Feminist Studies B.A.

• Information and Policies
• Requirements and Planners

Information and Policies

Introduction Expand and Collapse

Feminist studies is an interdisciplinary field of analysis in the humanities that investigates how relations of gender are embedded in social, political, and cultural formations. The undergraduate program in feminist studies provides students with a unique interdisciplinary and transnational perspective. The department emphasizes theories and practices derived from multiracial and multicultural contexts. Some topics you will find in our curriculum include: colonialism/postcolonialism; postsocialism; queer and trans theory; visual culture, legal studies; critical race theory; science and technology studies; and social movements.

Feminist studies prepares undergraduates for a variety of careers. The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Feminist Studies provides excellent grounding for undergraduates who have career aspirations in, for example, law, health, non-governmental organizations, museum curation, politics, media and film, research institutes, journalism, community organizations, and social services.

Students wishing to pursue doctoral work will also find that interdisciplinary training in feminist studies equips them with theoretical and methodological strengths in most disciplines and applied research fields including American studies, ethnic studies, science studies, anthropology, communications, and legal studies. Specialists in feminist studies are employed as consultants in industry, higher education, and human resources. State and federal government agencies employ people who have special training in understanding gender and race relations. Educational institutions need specialists to develop and administer feminist studies programs, women’s centers, and other institutional structures designed specifically to study and assist marginalized peoples, including women.

Academic Advising for the Program Expand and Collapse

Email: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Feminist Studies advising is held in Humanities 1, Room 415A. Drop in hours are posted on the Feminist Studies website. Students can make an appointment by using the Slug Success application found under Resources in their student portal (MyUCSC). 

Transfer students should also consult the Transfer Student Information and Policy section for specific requirements.

Program Learning Outcomes Expand and Collapse

Students who complete the feminist studies major should emerge with the following skills, competencies, and knowledge:

Outcome 1: Writing, Reading, and Critical Thought

1. Develop writing skills and proficiency
2. Perform close reading of texts
3. Develop an ability to formulate and defend arguments in writing and oral presentation
4. Develop media literacy with a lens of cross-cultural analysis
5. Develop a critical understanding of inequities, ethics, racial and gender formations, and social justice issues

Outcome 2: Feminist Methods

The lower-division classes focus on “understanding” and the upper-division courses, especially the senior seminars, focus on “application.”

1. Develop an understanding of feminist interdisciplinary methodologies
2. Apply interdisciplinary methodology to research and writing

Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process Expand and Collapse

 

Major Qualification Expand and Collapse

Undeclared students may declare the feminist studies major at any time. While specific courses are not required in order to declare, students ideally will have completed or be enrolled in FMST 1, Feminist Studies: An Introduction.  

How to Declare a Major Expand and Collapse

For a single major, complete the Petition for Major Declaration form and sign it. For a double major or major/minor complete both the Major Declaration form and also an Academic Planning form. Both of these forms must be signed by you and by each departmental adviser.

Familiarize yourself with the content of the Feminist Studies website. Schedule a meeting with the feminist studies adviser during which you will fill out a Feminist Studies Major Requirements worksheet, develop a curriculum plan, and officially declare the major.

If your proposed program exceeds your expected graduation term (EGT), you must visit your college for review and approval of extension of enrollment.

 

Transfer Information and Policy Expand and Collapse

Transfer Admission Screening Policy Expand and Collapse

Students planning to apply  in this major are not required to complete specific major preparation courses for consideration of admission to UC Santa Cruz. However, it is highly recommended to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC).

If you have completed prior college-level coursework in feminist studies, women's studies, or a similar field of study, please contact feminist studies advising as soon as possible and provide a copy of your unofficial transcript and course syllabi so the coursework can be reviewed for potential fulfillment of feminist studies major requirements.

Getting Started at UCSC as a Transfer Student Expand and Collapse

Transfer students are encouraged to declare the major as soon as possible to be assured entrance into the required core courses. Please see the section 'How to Declare a Major' for more details.

