Glendon – School of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies

Gender and Women’s Studies

Gender and Women’s studies offers interdisciplinary courses on women and gender that encourage students to develop the practical, theoretical, communications and organizational skills to think, write and act critically and creatively. Students will gain the skills necessary to conduct research and transform the knowledge gained into any future career they may choose, including an ongoing career as a graduate student. Our interdisciplinary courses explore relations of power in the lives of individuals, groups and cultures in a multiplicity of settings and sites locally and transnationally. The rich, interdisciplinary feminist scholarship in gender and women’s studies pushes students to interrogate constructions and intersections of gender, race, class, age, ability and sexuality in daily life, popular culture, the arts, the sciences, politics, society, the economy etc. We encourage students to engage individually and collectively in the transformative processes of feminist scholarship, practices and politics.

The School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies unites academic resources at York University in gender and women’s studies and sexuality studies, bringing together the undergraduate and graduate programs, the non-credit Bridging program and the Centre for Feminist Research. Courses may be taken in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies or at Glendon College and in English or in French.

The undergraduate gender and women's studies curriculum is built around three different kinds of courses.

Required Courses

AP/GL/GWST 2500 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 2950 6.00) or AP/GL/GWST 2510 9.00 (cross-listed to: AP/HUMA 2930 9.00, AP/SOSC 2180 9.00): required for all gender and women’s studies majors (Note: for purposes of meeting program requirements, all nine-credit general education (foundation) courses will count as six credits towards the major);
AP/GL/GWST 3555 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 3556 6.00: required for all gender and women’s studies majors;
AP/GL/GWST 4555 6.00: required for all gender and women’s studies majors in an Honours BA program.

Core Courses

The core courses are offered by the Gender and Women’s Studies program and, like the required courses, have the second digit five (5) in the course number, e.g. GWST 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 Gender and Women's Studies courses 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 gender and women;
be taught from feminist perspectives;
be interdisciplinary;
address the intersections of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual identity and gender;
acknowledge the different perspectives on gender and women in a global context;
explicitly identify the critical skills to be developed in the course.

Non-Core Courses

Non-core courses (courses offered by other teaching units may be accepted for program credit or cross-listed with the Gender and Women’s Studies program. These courses will count towards the major requirements in Gender and Women’s Studies. For those available each year, please consult the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies website.

Program Requirements

Specialized Honours BA: 120 Credits

Major credits: students must complete at least 54 credits in gender and women’s studies, including:

AP/GL/GWST 2500 6.00 (cross-listed to: GL/SOSC 2950 6.00) or AP/GL/GWST 2510 9.00 (cross-listed to: AP/HUMA 2930 9.00, AP/SOSC 2180 9.00);
AP/GL/GWST 3555 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 3556 6.00;
AP/GL/GWST 4555 6.00;
at least 18 additional credits from the core gender and women’s studies course offerings;
at least 12 credits in gender and women’s studies at the 4000 level.

General education requirement*: every student in the college shall complete the equivalent of at least six credits in each of three of the four general education divisions (for a total of 18 credits): humanities, modes of reasoning, natural science, social science.

Bilingual requirement*: all students admitted to Glendon must satisfy the bilingual requirement. In order to do so, students must successfully complete six credits in each official language (French and English) at Glendon from the following two categories:

courses at the second-year level and above in French as a second language and/or in English as a second language;
courses in any discipline which are designated as satisfying the bilingual requirement.

Upper-level credits*: at least 36 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000 level. This includes the 3000 and 4000 level credits in the major listed above (under major credits).

Credits outside the major*: at least 18 credits.

Residency requirement: a minimum of 30 credits at York and at least half (50 per cent) of the course credits required in each undergraduate degree program major/minor must be taken at Glendon.

Graduation requirement: students must successfully complete (pass) at least 120 credits which meet the Faculty's degree and program requirements with a cumulative grade point average of at least 5.00 (C+).

*Note: please refer to the Rules and Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar for detailed requirement information.

Specialized Honours iBA: 120 Credits

Major credits: students must complete at least 54 credits in gender and women’s studies, including:

AP/GL/GWST 2500 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 2510 9.00;
AP/GL/GWST 3555 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 3556 6.00;
AP/GL/GWST 4555 6.00;
at least 18 additional credits from the core gender and women’s studies course offerings;
at least 12 credits in gender and women’s studies at the 4000 level.

Courses taken to fulfill the major requirements may also be used to fulfill the iBA requirements.

Bilingual/trilingual requirement*: for the bilingual iBA, students must complete at least 18 credits in each official language (English and French). At least 6 of these credits must be completed at Glendon from the following two categories:

French as a second language and/or in English as a second language at the 2000 level or above;
discipline courses which are designated as satisfying the bilingual requirement.

The remaining 12 credits in either official language may be completed abroad.

