2026-2027 College Catalog
Gender & Women's Studies Certificate (GWSC)
Type: Career, Certificate (C1)
Open Admissions
Division: Liberal Studies
The Gender & Women’s Studies Certificate provides a platform for students to study how the social construction of gender intersects with other identities in relation to systems of power and privilege. This interdisciplinary certificate provides a focus for students interested in gender and women’s studies within the framework of the traditional skills and content of a liberal arts education. The Gender & Women’s Studies certificate provides students with a professional credential for industries where equity & inclusion work is valued. The Gender & Women’s Studies certificate is also a primer for students interested in social justice activism.
If you have questions related to program admissions or applications, please contact
info@northshore.edu or call 978-762-4188
.
First Year
Fall
| GWS104 | Introduction to Gender and Women's Studies | 3 |
| ANT102 | Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| OR | |
| SOC106 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| DIR-ELECTIVE-Directed-Elective-3 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9 |
Spring
| GWS201 | Masculinities | 3 |
| PSY200 | Psychology of Gender and Women | 3 |
| OR | |
| SOC202 | Race, Gender, and Class | 3 |
| GWS Elective 3 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 9 |
Program Note
Communication and Mathematics proficiency required to graduate.
See guided pathway sheets for advising notes specific to your area of focus.
Directed Elective: Choose one of the following: ANT102 Cultural Anthropology, Any GWS course, HIS136 History of Sexuality, HIS124 African‐American History, IDS102 IDS Seminar,
IDS136 Martin & Malcolm, IDS190 Keeping Score: Cultures of Sport, LIT214 Literature of the American Peoples I: American Indian Literature, LIT216 Literature of the American Peoples II: Latin American Literature, MDA201 Media Studies, PSY142 Human Sexual Behavior, PSY200 Psychology of Women & Gender, SOC106 Intro to Sociology, SOC202 Race, Class, and Gender.
Gender & Women's Studies (GWS) Elective: Choose one of the following: GWS106 Revolutionary Women: Combating Inequality, Poverty, and Power, GWS102Intro to GLBTQ Studies, GWS203 Politics of the Veil, GWS205 Women and War
Total Credit Hours: 18
Program Student Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an understanding of the categories of sex, gender, race, disability, and class as they apply to the social construction of reality;
- Demonstrate through written and verbal communications a familiarity with the language and terminology of the discipline;
- Articulate the relationship between categories of sex, gender and issues of social justice;
- Explain shifting definitions of sex and gender;
- Demonstrate familiarity with women’s contributions to culture, history, politics, etc.;
- Demonstrate familiarity with key periods in the historical and political struggle for women’s and gender equality;
- Apply critical feminist analysis to knowledge across the disciplines