Women, gender, and sexuality studies

Undergraduate Certificate
Online
delivery
$409 Based on current tuition rates. No additional charge for nonresident students. Does not include course materials and associated fees and expenses.†
per credit
4
start terms

Examine the use of feminist and anti-racist pedagogies as well as scholarship that contributes to social change and justice as you work to earn Oregon State University's Undergraduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies online.

As a means to challenge all forms of oppression, this program is centered on queer, transnational and women-of-color feminisms. Your courses will cover a variety of topics that deal with women and gender issues in society, history and culture. Built on a framework of creativity and collaboration, you’ll develop the knowledge to pursue careers in academia, community organizing, feminist nonprofits and many other professional areas.

Skills you’ll gain in OSU’s online women, gender, and sexuality studies certificate program

As a student in Oregon State’s online women, gender, and sexuality studies certificate program, you’ll gain the in-demand skills you need to stand out in the job market and level up your career. You’ll learn from expert Oregon State faculty who have real-world experience in the field.

  • Gender and science
  • Issues related to women of color
  • Feminism
  • Queer studies
  • Ecofeminism
  • Transgender issues
  • Feminist philosophy
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Program details

The WGSS undergraduate certificate is designed to facilitate a broad interdisciplinary study of gender and women's issues. It emphasizes the diversity of women's experiences through a focus on disciplinary-based knowledge about women's lives and relationships.

The women, gender, and sexuality studies certificate program is delivered online in partnership with Oregon State’s College of Liberal Arts.

Certificate requirements

A total of 27 quarter credits are required to earn your women, gender, and sexuality studies certificate. Curriculum details and certificate requirements are available on Oregon State’s academic catalog.

Additional program features

The WGSS certificate program includes a required internship that will give you experience working with a private, public or community agency or organization that aims to improve the status of women in society. You’ll work with an on-site internship mentor who guides your field experience in collaboration with the WGSS program’s internship coordinator.

State of Colorado: This program requires an internship. Although Oregon State University participates in the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA), due to Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act, we have limited authorization to offer programs that require internships in the state of Colorado. The Colorado internship site must provide workers’ compensation. In some cases, a proposed internship site may not provide workers’ compensation insurance and, as a result, is not available as an internship site. Please contact Shannon Riggs, associate vice provost for educational programs and learning innovation, with questions.

Depending on your educational background, you may need to complete additional coursework prior to enrolling in this program and taking the required certificate courses. We recommend that you evaluate this prior to applying for admission.

Once you complete the Undergraduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, you can apply the credits you earn directly toward Oregon State’s WGSS bachelor’s degree online.

If you plan to apply these credits toward a full degree, we encourage you to first contact the certificate program to learn about the degree requirements. Please note that acceptance into a certificate program does not guarantee acceptance into a full degree program.

Applying credits like this, an approach known as stacking, can help you build credentials over time and advance your career. It's also a great way to test a field of study through a series of courses before committing to a full degree program. For students like Ali Lanenga, stacking can make a journey to a degree feel more manageable.

You can gain highly specialized skills that are in demand by employers — and do it with less of a time and financial commitment — when you earn a microcredential online from Oregon State. Choose from a large and growing collection of these short-form offerings that can help you upskill quickly.