Declaring the GWS Minor
Gender and Women’s Studies is an illuminating complement to majors throughout the campus, from the natural sciences to the humanities and social sciences. Declaring the minor early on in the student’s college career is not required, but enables minors to be part of the GWS community throughout their time on campus. Students in the College of Letters & Science may complete one or more minors of their choice, normally in a field both academically and administratively distinct from their major.
To be admitted to the minor in Gender and Women’s Studies, students must complete one class from the following list of introductory courses: GWS 10, GWS 14, or LGBT 20AC. Once admitted, minors in Gender and Women’s Studies must complete one upper division requirement from the following list of core courses: GWS 101, GWS 102, GWS 104, or GWS 195. In addition, four upper division elective courses in GWS or LGBT are required. Minors are encouraged (not required) to use core courses that were not used to fulfill the core requirement to fulfill the upper division elective requirements.
Requirements
- A total of six (6) courses are required for the minor.
- All courses must be completed on a letter-graded basis.
- No more than one course can be used to satisfy both the minor and major requirements.
- All courses to satisfy the minor must be taken in the Gender and Women’s Studies Department.
- Students must achieve at least a C average (2.0) in the upper division courses to satisfy the minor.
- You must declare your minor with the GWS Undergraduate Adviser (UA) no later than the semester before your Expected Graduation Term (EGT). If the semester before EGT is fall or spring, the deadline is the last day of RRR week. If the semester before EGT is summer, the deadline is the final Friday of Summer Sessions.
- To declare, students must complete the Minor Worksheet and submit it to the (UA) in 608 Social Sciences Building.
- After completing ALL minor courses, fill out the Completion of L&S Minor form (obtain from L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising in 156 Dwinelle Hall or https://lsadvising.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/minor_form_2023.pdf) and submit it to the dept. UA.
- Students who did not declare the minor before their EGT may submit a Completion of L&S Minor Form after the fourth week of their EGT. This form will be used to both declare and determine completion of minor for students in their final term.