Gender, Sexuality, and Race Studies (GSRS) at PLU is an interdisciplinary major that requires three core courses (GSRS 201, 301, and 499), along with 24 hours of electives in at least four other departments. GSRS majors must complete a major or minor from any other program in the university. Courses from students’ other majors and minors count towards the GSRS major.

Degree Requirements

36 semester hours, including:

  • GSRS 201: (4 semester hours, offered every semester)
  • GSRS 301: (4 semester hours, offered every Fall semester)
  • GSRS 499: (4 semester hours, offered every Spring semester)
  • 24 additional semester hours:
    • must be selected from list of GSRS-approved courses (see list below);
    • must include at least 8 hours in the Gender and Sexuality (GS) distribution
    • must include at least 8 hours in the Critical Race Studies (CR) distribution
    • must include at least one of the following: HGST 200, LTST 241, or NAIS 250
    • must be selected from at least four departments or programs,
    • must be selected from at least two different divisions or schools; and
    • at least four of these courses must be at 300 or 400-level.

Courses from any discipline that are not on the approved list, for which at least 60% of the assignments center on women, feminism, gender, race, and/or sexuality, may also count for the GSRS major. This allows the integration of gender, sexuality, and race studies perspectives into courses that are not explicitly or entirely structured around those perspectives. Students should consult the GSRS studies chair about this option before the course begins (when possible) and provide syllabi and assignments to the GSRS Executive Committee for approval upon completion of the course.

Learning Outcomes

Students who take Gender, Sexuality, and Race Studies courses at PLU will learn how to:

  1. Understand the social construction of gender, sexuality, and race.
  2. Analyze systems of privilege and oppression.
  3. Assess the intersectional relationship between knowledge production, identities, and power.
  4. Communicate and collaborate across differences.
  5. Practice community-engaged scholarship and coalition building.
  6. Engage in critical imagining to envision alternative futures.