The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department offers a minor in WGSS and a minor in queer studies. To be eligible for a minor, students must complete all degree requirements and a major of their choice. Students must apply for the minor well in advance of graduation for transcript evaluation.
WGSS Minor Requirements
Text: The undergraduate minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies requires 24 credits. All graded courses must be taken for letter grades and passed with a mid-C or better, and no more than eight credits can be taken Pass/No Pass.
- At least 16 credits applied to the WGS major must be taken at the University of Oregon.
- Up to 12 credits at the upper-division level may be approved in other subject codes with adviser approval.
- No more than eight credits from another major or minor may count toward the WGS major.
- To be eligible for the minor, students must all complete a major in another academic department.
Introductory Course (4 credits total)
- WGS 101: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
WGS 200-level courses (4 credits total)
Choose two WGS 200-level courses such as:
- WGS 201: Introduction to Queer Studies
- WGS 211: Black Feminist Histories
- WGS 221: Bodies and Power
- WGS 250: Gender, Literature, and Culture
- WGS 251: Transnational and Indigenous Feminisms
- WGS 261: Gender and Popular Culture
Advanced Courses (12 credits total)
Choose three WGS 300- or 400-level courses.
- WGS 303: Women, Gender, and History
- WGS 311: Black Feminist Theories
- WGS 315: Feminist Theory
- WGS 321: Feminist Perspectives: Identity, Race, Culture
- WGS 322: Queer Theory
- WGS 331: Science, Technology, and Gender
- WGS 341: Women, Work, and Class
- WGS 350: Literature as Feminist Theory
- WGS 351: Decolonial Feminisms
- WGS 361: Gender, Film, and Media
- WGS 407: Seminar
- WGS 409: Practicum
- WGS 410: Experimental Course
- WGS 421: Bodies and Embodiment
- WGS 422: Sexuality Studies
- WGS 431: Gender, Environment, and Development
- WGS 450: Literature and Feminist World-Making
- WGS 451: Global Perspectives on Gender
Elective (4 credits total)
Choose one 300- or 400-level WGS course OR an approved course from another subject code.
Example elective courses in other subject codes can be found on the courses page.
Independent Study Credits/Guidelines
Elective (4 credits total)
Choose one 300- or 400-level WGS course OR an approved course from another subject code.
Independent Study (IS) Courses:
WGS 401: Research
WGS 403: Thesis
WGS 405: Reading & Conference
WGS 406: Practicum
WGS 408: Workshop
WGS 409: Terminal Project
How many IS Credits can count towards the WGSS Minor?
WGSS Minors- 4 credits
Can Independent Study Courses be taken Pass/No Pass (P/NP) or Graded?
IS courses can be taken P/NP* or Graded
*WGSS only allows for 8 P/NP credits to count towards the major/minor The WGSS Faculty Advisor overseeing a student’s IS credits will make the determination if the credits should be taken P/NP or Graded
How do students sign up for a WGS IS course?
1) Seek a faculty advisor
2) Fill out the Independent Study Form with your faculty advisor
3) The form will be submitted to WGSS administrative staff, who will contact you with registration instructions
Queer Studies Minor Requirements
The Queer Studies (QS) minor is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary program whose goal is the study of sexuality as a complex historical and cultural formation. Rather than understand sexuality as merely a feature of private intimacy or as a result of unchanging biological forces, the QS minor approaches the study of sexuality in relation to the social construction of gender, race, ability, class, and citizenship.
As a program committed to critical thinking and social analysis, the QS minor introduces students not only to the complex histories, cultures, political activities, and expressions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people, but it also raises questions about larger social and institutional formations. For instance, QS is particularly interested in the assumptions, language, and power of science, medicine, law, and religion to explain and regulate sexuality and the social relations based on it. In this way, QS places emphasis on the knowledge and activism generated by sexual minorities, as it explores the social construction of sexual identities and their connections to practices and discourses accepted as normal. Queer Studies focuses on the social and political forces shaping norms (particularly those pertaining to sexuality, gender expression, and family formation) and conversely how these norms come to be challenged either through their own internal contradictions or through pointed interventions of activists seeking social justice.
The undergraduate minor in Queer Studies requires 24 credits. All graded courses must be taken for letter grades and passed with a mid-C or better, and no more than eight credits can be taken Pass/No Pass.
- At least 16 credits applied to the WGS major must be taken at the University of Oregon.
- Up to 12 credits at the upper-division level may be approved in other subject codes with advisor approval.
- No more than eight credits from another major or minor may count toward the WGS major.
- To be eligible for the minor, students must all complete a major in another academic department.
Introductory Courses (4 credits total)
- WGS 201: Introduction to Queer Studies
WGS 200-level courses (4 credits total)
Choose one:
- WGS 201: Introduction to Queer Studies
- WGS 211: Black Feminist Histories
- WGS 221: Bodies and Power
- WGS 250: Gender, Literature, and Culture
- WGS 251: Transnational and Indigenous Feminisms `
- WGS 261: Gender and Popular Culture
Queer Theory or Sexuality Studies (4 credits total)
Choose one:
- WGS 322 Queer Theory
- WGS 422 Sexuality Studies (repeatable)
Queer Studies Elective (4 credits total)
Students may choose any approved course at this level when taught with a queer focus. Queer-focused classes can be found by searching the subject QST on the UO class schedule and courses may also be approved upon request to the academic advisor.
Advanced Courses (8 credits total)
Choose two QST 300-level or QST 400-level courses. Students may choose any approved course at this level when taught with a queer focus. Queer-focused classes can be found by searching the subject QST on the UO class schedule and courses may also be approved upon request to the academic advisor.
Independent Study Credits/Guidelines
Independent Study (IS) Courses:
WGS 401: Research
WGS 403: Thesis
WGS 405: Reading & Conference
WGS 406: Practicum
WGS 408: Workshop
WGS 409: Terminal Project
How many IS Credits can count towards the QST Minor?
QST Minors- 4 credits
Can Independent Study Courses be taken Pass/No Pass (P/NP) or Graded?
IS courses can be taken P/NP* or Graded
*WGSS only allows for 8 P/NP credits to count towards the major/minor/QST minor The WGSS Faculty Advisor overseeing a student’s IS credits will make the determination if the credits should be taken P/NP or Graded
How do students sign up for a WGS IS course?
1) Seek a faculty advisor
2) Fill out the Independent Study Form with your faculty advisor
3) The form will be submitted to WGSS administrative staff, who will contact you with registration instructions