Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST), BA

Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST) cultivate future leaders and out-of-the-box thinkers prepared to solve today’s problems. Through an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach our programs build community and invite students to challenge assumptions and find joy in learning. Courses, content, and programming center the histories, experiences, and cultural expressions of women and racial or ethnic groups not only in the United States but also across the world. Through respectful, open-minded dialogue, we explore the connections among race, class, gender, sexuality, disability, and power. WEST equips students with a wide range of skills to enter a diverse workforce, including oral and written communication, research experience, teamwork, and more. WEST offers one-on-one mentoring, small classes, travel courses, and a range of scholarship opportunities.

General Information

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Women’s and Ethnic Studies requires the following:

• A minimum of 31 credit hours of WEST course work. At least 22 of those hours must be upper division (courses numbered 3000 or higher).
• A grade of C or better in courses applied to the major.
• A minimum 2.0 GPA must be maintained in all WEST course work.
• No more than 60 credit hours of WEST course work may apply to the bachelor’s degree.

Additional course work is required to complete the Women’s and Ethnic Studies, BA degree.  Please see the advising guide on the Academic Advising website for more information.

Additional Programs

In addition to the BA, WEST offers an Accelerated BA to MBA pathway, WEST BI, WEST minor and multiple articulated double majors. Information can be found on these program pages:

• Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST), BA to Business Administration, MBA  (AMP)
• Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST), BI™  
• Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST) Minor  
• Anthropology and Women’s and Ethnic Studies Double Major  
• Geography and Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST) Double Major  
• History and Women’s & Ethnic Studies Double Major  
• Philosophy and Women’s and Ethnic Studies Double Major  
• Psychology and Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST) Double Major  
• Sociology and Women’s and Ethnic Studies (WEST) Double Major  
• Women’s and Ethnic Studies and Spanish Double Major  

Learning Outcomes

• Interdisciplinary approach: Real-world problems don’t fall neatly into academic disciplines and learning how to apply methodologies and theories across disciplines creates students who can enter the workforce ready to fully engage and to diagnose present circumstances to imagine better futures.
• Scholarly sophistication: To write sophisticated self-reflective, critical or analytical, and research papers; promote creative expression; and express oneself with clarity and confidence.
• Developing knowledge: To develop consciousness about a range of socio-political issues locally, domestically, globally and transnationally.  To become well versed in the rapidly increasing scholarship on gender and race through literary and artistic achievements; historical, social, political, and economic conditions; families and communities; and social change.
• Engaged teaching and learning: To excel in classes that allow students to develop their critical voices, value their contributions, and challenge and inspire their intellectual imaginations. To study with a diverse group of faculty and see links between theory and practice. 
• Community: To develop a sense of belonging to an intellectual, scholarly field and community, which is innovative, multiracial, and inclusive, and learn to work with integrity and openness with people from diverse backgrounds. To build bridges across categories such as race/ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, age, disability, and religion, and to apply this knowledge to across disciplines and communities.
• Social change: To develop skills to shape our collective future in ways that foster diversity and equity. To gain the preparation needed to earn graduate degrees and/or obtain employment in a wide range of fields and work with people from a range of backgrounds.