LGBTQ and Critical Sexuality Studies Minor

The minor in LGBTQ and Critical Sexuality Studies, offered through the University of Pittsburgh’s Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program, provides an interdisciplinary curriculum with key connections to a wide range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, nursing, social work, public health, education, art, literature, and the STEM fields. The minor offers students the opportunity to study the social, political, medical, and theoretical foundations of what we call sexuality. This minor is designed for students seeking credentials and specialization in LGBTQ and Critical Sexuality Studies from an intersectional and interdisciplinary perspective.
To enroll in the minor, contact the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Undergraduate Advisor (Frayda Cohen, frayda.cohen@pitt.edu) to complete the required paperwork. All enrolled students must meet at least once a year with the Undergraduate Advisor to update files and discuss what courses are needed to fulfill minor requirements.

The minor requires 18 credits for completion, detailed as follows:

Core courses; both courses are required

  •  GSWS 0230 Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
  •  GSWS 0550 Sex and Sexualities

Upper-level courses; choose one

  • GSWS 1170 Queer Theory
  • GSWS 1200 Transgender Studies
  • GSWS 1280 Transnational Sexual Politics

Note: The upper-level courses also appear in the elective course list. Students pursuing this minor may use one of the courses for the upper-level course requirement and either or both of the remaining courses for the elective course requirements. One course may not fulfill both requirements.

Elective courses; choose three

  • GSWS 0600 Global LGBTQ Literature
  • GSWS 0610 Queer and Feminist Media Art
  • GSWS 1200 Transgender Studies
  • GSWS 1170 Queer Theory
  • GSWS 1280 Transnational Sexual Politics
  • GSWS 1910 Capstone
  • ANTH 0768 Human Sexuality in Cross Cultural Perspective
  • COMMRC 1143 Knowledge, Power, and Desire
  • ENGFLM 1705 Queer Cinema
  • ENGLIT 0630 Sexuality and Representation
  • ENGLIT 0670 Queer and Transgender Literature
  • FR 0012 French Kiss
  • FR 1060 Gender, Sexuality, and French Thought
  • FR 1070 Gender and Sexuality in 21st-Century France
  • GER 1530 Weimar Culture
  • HIST 1026 States and Sex in the Americas
  • HIST 1692 LGBTQ in the USA, 1900-present
  • MUSIC 1396 Music in Society: Music and Queer Identity
  • PSY 1110 Psychological Aspects of Human Sexuality
  • RELGST 1405 Religion and Sexuality
  • SOC 0436 Social Aspects of Sexuality
  • SOC 1416 Sex, Gender, Sexuality and the Brain Sciences
  • SPAN 1423 Sexual Diversity in Latin American Literature and Culture

Grade Requirements: A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for the minor. Students must have a minimum 2.0 GPA in all GSWS courses required for this minor.

Satisfactory/No Credit Option: There is no limit to the number of courses that can be taken on the S/NC basis for this certificate.

Download a PDF of the Minor requirements