Academics

Academic Advising is by appointment. Please speak with the WGSS academic advisor, Shawn Mallory, if you need more information about the major, minor, or any WGSS courses. 

You may declare your major on the Declare a CAS Major page.

A WGSS major is attractive to various employers in any number of fields, as well as to graduate and professional schools. The Undergraduate program in WGSS prepares students to work in a diverse range of fields through the extensive collaboration of faculty across the USF campus. Students are equipped with the reading, writing, research, and speaking skills necessary to communicate effectively in today's competitive job market. A major in WGSS not only offers insight into Women's Studies, but it also goes further to explore gender, race, class, and sexualities and how to champion these intersections in contemporary workplaces. The curriculum draws students into interdisciplinary analysis of specific gender practices in areas such as feminism in a transnational world, the politics of representation, feminist science studies, gender and justice, women and work, women and film, gender and health, and the politics of childhood. While the major focuses on the impact of cultural, educational, familial, institutional, and political influences upon women, it also explores the differences and similarities among women across races, classes, and ethnicities. A WGSS degree equips students, like you, with the confidence to stand out from the crowd and stand up for others.

• Participate knowledgeably in the affairs of the world around you, drawing upon understandings shaped through reading, writing, discussions, and lectures concerning the past, present, and future.
• See yourself and society from different outlooks and situations, displaying a sense of informed perspective and a mature view of human nature.
• Read and think critically, write and speak clearly and persuasively, and conduct research effectively.
• Exhibit sensitivities to human values in their own and other cultural traditions and, in turn, establish values of your own.
• Appreciate your natural and cultural environments.
• Respect scientific and technological developments and recognize gender’s impact on humankind.
• Understand the connections between gender and life.

• Make contact with your professors. They are interested in your academic development, and welcome your visits during their posted office hours.
• Please contact our academic advisor, Shawn Mallory, for specific questions about our undergraduate program.
• Consult the USF Undergraduate Catalog for admissions and program requirements for:
  • Women's, Gender Studies, and Sexuality Studies major
  • Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor
  • Queer and Sexuality Studies minor
• This degree has a foreign language exit requirement. This major accepts any foreign language offered at USF that has a two-semester sequence. If you have experience with a foreign language, including ASL, you will be required to take a placement exam at USF to determine your level and to see if you can test out of the courses. You are STRONGLY encouraged to complete this placement exam prior to or during orientation.
• All freshmen will have an AA hold placed on their account which prevents them from registering until they see an advisor. Once you have decided USF is the right place for you, make an appointment to see your advisor as soon as possible.
• Visit the College of Arts & Sciences information page for First-Year Students.

Here are some examples of occupations that USF WGSS undergraduate and graduate alumni have engaged in:
Lawyer, Career Counselor, Health Educator, Community Organizer, Victim Advocate, Case Manager, Non-Profit Director, Librarian, Deaconess, Family Services Director, Video Game Writer, Diversity Trainer, Journalist, Artist, Legal Advocate Advisor, International Aid Worker, Campaign Organizer, Grant Writer, Teacher.

These are just a few of the possibilities available. In order to teach Women’s & Gender Studies or Social Studies at the secondary grade-school level, you will need to take additional courses in the College of Education or pursue alternative teaching certification.

See examples of what WGSS alumni have done with their degrees.

Courses that require a permit are noted on the class schedule search. To receive a permit to register please e-mail Shawn Mallory (undergraduate) or Dr. Michelle Hughes Miller (graduate) with the appropriate information to request the permit (e.g. the title of the course, the CRN, permission from the professor, etc.). A permit is an electronic approval that indicates to Student Self-Service that a student may register for a course. When the computer cannot recognize a pre-requisite (such as a course from an out-of-state or 2-year institution) on a student's record, he/she cannot register for those courses. The permit will allow the student to register for those courses. You should check your Student Self-Service account to see if a permit has been approved for you.

Please speak with the WGS academic advisor, Shawn Mallory.

The following are typical hold codes you will encounter:

• OB means a remedial course is required
• CC means Cash Collections. You owe money to USF. It could be past due tuition, parking fines or library fines.
• IM means you have not turned in your immunization forms to Student Health Services. Their phone number is 813-974-2331.
• AA means that you are required to meet with an academic advisor.
• AP means that you are on academic probation and must meet with academic advisor.
• GD means that you have not completed 1 or more of the Life Skills Modules. Please visit the Blackboard Freshman Student’s Group to check your grade and see the modules needing completion.

