Resources and Opportunities

All these questions and more can be answered by going to the Registrar’s page 

Most petitions can be completed online during the current semester. Talk to your professor(s) when you are ever considering withdrawing or have other concerns regarding the course. Don’t leave it to the last minute.

We want all our students to succeed in all their classes and strive to do our best with everyone, regardless of who they are in any aspect of their lives, beliefs and express self.

You may declare Women and Gender Studies as your major online, via Campus Sol A follow-up email will be sent from our department chair. You can also make an appointment with one of the undergraduate advisers and fill out an advising form be the appointment.

As a Women and Gender Studies major, you may enroll in department courses and courses focusing on women, gender and sexuality in any other department. The cho electives is flexible, and your adviser will assist you in devising a program appropria your own needs and interests. With the consent of your academic adviser, you may use courses with a focus on women taken at other colleges and universities as part Women and Gender Studies major.

The major requires at least 39 units, no more than nine of them lower division:

Required Courses

• WGS 200: Introduction to Women and Gender Studies
• WGS 300GW: Politics of Gender, Race and Nation
• WGS 690: Senior Seminar
• WGS 698: Internship

Twenty-seven units of electives are required; 21 units of which must be taken in the department and six units which may be taken outside the department.

Our electives offer exciting interdisciplinary and innovative approaches to a wide variety of subject areas. These courses include Gender, Health and Environment; Gender, Poverty and Globalization; History of African American Women; Lesbian, Queer and Transgender Identity; Gender, Race and Sexuality in Popular Music; Gender and the Gender, Globalization and Women’s Human Rights; Women Writers and the Politics Decolonization; Women in the Muslim and Arab Worlds; Queer Literatures and Med many others.

General Education

You may double-count a maximum of 12 units for both general dducation and the W and Gender Studies major.

Credit/No Credit

A maximum of nine units in the major can be taken credit/no credit, but you are stro urged to take all courses in the major for letter grades.

Complementary Studies

View the bulletin for our B.A. program.

In the past, our students have used the complementary studies requirement to acqu minor as well. Some popular minors with our students have included Ethnic Studies, Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, Communication Studies and Compar Literature. View SFSU academic programs.

It is important to note that some minor programs allow you to double count Women Gender Studies courses. Please make sure you check with your minor department.
 

You may declare Women and Gender Studies as your minor with advisement from Women and Gender Studies faculty. A minor in Women and Gender Studies can be in conjunction with many majors (e.g. Sexuality Studies, Counseling, Psychology, Anthropology, Health Education, the social sciences). The minor offers you a cohere supplementary program in Women and Gender Studies.

Requirements (18 units)

• WGS 200: Introduction to Women and Gender Studies
• WGS 300GW: Politics of Gender, Race and Nation
• Six elective units must be taken within the department
• Three units may be lower-division
• Remaining three units may be taken outside the department

To be admitted to the M.A. program, you must meet all general University requirements. You must also have completed a major or minor in Women and Gender Studies at an accredited institution. Certificate programs or concentrations may also suffice. Please contact the Women and Gender Studies graduate coordinator if you have questions. Before beginning the process, please visit the Graduate Admissions page.

Your application must include a personal statement of 750 words or less. You must describe your academic background, intentions and goals, including experience in Women and Gender Studies. Include a rationale for pursuing an M.A. degree and the relation of the M.A. degree in Women and Gender Studies to prior academic work and career objectives. A well-written statement of purpose exhibits academic preparedness for graduate school and articulates academic goals that can be supported by the methodological and intellectual interests and expertise of our faculty.

For admission, you are required to have a cumulative grade point average no lower than 3.0 in the final 60 units of you undergraduate career.

Two letters of recommendation are required from individuals with direct knowledge of your scholarly ability. These letters should speak to your academic readiness for graduate-level studies. They are usually written by professors who have knowledge of your academic performance and interest in Women and Gender Studies. All letters are submitted via CalState Apply.

International students must have taken the TOEFL/IELTS exams. We do not require GRE scores; however, you may include them.

A resume or curriculum vitae is optional.

Financing a master’s degree can be challenging. And while SFSU’s in-state tuition is quite low compared to other universities, the cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the highest in the United States.

Most students who complete the graduate program in two years work par -time while they are enrolled as full-time students. Other students who maintain a full-time job usually complete their M.A. degree in three years. Many students take out student loans and apply for a range of scholarships.

Each student has unique financial and personal circumstances. We do not offer “admissions packages” with funding outlined at the onset of your degree. Instead, each semester we offer graduate assistant positions and various scholarships. We try to make your M.A. as affordable as possible and support individual paths toward the degree.

Learn more about affordability and financial aid and tuition and fees.

Please visit our Advising page 

Bring your unofficial transcripts and/or academic progress report, both available through your online Student Center, to your first meeting. Also bring your advising form.

Yes. We have five to eight graduate student teaching assistant positions each semester. In August and January, the chair of the department calls for applications for graduate-assistant positions. Women and Gender Studies graduate students have priority for these positions. The positions carry a monthly stipend.

Our students have also often been graduate assistants for other departments such as Ethnic Studies, Sexuality Studies and Journalism, when other departments have needs for graduate assistants with gender-studies expertise.

When our faculty receive grants for research assistants, they can hire Women and Gender Studies graduate students. These are paid hourly; the pay rate depends on the grant.

Other on-campus jobs are also available. Our students have often worked as cross-campus tutors at the Learning Assistance Center and the Campus Academic Resource Program. Our students have also worked elsewhere on campus including in student services, as program coordinators for student groups such as the Queer and Trans Resource Center.

The College of Liberal & Creative Arts offers graduate students up to $400 to attend a professional conference related to their areas of study. These funds are allotted each fall on a first-come, first-served basis for students presenting work at qualifying conferences.

SFSU campus housing is available for graduate students. The University also facilitates roommate referrals and housing information for graduate students.

You have until Sept. 14 in fall semesters and Feb. 14 in spring semesters to add or drop classes. Instructors can drop students at any time if there is an approved justification.

If you are taking courses for credit/no credit, make sure you talk to the instructor in the first nine weeks of class regarding the advisability. Remember: A letter grade of “C” or better is required for credit. Sometimes it’s better to take the letter grade instead of the no-credit grade.

You must request a withdrawal from your instructor and justifications must fall within acceptable reasons the College of Liberal & Creative Arts’ withdrawal policy.