caste, nationality, dis/ability, and other aspects of identity - within the student's chosen field of study. It's an option for students whose interests in gender, sex, and sexuality leads them toward further coursework, theses, and dissertation topics in their home department or school. It's also a popular option for those who are looking to advance their coursework in interdisciplinary methods and feminist theories.
The WGSS graduate certificate requires 12 hours of coursework (four courses) for completion. Course electives for the upcoming semester are also posted on the WGSS webpage the week before registration. WGSS Graduate Certificate brochure.
WGSS Graduate Certificate for Social Work Students
The WGSS graduate certificate is an ideal match for social work students interested in broadening their understandings of social injustice. The certificate sequence teaches students how to recognize the intracacies of power and oppression, and to identify the barriers that hold social inequalities in place. The sequence's intersectional approach to social issues increases cultural competency by providing practitioners with a working social justice conceptual toolkit that is easily integrated in their professional work The certificate encourages social work practitioners not only to understand more fully the daily obstacles their clients face, but also to empower their clients by providing them with the skills they need to succeed.
The graduate certificate must be coordinated with both the social work advisor and the WGSS advisor. WGSS Graduate Certificate for Social Work Students Brochure.