The Honors College offers a pathway to the Women's and Gender Studies minor and major. Any course offered in Women's and Gender Studies (WGS) counts toward your Honors diploma. Honors courses marked with a "W" also have a course equivalence in Women's and Gender Studies.

Are you looking for a diverse, multidisciplinary minor to complement your major? Ball State’s minor in women’s and gender studies is an excellent choice.

Majors that Work Well with this Minor

This minor works well with majors in:

What You Will Learn

As a Women’s and Gender Studies minor, you’ll learn how gender intersects with other characteristics such as race/ethnicity, social class, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, and citizenship. You’ll learn to recognize the effect of gender expectations throughout society, in politics, education, sports, business, communities, and families. The perspective you gain will complement the skills and knowledge of any major, giving you an advantage in the job market. Employers are looking for people with “soft skills” like the ability to interact respectfully and professionally with diverse colleagues and clients.

Upon completion of the Women's and Gender Studies minor, graduates:

  • will identify and explain how gender definitions and norms, and gendered institutions, affect perspectives, behaviors, experiences, and life chances of individuals. (gender-sensitive perspective)
  • are able to synthesize interdisciplinary knowledge, think critically, and provide a reflection of these experiences.
  • will evaluate gender-related social problems to identify possible actions to alleviate the problem, and to justify a decision regarding appropriate action

Program Requirements

Questions?

If you want to learn more about this minor, contact the Women’s and Gender Studies program office at, 765-285-5451.

You will take an introductory course in women’s and gender studies and a capstone course for a total of six credits. You will complete your minor by selecting an additional 12 credits from our list of interdisciplinary electives. Students may participate in an internship for up to 6 credits.

We strongly suggest that you balance your minor with at least one elective from the humanities and one elective from the biological and social sciences.

Please refer to individual course descriptions for information about prerequisites.       

Total Credits:18

Courses

Here is a sampling of the classes you will choose from:

  • AHS 265 Feminist Art History
  • ANTH 341 Anthropology of Gender
  • COMM 385 Rhetoric of Marginalized Voices
  • ENG 494 Queer Lit/Queer Theory
  • HIST 215 Women in American History
  • HSC 261 Health, Sex, & Family Life
  • PHIL 380 Justice
  • POLS 474 Women and Politics
  • PSYS 424 Psychology of Diversity
  • RELS 206 Sex and the Bible
  • SOC 434 Sociology of Human Sexuality
  • WGS 220 International Women's Issues

For a complete list of all the courses you may take and their descriptions, please see our Course Catalog.

View Catalog

Enroll in this Minor

To enroll in this minor, please contact your advisor.

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