Program Requirements

2024-2025 Academic Year

Undergraduate Academic Calendar information header

Chair – Maki Motapanyane, BA (UNB), MA (Dalhousie), PhD (York), Associate Professor

Admission Requirements

Review sections 2.1.4 Admission Requirements and 2.1.6 Additional Admission Requirements.

Any student wishing to take a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies should consult with the Women’s Studies Department.

Students may count courses from a major, concentration and/or minor towards a second major, concentration and/or minor; however, students must complete a minimum of 50 percent of unique courses toward the second major, concentration and/or minor, unless otherwise stated in the Undergraduate Academic Calendar.

The degree with a major is intended for those students with a clearly focused interest who wish to gain knowledge in depth of a single discipline.

Students intending to complete the major degree must declare their intention to do so before registering for their sixth unit of coursework. Students who do not make this declaration within this time frame will not be permitted to register for further coursework.

Any student wishing to take a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies should consult with the Women’s Studies Department.

The Mount also offers a limited enrollment internship option.

Students must successfully complete 20.0 units with the following requirements:

❏ a minimum of 8.0 and a maximum of 10.0 units in the major as follows:

  • WOMS 1110
  • WOMS 1112
  • WOMS 3309 or 3310
  • WOMS 3311 or 3312
  • WOMS 4411 or 4412
  • 5.5 units of WOMS or departmental Women-Emphasis courses, including at least 0.5 unit from each of two different departments, and at least 2.5 units taken at the 3000 level or above
  • a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 in the required 8.0 units of WOMS

❏ a minor consisting of 3.0 units as specified by the department offering the minor. Students must achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the required 3.0 units

❏ students may choose a second 3.0 unit minor in any area that offers a minor

❏ 1.0 unit from each core group A, B, and C listed under the Bachelor of Arts (General Studies) (exclusive of the major):

  • Core A – Sciences & Mathematics (1.0 unit)
  • Core B – Social Sciences (1.0 unit)
  • Core C – Humanities (1.0 unit)

❏ at least 9.0 units must be at the 2000 level or above

Note: No more than 4.0 units from professional areas may be counted toward the degree. Courses included in the Applied Human Nutrition science minor will not be counted as professional electives.

Special Studies: Students may count a maximum of 4.0 units of directed/independent/research studies courses towards the degree, with no more than 2.0 units in any single discipline.

Major Certificate

Students who have graduated from Mount Saint Vincent University with a Bachelor of Arts General Studies degree may apply to do a major certificate. Students must fulfill the requirements for the major degree listed above.

The combined major degree is intended for those students who wish to gain in-depth knowledge of two disciplines. Students must declare a major or combined major before registering for their sixth unit of coursework. Students who do not make this declaration within this time frame will not be permitted to register for further coursework.

The Mount also offers a limited enrollment internship option.

Students must successfully complete 20.0 units. In order to complete a combined major in Women’s Studies, the following requirements must be met:

❏ a minimum of 6.0 units and a maximum of 8.0 units in the Women’s Studies combined major as follows:

  • WOMS 1110
  • WOMS 1112
  • WOMS 3309 or 3310
  • WOMS 3311 or 3312
  • WOMS 4411 or 4412
  • 2.5 additional units of WOMS or departmental Women-Emphasis courses at the 2000 level or above
  • 1.0 additional unit of WOMS or departmental Women-Emphasis courses at the 3000 level or above

❏ a second combined major specified by another program (Biology, Canadian Studies, Chemistry, Communication, Cultural Studies, Economics, English, Family Studies, French, Gerontology, History, Mathematics, Political Studies, Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology)

❏ a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 in the required 6.0 units of each combined major

❏ at least 5.0 units of the 12.0 units overall required for the combined majors must be at the 3000 level or above

❏ 1.0 unit from each core group A, B, and C listed under the Bachelor of Arts (General Studies) (inclusive of the majors):

  • Core A – Sciences & Mathematics (1.0 unit)
  • Core B – Social Sciences (1.0 unit)
  • Core C – Humanities (1.0 unit)

❏ at least 9.0 units of the total 20.0 units must be at the 2000 level or above

Note: No more than 4.0 units from professional areas may be counted toward the degree. Courses included in the Applied Human Nutrition science minor will not be counted as professional electives.