For the iBA trilingual, in addition to the above 18 credits in each official language (English and French), students must complete 18 credits in Hispanic studies (including: GL/SP 3000 6.00) or six credits of an advanced-level course in Hispanic studies) or 18 credits in a modern language (including an advanced-level course) at York University.

Internationally-oriented course requirement*: at least 12 credits of internationally-oriented courses.

Exchange requirement*: at least one full term abroad as a full-time student at an institution with which Glendon and/or York has a formal exchange agreement.

Credits outside the major*: at least 18 credits.

Residency requirement: a minimum of 30 credits at York and at least half (50 per cent) of the course credits required in each undergraduate degree program major/minor must be taken at Glendon.

*Note: please refer to the Rules and Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar for detailed requirement information.

Honours BA: 120 Credits

Major credits: students must complete at least 42 credits in gender and women’s studies, including:

AP/GL/GWST 2500 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 2510 9.00;
AP/GL/GWST 3555 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 3556 6.00;
AP/GL/GWST 4555 6.00;
at least 18 additional credits from the core gender and women’s studies course offerings;
at least 12 credits in gender and women’s studies at the 4000 level.

courses at the second-year level and above in French as a second language and/or in English as a second language;
courses in any discipline which are designated as satisfying the bilingual requirement.

Credits outside the major*: at least 18 credits.

Residency requirement: a minimum of 30 credits at York and at least half (50 per cent) of the course credits required in each undergraduate degree program major/minor must be taken at Glendon.

*Note: please refer to the Rules and Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar for detailed requirement information.

Honours iBA: 120 Credits

Major credits: students must complete at least 42 credits in gender and women’s studies, including:

AP/GL/GWST 2500 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 2510 9.00;
AP/GL/GWST 3555 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 3556 6.00;
AP/GL/GWST 4555 6.00;
at least 18 additional credits from the core gender and women’s studies course offerings;
at least 12 credits in gender and women’s studies at the 4000 level.

Courses taken to fulfill the major requirements may also be used to fulfill the iBA requirements.

French as a second language and/or in English as a second language at the 2000 level or above;
discipline courses which are designated as satisfying the bilingual requirement.

The remaining 12 credits in either official language may be completed abroad.

Internationally-oriented course requirement*: at least 12 credits of internationally-oriented courses.

Exchange requirement*: at least one full term abroad as a full-time student at an institution with which Glendon and/or York has a formal exchange agreement.

Credits outside the major*: at least 18 credits.

Residency requirement: a minimum of 30 credits at York and at least half (50 per cent) of the course credits required in each undergraduate degree program major/minor must be taken at Glendon.

*Note: please refer to the Rules and Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar for detailed requirement information.

Honours Double Major BA

The Honours BA program described above may be pursued jointly with any other Honours BA degree program offered at Glendon. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours BA programs.

Honours Double Major iBA

The Honours iBA program described above may be pursued jointly with any other Honours iBA degree program offered at Glendon. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours iBA programs.

Honours Major/Minor BA

The Honours BA program described above may be pursued jointly with any Honours Minor BA program offered at Glendon. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours Minor programs.

Honours Major/Minor iBA

The Honours iBA program described above may be pursued jointly with any Honours Minor BA program offered at Glendon. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours Minor programs.

Honours Minor BA

The Honours Minor must be pursued jointly with any approved Honours BA or iBA program which offers a major/minor option at Glendon. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours BA and iBA programs.

Minor credits: Students must complete at least 30 credits in gender and women’s studies including:

AP/GL/GWST 2500 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 2510 9.00;
12 additional credits from the core gender and women's studies course offerings;
12 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level, including six credits at the 4000 level.

Bachelor of Arts: 90 Credits

Major credits: students must complete at least 30 credits in gender and women’s studies including:

AP/GL/GWST 2500 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 2510 9.00;
AP/GL/GWST 3555 6.00 or AP/GL/GWST 3556 6.00;
at least 12 additional credits from the core gender and women's studies course offerings;
at least six credits in the major must be at the 3000 or 4000 level.

courses at the second-year level and above in French as a second language and/or in English as a second language;
courses in any discipline which are designated as satisfying the bilingual requirement.

Upper-level credits*: at least 18 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level. This includes the 3000 and 4000 level credits in the major listed above (under major credits).

Credits outside the major*: at least 18 credits.

Residency requirement: a minimum of 30 credits at York and at least half (50 per cent) of the course credits required in each undergraduate degree program major/minor must be taken at Glendon.

Graduation requirement: students must successfully complete (pass) at least 90 credits which meet the Faculty's degree and program requirements with a cumulative grade point average of at least 4.00 (C).

*Note: please refer to the Rules and Regulations section of the Undergraduate Calendar for detailed requirement information.

Core Courses

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