The Feminist Studies Department will consider, upon petition, which UC-transferrable courses from other institutions are acceptable. FMST 1, one feminist studies (FMST) lower-division course, and FMST 100 must be completed before the senior year so that the exit requirement may be completed in the senior year.

FMST75

Feminist Methodologies

5

Transfer students are strongly encouraged to enroll in FMST 75, Feminist Methodologies, a course designed specifically to aid in the transition to UCSC's feminist studies major for incoming transfer students. FMST 75 is offered every fall. This course will also satisfy the one lower-division core course requirement.

 

Letter Grade Policy Expand and Collapse

Letter grades are required for 10 of the 11 courses applied toward the feminist studies major. FMST 100 and the senior comprehensive course(s) (FMST 194 or FMST 195) must be taken for a letter grade.

Course Substitution Policy Expand and Collapse

Feminist studies is an interdisciplinary major that includes courses taught by affiliated faculty in other departments (see the Courses page of the Feminist Studies website for current year offerings). However, feminist studies majors must take a minimum of five courses at UC Santa Cruz taught directly in the Feminist Studies Department, i.e., courses designated FMST, not including FMST 193, FMST 198, or FMST 199. At most three courses may be transferred to count toward the major, including three Education Abroad Program (EAP) courses or courses from another university.

Double Majors and Major/Minor Combinations Policy Expand and Collapse

The feminist studies major works very well as a double major with fields of study such as community studies, critical race and ethnic studies, sociology, politics, education, legal studies, literature, psychology, and more.

Study Abroad Expand and Collapse

As stated in the course substitution policy, a maximum of three courses may be transferred to count toward the major, including courses from an Education Abroad Program (EAP).

Honors Expand and Collapse

Feminist studies awards honors and highest honors in the major. At the end of each quarter, a faculty committee meets to review graduating students’ files. Students are considered for honors and highest honors based on their cumulative GPA, calculated from grades earned in coursework and the senior exit requirement undertaken for completion of the major. For honors, students must earn a minimum GPA of 3.70 in the relevant courses, while for highest honors, the GPA must be 3.90 or higher. Writing a thesis is not a requirement for receiving honors or highest honors.

Requirements and Planners

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Course Requirements Expand and Collapse

Feminist studies majors must complete 11 courses including a senior comprehensive exit requirement in the feminist studies program. The three core courses--FMST 1, one lower-division eminist studies course, and FMST 100--must be taken at UC Santa Cruz absent a petition.  A minimum of five feminist studies courses, not including FMST 193, FMST 198, or FMST 199, must be completed for the major.

Lower-Division Courses Expand and Collapse

Take the following course:

FMST1

Feminist Studies: An Introduction

5

And one of these courses:

FMST10	Feminisms of/and the Global South	5
FMST14	Popular Culture in South Asia	5
FMST16	Media Histories--News and New Media	5
FMST20	Feminism and Social Justice	5
FMST21	Religion in American Politics and Culture	5
FMST30	Feminism and Science	5
FMST40	Sexuality and Globalization	5
FMST41	Trans Gender Bodies	5
FMST75	Feminist Methodologies	5

Upper-Division Courses Expand and Collapse

FMST100

Feminist Theories

5

Students are required to complete FMST 100, Feminist Theories, at UCSC absent a petition.

Electives Expand and Collapse

Students are required to complete seven upper-division (100-199), 5-credit electives. One independent study (FMST 199) may count toward the elective requirements. FMST 193 or FMST 198 (internship) may be used to count toward the elective requirements.

Feminist studies is an interdisciplinary major that includes courses taught by affiliated faculty in other departments (see the Courses page of the Feminist Studies website for current year offerings). However, feminist studies majors must take a minimum of five courses at UC Santa Cruz taught directly in the Feminist Studies Department, i.e., courses designated FMST, not including FMST 193, FMST 198, or FMST 199. At most three courses may be transferred to count toward the major, including three Education Abroad Program (EAP) courses or courses from another university.