Students wishing to combine an arts major and a science major (e.g. Chemistry and English or Biology and Political Studies):

❏ must meet all of the requirements listed above

and

♦ to complete a BSc (Combined Major) primary science
discipline plus secondary arts discipline

❏ must complete a minimum 12.0 units of the total 20.0 units in science disciplines

♦ to complete a BA (Combined Major) primary arts discipline
plus secondary science discipline

❏ must complete a minimum 12.0 units of the total 20.0 units in arts disciplines

Any student wishing to take an honours Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies should consult with the Women’s Studies Department.

The Mount also offers a limited enrollment internship option.

Students must successfully complete 20.0 units with the following requirements:

❏ a minimum of 10.0 and a maximum of 12.0 units in the honours subject as follows:

  • WOMS 1110
  • WOMS 1112
  • WOMS 3309 or 3310
  • WOMS 3311 or 3312
  • WOMS 4411 or 4412
  • WOMS 4499
  • 6.5 units of WOMS or departmental Women-Emphasis courses, including at least 0.5 unit from each of two different departments, and at least 2.5 units taken at the 3000 level or above

❏ a minor consisting of 3.0 units as specified by the department. Students must achieve a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the required 3.0 units

❏ 1.0 unit from each core group A, B, and C listed under the Bachelor of Arts (General Studies) (exclusive of the honours subject):

  • Core A – Sciences & Mathematics (1.0 unit)
  • Core B – Social Sciences (1.0 unit)
  • Core C – Humanities (1.0 unit)

❏ obtain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a grade of at least C- in 10.0 units of the required WOMS honours courses

❏ achieve a minimum of B- in the honours thesis

❏ obtain an overall GPA of 3.0 or better in all courses counted for the degree beyond the first 5.0 units taken

Note: No more than 4.0 units from professional areas may be counted toward the degree. Courses included in the Applied Human Nutrition science minor will not be counted as professional electives.

Note: First-class honours will be awarded to students who maintain a GPA of 3.5 or better in 10.0 units in the honours subject and no grade below B- in all courses counted for the degree beyond the first 5.0 units taken.

Honours Certificate

Students who have graduated from Mount Saint Vincent University with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in women’s studies may apply to do an honours certificate. Students must fulfill the requirements for the honours degree listed above and meet the University regulations regarding honours certificates.

To obtain a concentration in Women’s Studies, students must fulfill the following requirements:

❏ WOMS 1110

❏ WOMS 1112

❏ 1.5 units of WOMS or departmental Women-Emphasis courses at the 2000 level or above

❏ 1.5 units of WOMS or departmental Women-Emphasis courses at the 3000 level. It is strongly recommended that 0.5 unit of WOMS 3309, 3310, 3311 or 3312 be taken

To obtain a minor in Women’s Studies, students must fulfill the following requirements:

❏ WOMS 1110

❏ WOMS 1112

❏ 2.0 additional units of WOMS or departmental Women-Emphasis courses, 1.0 unit of which must be at the 3000 level or above

To obtain a minor in Queer Studies, students must fulfill the following requirements:

❏ WOMS 1114

❏ 2.5 additional units chosen from ENGL 2207, ENGL 3311, FSGN 3552, SOAN 2520, SOAN 2550, SOAN 2570, SOAN/WOMS 3572, and ENGL/WOMS 4407/GWGS 6607

Other courses which focus on women and may be included in a women’s studies major are listed below. The departments providing women-emphasis courses also offer individual directed studies courses for advanced students; such courses may be tailored to suit the needs of students wishing to pursue women’s studies in a specific discipline at the 3000 or 4000 level. The course descriptions can be found under the departmental listings.

Cultural Studies
CULS 3302

English
ENGL 1155
ENGL 2242
ENGL 3363

French
FREN 3310

History
HIST 2207
HIST 2222
HIST 2234
HIST 3304
HIST 3305
HIST 3322

Philosophy
PHIL 3350

Religious Studies
RELS 2207
RELS 2208
RELS 3308

Academic Note: This web-based calendar information is applicable for the 2024-2025 academic year which runs from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025.

For information on previous years, please consult the University Academic Calendars web page.

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