Undergraduate Program

The Minor in Women’s Studies offers students a range of courses forming a program with an interdisciplinary emphasis on women, the contributions they have made to society, and the effects of gender inequality.  The program provides opportunities to become acquainted with the scholarship that has developed during the last twenty-five years focusing on both the specifics of women’s lives and gender as a category of analysis.  Students will also have the opportunity to carry out an internship in a setting or agency that addresses issues related to women and gender.  Return

Required:

WMST 101: Women in the World: An introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Women’s Studies through global and multicultural perspectives.  It provides an overview of women through time, with attention to differences of gender, race, class, ethnicity.  This course establishes a foundation for further coursework in the Women’s Studies minor and other established courses.

In particular years, certain courses, such as ART 427, ENGL 314, FDSN 400, HLTH 450, MKTG 471, MUSC 491, and SOWK 480, may be designed to focus on the study of women or gender issues.  When such courses are available with this focus, they will be eligible for inclusion in the minor. In addition, special topics 490 courses and independent studies 498 courses focusing on women can, with approval, be used to fulfill electives, though not more than six of the fifteen elective hours may be 490 and/or 498 courses.  Return

Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill an internship in Women’s Studies as a capstone experience for the Minor.  Internship enrollments require the approval by the Women's Studies committee, junior status or higher, WMST 101 and one Women's Studies elective. For the internship, a student will be placed in an agency, department or program that advocates the betterment of women’s lives.  In this environment, the student will participate in ongoing functions, including training.  The student will also meet regularly with a faculty advisor to process the internship experience and to relate it to texts in women’s studies.   Return

The Center For Gender Studies

The Center for Gender Studies is located on the lower level of the house at 704 Clement Street.  The Center houses a small library of books and tapes about gender and women=s issues and a collection of papers from conferences on gender and women.  These resources are available for use by the university community.  It also maintains an extensive Web site, with links to sources of information about women and gender and to campus groups that are concerned with these issues.  The Web site address is: www.radford.edu/~gstudies.  The Center is a place of active research and scholarship on gender - much of it carried out by students.  The Center is directed by Dr. Hilary Lips, in concert with an interdisciplinary advisory board made up of faculty and students.  It works jointly with the Women=s Studies minor to sponsor programs on campus, and to promote scholarship on women. A limited number of research internships are available at the Center for students who wish to participate in the Center=s ongoing research projects.  In addition, the Center administers the Eleanor Kemp Memorial Award for Undergraduate Research, which is given each year to assist undergraduate students with the costs of doing research and/or presenting their findings at professional conferences.

Each year the Center sponsors the Radford University Student Research Conference on Gender, held in March or April. This interdisciplinary conference provides students from Radford University and other colleges and universities in the region with the opportunity to present their own work in the form of papers, workshops, performances and displays.  Each year it attracts interested students from all over the region.  This conference provides an excellent forum and learning environment for students interested in Women=s Studies.   Return

Financial Aid

Scholarship and loan funds are available through the Radford University Financial Aid Office.  For further information about work-study, work fellowships and other aid, contact:

Office of Financial Aid

Box 6905
Radford University
Radford, VA 24142
(540) 831-5408

Admission
Application for admission and requests for admission materials should be made to:

Director of Admissions
Box 6903
Radford University
Radford, VA 24142
(540) 831-5371
Toll-free (800) 890-4265
Email: ruadmiss@radford.edu
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