Ohio University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
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College of Arts and Sciences
Bentley Annex, First Floor
www.ohio.edu/cas/wgss/
Risa Whitson, Director
whitson@ohio.edu
Patty Stokes, Undergraduate Chair
stokesp@ohio.edu
Mission
The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Ohio University examines gender and sexuality and their intersection with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, disability, and other elements of diversity. The WGSS curriculum introduces students to a wide range of theoretical and practical perspectives on the influence and meaning of gender in the human experience across time and cultures. The program promotes interdisciplinary teaching and research about gender and sexuality across myriad social and cultural contexts; it builds ties among scholars, providing a locus of feminist and queer scholarship and activism on campus, in the community, and beyond.
Programs
The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program offers a Bachelor of Arts degree, an Honors Program, an undergraduate certificate, and a graduate certificate. In addition, it offers a wide variety of individual courses, many of which focus on global feminism and sexuality studies. The undergraduate offerings are:
Majors
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (B.A.) BA4412
Certificates
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Undergraduate Certificate Program (CTWGSS)
LGBTQ Studies Certificate Program (CTWGSQ)
Special Opportunities
Honors Program
The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program offers an Honors Program for WGSS majors. Students with a minimum 3.5 GPA are accepted into the program during their junior year, and must take WGSS 4800 Capstone in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies before the end of that year. During their senior year, students write a thesis under the guidance of a WGSS faculty advisor. Students who complete the requirements will graduate from Ohio University with the designation “Honors” on their diploma and transcript. For information, contact the WGSS office at 740-593-4686.
Internship and Research Opportunities
The WGSS program offers two distinct opportunities for community engagement. The first is through the class WGSS 3910 - Community Engagement in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies , which meets once a week in the classroom and involves a four hour/week work experience with a local community organization. The course and supervised community engagement are designed to help students explore the possibilities and challenges of community work dealing with issues of women, gender, and sexuality. The program also offers a more traditional internship course, WGSS 4910 - Internship in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies , which is organized by the student in conjunction with faculty and a sponsoring organization. Students may also conduct independent research and/or collaborate with faculty in research activities in the course WGSS 4940 - Research Experience in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies .
Triota
Triota is a national honor society in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Triota works toward encouraging and supporting scholarship and excellence in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies through various activities on campus. Applicants to Triota should have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA with at least 6 hours of WGSS or affiliate courses.
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