GSWS Minor

Our program is an interdisciplinary academic program focusing on gender, sexuality, and women. GSWS courses and cross-listed courses in various departments across the university provide opportunities for all students to broaden their understandings of the changing roles of gender and sexuality in the United States and globally. Students who want to explore the intersections of gender and sexuality with race, class, ethnicity, nation, religion, ability, and age will find courses of interest, as will students who want to know more about the role of gender and sexuality in history, in literature and the arts, or in media and science.

Students who plan careers in medicine, the creative arts, social work, education, counseling, law, therapy, academia, and business (among many others) find that our courses enhance their preparation for work and their understanding of the world. Understanding the impacts of gender and sexuality is relevant to any potential career. Students also report that the confidence and insight that they acquire in such courses enriches their lives regardless of their particular career plans.

We offer an 18-credit minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. Transfer courses will be accepted on a case-by-case basis up to a maximum of 2 courses. Students may have no more than 6 credits counted toward another unit’s certificate, major, or minor. A cumulative QPA of 2.00 is required in courses applying to the minor.

Enrollment: Contact the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Undergraduate Advisor (Frayda Cohen, frayda.cohen@pitt.edu) to complete the required paperwork. All GSWS students must meet at least once a year with the Undergraduate Advisor to update files and discuss what courses are needed to fulfill minor requirements.

Course Requirements for the minor (see details below):

  •     GSWS 0100 Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
  •     GSWS 0500 Introduction to Feminist Theory OR GSWS 0510 Feminist Theory in Historical Perspective
  •     GSWS 0550 Sex and Sexualities
  •     2 Elective GSWS or Cross-listed Courses (at any level)
  •     1 Upper-level GSWS Seminar (GSWS 1120 - GSWS 1910). GSWS 1910 Senior Capstone may count for this requirement, but it is not required for the minor.

Detailed course requirements

THREE GSWS CORE COURSES*   —  9 credits

  • GSWS 0100 Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
  • GSWS 0500 Introduction to Feminist Theory OR GSWS 0510 Feminist Theory in Historical Perspective
  • GSWS 0550 Sex and Sexualities

*These 3 foundational courses should be completed as early as possible in a student’s academic program.

2 ELECTIVE GSWS OR CROSS-LISTED COURSES (at any level) — 6 credits

The following courses fulfill this requirement, but any other course officially cross-listed with GSWS will count (check course offerings each semester for other options: Introductory Level Course List and Upper Level Course List.)

  • GSWS 0200 Sex, Race, and Popular Culture
  • GSWS 0220 Contemporary Issues and Arguments
  • GSWS 0300 Special Topics in GSWS
  • GSWS 0350 Global LGBTQ Literature
  • GSWS 0400 Gender and Science
  • AFRCNA 0454 Man/Women in Literature
  • ANTH 0768 Human Sexuality in Cross Cultural Perspective
  • COMMRC 1148 Rhetoric and Human Rights
  • COMMRC 1160 Visual Rhetoric
  • ENGCMP 0203 Seminar in Composition: Gender Studies
  • ENGFLM 1703 Gender and Film
  • ENGLIT 0610 Women and Literature
  • ENGLIT 0630 Sexuality and Representation
  • ENGLIT 0670 Queer and Transgender Literature 
  • ENGLIT 1704 Women and Literature
  • FR 0012 French Kiss
  • FR 1060 Gender, Sexuality, French Thought  
  • HIST 1662 Topics in Women’s History
  • MUSIC 1398 Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective
  • PS 1622 Women and Political Theory
  • PSY 0184 Psychology of Gender
  • PSY 1110 Psychological Aspects of Human Sexuality
  • RELGST 1684 Gender and the Jewish Tradition
  • SOC 0436 Social Aspects of Sexuality
  • SOC 0446 Sociology of Gender
  • SOC 1413 Marriage
  • SOC 1448 Working Women
  • GSWS 1140 Study Abroad: Pitt in London, etc.
  • GSWS 1900 Internship (Junior/Senior standing)

Students may also elect an additional GSWS upper-level course (11XX-11XX).

If you have identified a course with a focus on women, gender, or sexuality that is NOT found on this website or officially cross-listed, you may contact the GSWS Studies Undergraduate Advisor to petition to have the course counted towards the requirement.

GSWS 1900: GSWS Internship. Provides students the opportunity to extend their academic training beyond the classroom. For more information about possible sites, please make an appointment with the GSWS Undergraduate Advisor. A proposal outlining the purpose of the internship and its relevance to GSWS is required. To be eligible for an internship, you must satisfy the following:

    Must have completed 60 credits and be in good academic standing
    Must have completed at least 4 courses toward the minor
    Must identify an internship that complements the student’s academic preparation
    Must receive special permission from the GSWS Undergraduate Advisor 

GSWS 1901: Independent Study. Provides students the opportunity to pursue an area of special interest beyond what is offered in the regular curriculum. A proposal outlining the purpose of the study, the relevance to gender, sexuality, or women's studies, and a plan of study including bibliography and course products (papers, annotated bibliography, film presentation, etc.) must be approved by a professor who agrees to supervise the work. The proposal must be submitted to—and approved by—the GSWS Undergraduate Advisor prior to registering for the course. Students must already have at least 2 courses in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and 2 courses in a discipline appropriate to the independent study.

ADVANCED GSWS COURSE (1000-level)   3 credits

  • GSWS 1150      Global Feminisms
  • GSWS 1160      Race, Class, and Gender
  • GSWS 1170      Queer Theory
  • GSWS 1180      Politics of Gender and Food
  • GSWS 1190      Masculinities
  • GSWS 1200      Transgender Studies
  • GSWS 1210      Gender and the Digital
  • GSWS 1235      Language, Gender, and Society
  • GSWS 1450      Gender and Sustainability
  • GSWS 1910      Capstone in Gender Sexuality and Women’s Studies

Prerequisites for GSWS 1910:

    All three GSWS core courses must be completed prior to the senior seminar
    Junior/Senior Standing (a minimum of 75 credit hours completed)
    At least 6 credits in GSWS 1000-level courses (3 credits may be taken concurrently)

Additional Information:

    ONLINE AND HYBRID COURSES:

    Students may have no more than 3 GSWS credits in an online or hybrid format. Students may have an additional 3 credits in an online or hybrid format from another department or program.

Major/minor checklist form is available here.