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    Oct 12, 2024  
2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Women’s Studies


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Prospective students:  Please note that this major has been suspended and that no students will be allowed to declare this major until such time as this note is eliminated from the Undergraduate Catalog as the result of action taken by the UMS Board of Trustees.  While the major is suspended, the University is still offering courses and a minor program of study in the area, and courses in this field may be important components of interdisciplinary majors.  Please contact the program for further information about opportunities in these areas.

 

OVERVIEW OF DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Minimum number of credits required to graduate: 120

Minimum Cumulative GPA required to graduate: 2.0

Minimum Grade requirements for courses to count toward major: None.

Other GPA requirements to graduate:  2.0 for the 36 credits of required and elective courses.

Contact Information: Mazie Hough, Associate Director of the Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program, 581-1228.


The Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies is an interdisciplinary program offered by the Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program with faculty on loan from a variety of academic units or hired part time for their particular expertise. Students who major in Women’s Studies are employed in social service work, health services occupations, business, law, education, and government at all levels. They find employment in public policy fields, working with women specifically or with people in general.  In the private sector graduates are successful in management positions, especially in those involving work with diverse groups of people. 

Women’s Studies majors will gain a more complete understanding of how the social construction of gender has influenced the roles, contributions, and experiences of women in many different cultures, now and in the past. Such awareness can help them better understand our contemporary world with its changing roles for women and men alike. They will bring to the gender analysis of any situation knowledge of the complexity of its interaction with race, social class, sexual orientation, and other forms of diversity. They will be able to recognize the connection between Women’s Studies scholarship and the scholarship of other disciplines. Students will develop an appreciation for the connections between Women’s Studies scholarship, activism, and social change, historically and in the present. They will develop the critical intellectual capacity and necessary communication skills to work to value and improve the position of all women in whatever public or private spheres they choose. The major consists of at least 36 credits structured this way.

Required Courses, 18 credits


Distribution Requirements, 9 credits, one course from each category:


Health, Science and the Environment


Note:


The remaining 9 credits can be taken from among the courses listed above, additional approved departmental electives or Women’s Studies topics courses, internships, independent study courses, or courses taken at other universities in the U. S. or abroad. Indeed internships, study abroad, and national student exchange opportunities are strongly encouraged.

At least 18 credits, including the senior seminar, must be taken at the University of Maine. Students must have a C average (2.0) overall in the courses taken for the major.

The courses listed above are usually given at least once a year, but in recent years there has also been a wealth of additional topics courses offered both in Women’s Studies and in departments. Lists of interdisciplinary and departmental courses available in Women’s Studies are published every semester during pre-registration periods. They are also available on our website: http://www.umaine.edu/wic/.

Ann Schonberger, Director of the Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program, advises all the majors and approves transfer credit.

Suggested curriculum for a B.A. in Women’s Studies


Because the Women’s Studies major is intended to be highly individualized for each student, no sample curriculum is offered. Students interested in the major should take WST 101 as soon as possible, because it is a prerequisite for all the other WST courses and can be an alternate prerequisite for many of the departmental electives. WST 410 is usually taken in the junior year and WST 480 in the senior year. Student majors should also consult with the director early and frequently to plan an appropriate plan of study for themselves.

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