LGBTQ Studies, Certificate

(Code 485-602)

For advising, contact the Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department.

The Certificate in LGBTQ Studies provides students with a flexible option for completing a concentration in LGBTQ issues, and for formally denoting on their transcript this area of expertise in their academic training.

Currently enrolled degree-seeking students in good standing in the university and University Special Students will be eligible to complete the certificate in LGBTQ Studies.

Students are required to take a minimum of 15 credits, including:
WGSS 100Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies3
WGSS 206Perspectives in LGBTQ Studies3
WGSS 406Queer Theories and Sexual Politics3
The remaining 6 credits are to be selected from:6
Cultural Rhetorics (only when offered as Queer Rhetorics)
Gender and Power
Sociology of Sexualities
Topics in LGBTQ Studies
Gender, Sex, and Science in European History
Psychology of Women
Transgender Activism and Cultural Production
Black Feminist and Black Queer Studies
Special topics, internships, and umbrella courses with a focus on LGBTQ and/or sexualities issues may be applied to the certificate with approval of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program Director.

Note 1: Courses cannot be counted in both the major and the certificate program.

Note 2: Though there are no prerequisites for the Certificate in LGBTQ Studies, there may be prerequisites for some of the courses that are a part of the Certificate.

Program Learning Outcomes 

Students completing this program will be expected to meet the following learning outcomes:

  • Will develop an understanding of theories regarding the social construction of gender and sexual identities, the historical treatment of gender and sexual nonconformity from the colonial period onward, LGBTQ liberation movements (1950s-present), and contemporary LGBTQ issues (2002-to the present).
  • Effectively articulate queer and transgender theories and perspectives.