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2008-2009 UNDERGRADUATE CALENDAR

Women's Studies - Arts


Note: With the establishment of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies on July 1, 2009, degrees and programs in the Faculty of Arts will be moved to the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies as of the Fall/Winter 2009-2010 Session. Grandparenting provisions have been developed for students continuing in degrees and programs currently offered in the Faculty of Arts. Details are available on the York University Current Students Web site (http://www.yorku.ca/yorkweb/cs.htm).

The School of Women's Studies offers a consolidated undergraduate program which brings together the Women's Studies programs from the Faculties of Arts, Atkinson and Glendon. This merged undergraduate program provides students with increased flexibility and access to a greater number and variety of women's studies courses. Courses offered through the School of Women's Studies will count as in-Faculty courses for Arts, Atkinson and Glendon students, and will be offered during the day and evening on both the Keele campus and the Glendon campus. Please consult the School of Women's Studies supplemental calendar for further information, available at the school's main office, 206 Founders College, 416-650-8144 (press 1).

The undergraduate women's studies curriculum is built around four different kinds of courses.

1. Required Courses

2. Core Courses

The core courses are offered by the School of Women's Studies and, like the required courses, have the second digit 5 in the course number, e.g. WMST 2500 6.00. Students are required to select between 12 and 24 credits of core courses depending on their degree program. Core courses cover themes deemed essential to women's studies and will explicitly aim to develop critical reading, writing and oral presentation skills, research skills and more advanced research and theoretical skills as appropriate to the course and year level. The required and core courses will:

  • focus primarily on women;
  • be taught from feminist perspectives;
  • be interdisciplinary;
  • address the intersections of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual identity and gender;
  • acknowledge the different perspectives on women in a global context;
  • explicitly identify the critical skills to be developed in the course.

3. Non-Core Courses

The School of Women's Studies will offer a small number of non-core courses designed to serve a narrower disciplinary focus than the core courses, meet a particular program need (e.g. independent study or special topics courses), or appeal to non-women's studies majors. These courses will have the second digit 8 in the course number, e.g. WMST 4801 3.00.

4. Courses Offered by Other Units

Courses offered by other teaching units may be accepted for program credit or cross-listed with the School of Women's Studies. These courses will count towards the major requirements in women's studies. Please consult the School of Women's Studies mini-calendar, available in the school's main office, 206 Founders College, 416-650-8144 (press 1).

1000-Level Courses

In accordance with the student's home Faculty regulations, a maximum of six credits from the following 1000-level courses may count for major or minor credit in women's studies: AS/HUMA 1950 9.00, AS/SOSC 1185 9.00, AS/SOSC 1350 9.00, AK/AS/GL/WMST 1500 6.00, AK/HUMA 1830 6.00, AK/MODR 1700 6.00, AK/SOSC 1700 6.00, AK/SOSC 1900 6.00, AK/SOSC 1920 6.00 or GL/HUMA 1810 6.00.

Program Requirements

Note: For purposes of meeting program requirements, all foundations courses will count as six credits towards the major or minor.

Specialized Honours BA Program

Students will take at least 54 credits in women's studies. Of these, students must take AK/AS/GL/WMST 2500 6.00 or AK/AS/GL/WMST 2510 9.00 and AK/AS/GL/WMST 4500 6.00, and at least 24 additional credits from the core course offerings. Overall, 12 women's studies credits must be taken at the 4000 level.

Honours BA Program

Students will take at least 42 credits in women's studies. Of these, students must take AK/AS/GL/WMST 2500 6.00 or AK/AS/GL/WMST 2510 9.00 and AK/AS/GL/WMST 4500 6.00, and at least 18 additional credits from the core course offerings. Overall, 12 women's studies credits must be taken at the 4000 level.

Honours Double Major BA Program

The Honours BA program described above may be pursued jointly with any other Honours bachelor's degree program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, or with approved major degree programs in the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, Faculty of Health or Faculty of Science and Engineering. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.

Honours Double Major Interdisciplinary BA Programs

Women's studies may be linked with any Honours Double Major Interdisciplinary BA program in the Faculty of Arts. Students must take at least 36 credits in women's studies and at least 36 credits in the interdisciplinary program. Courses taken to meet women's studies requirements cannot also be used to meet the requirements of the interdisciplinary program. Students in these interdisciplinary programs must take a total of at least 18 credits at the 4000 level, including at least 12 credits in women's studies and six credits in the interdisciplinary program. For further details of requirements, see the listings for specific Honours Double Major Interdisciplinary BA programs.

The 36 credits in women's studies must include:

Honours Major/Minor BA Program

The Honours BA program described above may be pursued jointly with any Honours Minor bachelor's degree program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, or with approved minor degree programs in the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, Faculty of Health or Faculty of Science and Engineering. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.

Honours Minor BA Program

The Honours Minor must be pursued jointly with an Honours Major/Minor BA program in the Faculty of Arts.

Students will take at least 30 credits in women's studies. Of these, students must take AK/AS/GL/WMST 2500 6.00 or AK/AS/GL/WMST 2510 9.00 and at least 12 additional credits from the core course offerings. Overall, 12 women's studies credits must be taken at the 3000 or 4000 level, including six credits at the 4000 level.

Note: Faculty of Arts legislation requires that, in order to obtain an Honours BA (120 credits), students must take a total of at least 18 credits at the 4000 level including at least 12 credits at the 4000 level in each Honours Major or Specialized Honours Major.

BA Program

Students will take at least 30 credits in women's studies. Of these, students must take AK/AS/GL/WMST 2500 6.00 or AK/AS/GL/WMST 2510 9.00 and at least 12 additional credits from the core course offerings. Overall, 12 women's studies credits must be taken at the 3000 or 4000 level.