Ethnic and Gender Studies - B.A. Degree

Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
EGS Program Office/Student Lounge: 2109-2111 Fenton Hall

Dr. Heather McEntarfer,Program Coordinator

Email:  [e-mail]

Office:  240 Fenton Hall
[phone]

Website:  https://www.fredonia.edu/academics/colleges-schools/college-liberal-arts-sciences/program/ethnic-gender-studies

The mission of the Ethnic & Gender Studies Program (EGS) is to promote the values of diversity, equity, and social justice through education, campus and community outreach, and advocacy.

The Ethnic & Gender Studies Program directly supports the SUNY Fredonia campus mission and strategic plan and SUNY’s general education goals promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEISJ) coursework. EGS degree programs empower students to be knowledgeable agents of change to foster inclusive, equitable and respectful dialogues and to take action within their chosen professions and communities.

The EGS Program Coordinator serves as the primary advisor for students in the Ethnic & Gender Studies major. Students are expected to consult regularly to stay on track and learn about course offerings each semester.

 

Student Learning Objectives:

• Communicate cognizance of the student’s background and how different social positions may lead others to have different perspectives and experiences;

• Demonstrate awareness of the way that historically and socially constructed difference has affected the distribution of rights, responsibilities, and resources; 

• Study, evaluate, and explain what it means to be socially responsible in the context of the increasingly diverse United States; and 

• Theorize and assess problem solving strategies that would allow individuals and groups to address processes that limit full and equal participation of all groups in society.

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
	or
WGST 202	Foundations of Social Justice	3
WGST 201	Topics in Gender Studies	3
ETHN 205	Native American Studies	3
	or
ETHN 206	African American Studies	3
	or
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.

 

Total Credit Hours:

6

Content Electives:

Students are encouraged to select a personalized course of study in consultation with your advisor.  We particularly encourage students to take advantage of our special topics courses, which often foreground and explore contemporary issues.

Although there is value in studying issues particular to sex gender identity & sexual orientation and race & ethnicity, there is also significant value in studying the ways that our identities are made up of multiple components.  Students are encouraged to explore the complexity of our identities by selecting courses which highlight intersectionality and transnationality.  

To develop a deeper understanding of the discipline that underlies race & ethnicity studies and women's and gender studies, students are also encouraged strongly 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 (see below)	12
	Courses in Race and Ethnicity Studies (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:

ETHN 491	Social Change Capstone	3
	or
WGST 491	Social Change Capstone	3
Total Credit Hours:		3

Total Credit Hours: 42