Contact the undergraduate advisor Shawn Mallory. Not all forms require an advisor’s signature. Many forms may be obtained on the Registrar’s Office website, listed under Forms on the right hand side of the page.

• Cross enrollment/Transient Student Forms - If you are taking any non-Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies course at another school, information for these forms can be found here.
• Graduation Application - This form is now done completely online through Student Self-Service.
• Grade forgiveness - Students should submit the grade forgiveness form to the Registrar’s Office when the new grade is posted.
• ARC Petitions for late drop/add and Instructor’s Documentation forms - Once a student has the petition and instructor forms completed and signed, the student must obtain a departmental stamp from the department offering the course for a late add. Completed ARC petitions should be scanned and saved to a single Adobe PDF document and emailed to the College of Arts and Sciences.
• Time conflict - Complete the Time Conflict form online after reviewing the policy and determining eligibility.

No. If you are an undergraduate, please email your question to Shawn Mallory, our undergraduate advisor. If your question is too complicated, you may be asked to schedule an appointment.

If you are a graduate student, please email your question to Dr. Michelle Hughes Miller. If your question is too complicated, you may be asked to schedule an appointment. 

There are two reasons that a class would not appear on the schedule search:

• The class is closed.
• The class is not being offered that semester.

If a class that you need is closed, you can periodically check on the Student Self-Service class schedule search for an open seat. Someone is always dropping out for various reasons. If that doesn’t work you can always go to that class on the first day and try to get a seat. As first day attendance is mandatory for undergraduates, anyone not attending will be automatically dropped from the class rolls.

Cross-enrollment means that you are simultaneously enrolled in at least 6 hours at USF and any number of hours at another institution. Transient study means you are attending another institution besides USF for an entire semester (you are not enrolled in any courses at USF while at the other institution). The forms for cross-enrollment and transient study are on the College of Arts and Sciences forms page.

You apply for graduation completely online through your Student Self-Service account. Please be sure to apply to graduate prior to the deadline on the Commencement website.

Successfully complete your last semester! Don't forget to register for the commencement. There you will learn where and when the ceremony will be held, how to purchase your cap and gown, etc.

The time requirement for the internship program varies based on the number of credit hours you select for WST 4940 Internship in Women’s & Gender Studies (1-3 credits) and the agreement among the Student Intern, the Community Partner, and Dr. Wendland. Some internships will have flexible scheduling and others may require schedules to be set more rigidly.

Generally, a 3-credit internship requires a total of about 135 hours of internship effort over the entire semester, including any required trainings and orientations, while a 2-credit internship requires about 90 hours.

Working closely with Dr. Wendland, you’ll be matched with a Community Partner Organization that is aligned with your particular interests, career goals, and skill sets and that fits any limitations you might face (e.g., transportation, family obligations, course schedule, etc). While some internship options are already in place, if you have a specific organization with which you’d like to intern, contact Dr. Wendland with information about your desired placement site – name, location, purpose and work of the agency, the agency website as well as the name and email/phone for a specific contact person. Although specific requests may not always fit the internship program guidelines, Dr. Wendland is happy to work with you to design an internship experience that fits your needs. (You may only intern with organizations and agencies that have completed the Community Partner Organization process and been approved by Dr. Wendland, so please being this process as early as possible before you’d like to begin your internship.)

To great degree, your internship experience depends on… YOU! But previous WGSS interns report that they have had the chance to do some or all of the following:

• Connect their coursework in gender and women's studies to specific issues in community settings.
• Engage deeply in feminist-based work and reflection
• Contribute to the community in meaningful ways
• Earn course credit for resume-building experience
• Learn valuable skills from specific computer programs to interpersonal relations to becoming certified in CPR or as a sexual assault counselor
• Encounter people from different backgrounds and points of view
• Not only learn but teach
• Clarify career goals
• Network, making not only valuable contacts but also new friends and colleagues
• Change the world
• Develop job search and interview skills
• Explore diverse career options and interests
• Develop or enhance professional skills and knowledge of workplace procedures
• Develop networking contacts with professionals in a relevant field
• Enhance professional résumés through on-the-job experience
• Develop teamwork and leadership skills
• Apply classroom learning to authentic work experience

Do you have questions? Would you like to learn more? Email Dr. Milton Wendland.