The Feminist Studies Tentative Curriculum is the definitive list of courses offered during the current academic year that will satisfy major requirements and is comprised of courses offered both from within the Feminist Studies Department but also with approved courses originating from many different departments throughout UCSC.

Please consult feminist studies advising with any questions regarding this requirement.

FMST102	Feminist Critical Race Studies	5
FMST112 /POLI 112	Women and the Law	5
FMST115	Gender, Sexuality, and Transnational Migration Across the Americas	5
FMST120	Transnational Feminisms	5
FMST123	Feminism and Cultural Production	5
FMST124	Technology, Science, and Race Across the Americas	5
FMST125	Race, Sex, and Technology	5
FMST126	Images, Power, and Politics: Methods in Visual and Textual Analysis	5
FMST131	The Politics of Matter and the Matter of Politics	5
FMST132	Gender and Postcoloniality	5
FMST133	Science and the Body	5
FMST135	Topics in Science and Sexuality	5
FMST139	African American Women's History	5
FMST145	Racial and Gender Formations in the U.S	5
FMST150	Mediating Desire	5
FMST175	Gender and Sexualities in Latina/o America	5
FMST188	Topics in Feminist Studies	5
FMST189	Advanced Topics in Feminist Theory	5
FMST193	Field Study	5
FMST198	Independent Field Study	5
FMST199	Tutorial	5

 

 

Approved Electives in Affiliated Departments

For a list of approved electives for the current year, see the Feminist Studies Tentative Curriculum list. 

Division of the Humanities

APLX112	Language and Gender	5
CRES100	Comparative Theories of Race and Ethnicity	5
CRES101	Research Methods and Writing in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies	5
HIS106B	Asian and Asian American History, 1941-Present	5
HIS109A	Race, Gender, and Power in the Antebellum South	5
HIS110A	Colonial America, 1500-1750	5
HIS112	American Feminist Thought, 1750-1950	5
HIS113C	Women and American Religious Culture	5
HIS121B	African American History: 1877 to the Present	5
HIS128	Chicana/Chicano History	5
HIS131	Women in Colonial Latin America	5
HIS140C	Revolutionary China 1895-1960	5
HIS140D	Recent Chinese History	5
HIS140E	Women in China's Long 20th Century	5
HIS145	Gender, Colonialism, and Third-World Feminisms	5
HIS150F	Engendering Empires: Women in Modern Japan and Korea	5
HIS151A	Medicine and the Body in the Colonial World	5
HIS159B	Women and Gender in Ancient Egypt	5
HIS194A /FMST 194N	Gender, Class, and Sex in Shanghai	5
HIS194F	Jewish Shanghai	5
HIS196H	Sex and the City--The History of Sexuality in Urban Areas Around the Globe	5
HISC113	History of Capitalism	5
HISC125	Queerness and Race	5
LIT146G	Queer(y)ing Victorian Literature	5
LIT156A	The Gothic Imagination in Fiction, Film, and Theory	5
LIT161B	African American Women Writers	5
LIT166E	Women's Literature	5
LIT167E	The Vampire in Literature and Popular Culture	5
PHIL147 /FMST 168	Topics in Feminist Philosophy	5

