Women’s and Gender Studies is a thriving field of study at CSULA. Our location in the diverse metropolis of Los Angeles grounds our understanding of genders and sexualities as it intersects with races/ethnicities, nations, and classes in local, national, and global contexts.
Housed in the Department of Liberal Studies, CSULA offers a Major in Liberal Studies with a Concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies (48 units plus the 20 unit core courses in Liberal Studies), an undergraduate Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies (32 units) and a graduate/post-Baccalaureate Certificate in the Study of Women, Genders, and Sexualities (24 units). The Women’s and Gender Studies Advisory Committee oversees program development and curricular growth.
The Liberal Studies Major with a Concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies enables undergraduate students to undertake a focused course of study emphasizing theories and research in the field of Women’s and Gender Studies. The concentration prepares students for careers in law, policy advocacy, teaching, and non-profit work. Students may also consider continuing their studies in an M.A. and/or Ph.D. program in areas such as History, English, Women’s and Gender Studies, or American Studies.
A Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies supplements a Major program in any field. Students may combine the Minor with a Major in History, Communication Studies, Chicana/o Studies, Sociology, Liberal Studies, Psychology, and Political Science. A Minor provides research skills and training useful for careers in law, medicine, criminal justice, social work, non-profit agencies, public relations, policy advocacy, and teaching.
Post-Baccalaureate students (those already holding a B.A. degree) will find that a Certificate in the Study of Women, Genders, and Sexualities can fulfill several career and educational goals. For students continuing on to M.A. or Ph.D. programs, the Certificate offers additional skills in research and teaching in the growing field of interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies. For those already in the workforce as social workers, human resources professionals, policy analysts, service providers, organizational managers, and teachers, the Certificate offers additional skills in professional development and frameworks for thinking about topics such as social policy, pedagogy, and workplace equity.
If you are interested in pursuing a Major in Liberal Studies with the Concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies, a Minor in Women’s and Gender Studies, or the Certificate in the Study of Women, Genders, and Sexualities, please call (323)343-4137 or (323)343-4100, or contact Dr. Dionne Espinoza, Coordinator of the Minor and Certificate Programs, at despino@calstatela.edu.
Additional Resources
CSULA supports research in the field through The Center for the Study of Genders and Sexualities.
The Cross Cultural Centers host the Women’s Resource Center and the LGBT Resource Center, which offer programming and workshops to the campus community to raise awareness of women’s issues, genders, and sexualities.
Students may select General Education Upper Division Theme “C,” Perspectives on Gender. See the Schedule of Classes for more information.