Major Requirements
Forty-two (42) credit hours total, at least twenty-four (24) of which must be at the 300-level or above. Nine credit hours are required in core (introductory) courses, six credits in skills-based courses, 24 credits in content courses (12 each in courses with an Ethnic Studies focus and a Women’s and Gender Studies focus), and three credits in a capstone course.
Students must earn at least a C- in all classes required for the major.
Core Courses:
| ETHN 202 | Foundations of Social Justice | 3 |
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| WGST 202 | Foundations of Social Justice | 3 |
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| WGST 201 | Topics in Gender Studies | 3 |
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| ETHN 205 | Native American Studies | 3 |
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| ETHN 206 | African American Studies | 3 |
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| ETHN 225 | Introduction to Latine History and Culture | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9 |
Skills Courses:
Students in the Ethnic and Gender Studies major are encouraged to select courses that address the development of skills as well as content knowledge as they progress through the major. There are many different professions for which this degree could make a student a strong competitor: consult the program’s webpage for career opportunities, including alumni experiences. Students should consult with the coordinator to identify relevant upper-level skills-oriented courses that might help them prepare for a specific path in their junior and senior years. For example, a student who wishes to pursue work in policy could benefit from in-depth work in legal theory, social institutions and statistics. A student who wishes to work for a non-profit organization would benefit from a Grant Writing course and one with a critical community focus. Students with a dual major may count upper-level coursework in their second major for the Skills area in the EGS major. Students are also strongly encouraged to consider experiential learning opportunities such as internships to satisfy the Skills requirement. Consult with the program coordinator to identify the courses that will count in this area in Degree Works.
Content Electives:
Students are encouraged to select a personalized course of study in consultation with the program coordinator. We particularly encourage students to take advantage of special topics courses (299 and 399), which often foreground and explore contemporary issues.
Students are encouraged to explore the complexity of social identities by selecting courses which highlight intersectionality and transnationality, as well as those that highlight how public and private institutions impact identity formation.
To develop a deeper understanding of the discipline that underlies race and ethnicity studies and women's and gender studies, students are also encouraged to select courses that emphasize theory, experiential learning (such as an internship or independent service learning project), and study abroad/study away experiences.
| Courses in Women's and Gender Studies (minimum 6 credits must be at the 300/400 level; see below) | 12 |
| Courses in Race and Ethnicity Studies (minimum 6 credits must be taken at the 300/400 level; see below) | 12 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 24 |
Women's and Gender Electives: Any course with a WGST prefix can count towards the women, gender, and sexuality elective requirements. There are many other courses that could be used, including special topics courses. Consult with the coordinator for offerings and approvals. (Double-dipping is not allowed; that is, a course used to meet the core, skills, or capstone requirement CANNOT be used to meet the elective requirement.) A single course cannot be used as both a WGST and an ETHN elective.
Race and Ethnicity Electives: Any course with an ETHN prefix can count towards the race & ethnicity elective requirements. There are many other courses that could be used, including special topics courses. Consult with the coordinator for offerings and approvals. (Double-dipping is not allowed; that is, a course used to meet the core, skills, or capstone requirement CANNOT be used to meet the elective requirement.) A single course cannot be used as both a WGST and an ETHN elective.
Capstone Course:
This culminating course is intended to give EGS majors an opportunity to reflect on their overall experience in the program and situate the interdisciplinary knowledge they have gained in a contemporary research context. The capstone course may be offered as a lecture-based seminar; when it is not, students will engage in the capstone research as an independent project, under the supervision of the EGS program coordinator.
Regardless of the format of the capstone experience, part of the grade will be earned through a presentation of their research or experiential learning opportunity at a public-facing event such as the annual spring EGS Symposium, the Fredonia student research expo (OSCAR), or another undergraduate conference (e.g., SUNY Cortland’s annual diversity conference).
Students will also complete an E-portfolio, shared with the program coordinator, as a graduation requirement completed during the capstone semester.
Students are directed to register with the prefix that best suits the student’s research focus.
| ETHN 491 | Social Change Capstone | 3 |
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| WGST 491 | Social Change Capstone | 3 |
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| ETHN 490 | Ethnic Studies Internship | 1-6 |
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| WGST 450 | Internship in Women's and Gender Studies | 1-4 |
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| ETHN 400 | Independent Study | 1-3 |
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| WGST 430 | Independent Study | 1-3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 3 |
*NOTE: Students who use an internship or independent study to meet the capstone requirement must complete a minimum of three credits.