Division of Social Sciences

ANTH110T	Motherhood in American Culture	5
ANTH130E	Culture and Politics of Island Southeast Asia	5
ANTH131	Gender in Cross-Cultural Context	5
ANTH134	Medical Anthropology: An Introduction	5
ANTH148 /FMST 148	Gender and Global Development	5
ANTH158	Feminist Ethnographies	5
ANTH160	Reproductive and Population Politics	5
ANTH194M	Medical Anthropology	5
ANTH194X	Women in Politics: A Third World Perspective	5
CMMU151	Sex, Race, and Globalization	5
CMMU161	Gender Health and Justice	5
EDUC135	Gender and Education	5
ECON183 /LGST 183	Women in the Economy	5
LALS144	Mexicana/Chicana Histories	5
LALS172	Visualizing Human Rights	5
LALS175	Migration, Gender, and Health	5
POLI103	Feminist Interventions	5
POLI105B /LGST 105B	Early Modern Political Thought	5
PSYC107	Gender and Development	5
PSYC140G	Women's Lives in Context	5
PSYC140H	Sexual Identity and Society	5
PSYC140L	Women's Bodies and Psychological Well-Being	5
PSYC140Q	Social Psychology of Gender	5
PSYC140T	Psychology of Trauma	5
PSYC153	The Psychology of Poverty and Social Class	5
PSYC159A	Sexual Identity	5
PSYC159D	Psychology of Sexual Aggression	5
SOCY111	Family and Society	5
SOCY120	Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Sexuality and Cultural Politics	5
SOCY121	Sociology of Health and Medicine	5
SOCY126	Sex and Sexuality as Social Practice and Representation	5
SOCY132	Sociology of Science and Technology	5
SOCY143	Conversation Analysis	5
SOCY144	Sociology of Women	5
SOCY145	Sociology of Masculinities	5
SOCY149	Sex and Gender	5
SOCY150	Sociology of Death and Dying	5
SOCY157	Sexualities and Society	5
SOCY158	Politics of Sex Work and Erotic Labor	5
SOCY172	Sociology of Social Movements	5
SOCY176	Women and Work	5
SOCY187	Feminist Theory	5

Division of the Arts

FILM130	Silent Cinema	5
FILM165A	Film, Video, and Gender	5
FILM165B	Race on Screen	5
FILM165C	Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Film and Video	5
FILM165D	Asian Americans and Media	5
FILM165G	Gender and Global Cinema	5
FILM194E	International Cinemas	5
HAVC115	Gender in African Visual Culture	5
HAVC141F	The Camera and the Body	5
HAVC170	Art of the Body in Oceania	5
HAVC172	Textile Traditions of Oceania	5
THEA161M	Sexuality, Gender, Drama, and Performance	5
THEA161T	Women in Theater	5

The Colleges

CLTE135	Apprenticeship in Community Engaged Research	5
OAKS150	Queer History and Theory in the United States	5

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement Expand and Collapse

Students of every major must satisfy that major’s upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement in feminist studies is satisfied by completing the Comprehensive Requirement.

Comprehensive Requirement Expand and Collapse

Comprehensive requirement options include a senior seminar taught by core faculty or a senior thesis/project. Completion of the Entry Level Writing and Composition Requirements are prerequisites to FMST 194 and FMST 195.

FMST194A	Feminist Jurisprudence	5
FMST194B	Queer/Feminist Historiography	5
FMST194C	Gender and Iconicity	5
FMST194D	Feminist Science Studies	5
FMST194F	Chicana/Latina Cultural Production	5
FMST194G	Images of Africa	5
FMST194H	Michel Foucault: An Introduction	5
FMST194I	Feminist Oral History and Memoir	5
FMST194K	Black Diaspora	5
FMST194L	Decoloniality, Feminism, and Science Studies	5
FMST194M	Empire and Sexuality	5
FMST194O	The Politics of Gender and Human Rights	5
FMST194Q	Queer Diasporas	5
FMST194T	Transgender Studies	5
FMST194V /CRES 190V	Marxism and Feminism	5
FMST194W	Politics of Space, Time, and Matter	5
FMST195	Senior Thesis or Project	5

Planners Expand and Collapse

Four Year Plan

	Fall	Winter	Spring
1st (frosh)
2nd (soph)	FMST 1	FMST 100	FMST lower-division core
3rd (junior)	FMST elective	FMST elective	FMST elective
		FMST elective
4th (senior)	FMST elective	FMST Senior Exit	FMST elective
	FMST elective

The courses shown fulfill the CC general education (GE) requirement. Students have to fulfill all other GE requirements.

Two Year Plan for Transfer Students:

	Fall	Winter	Spring
3rd (junior)
	FMST 1	FMST 100	FMST eElective
	FMST lower-division core		FMST elective
4th (senior)	FMST elective	FMST elective	FMST Senior Exit
	FMST elective	FMST elective	FMST elective