Five College Queer, Trans and Sexuality Studies Certificate Program
Five College Queer, Trans and Sexuality Studies Certificate Program
The Five College Queer, Trans and Sexuality Studies certificate provides an opportunity to pursue a course of study that examines critically the relationship between queer sexual and gender identities, experiences, cultures, and communities in a wide range of historical and political contexts. Working across disciplines, students will take courses in a variety of fields, such as Women’s and Gender Studies, Black Studies, Asian and Asian American Studies, Latin American Studies, Art and the History of Art, English, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Film and Media Studies, Law, and language studies. The certificate will also lead students to investigate how non-normative and normative genders and sexualities intersect with other social categories, such as race, ethnicity, gender, class, and nationality.
To obtain a Five College certificate in Queer, Trans, and Sexuality Studies, students must successfully complete a total of seven courses, with at least 21 credits. These courses should include:
- One intro/survey/topics/foundational course in queer/trans/sexuality studies
- One intro/survey/topics/foundational course in critical race/transnational studies
- Five courses that demonstrate study in more than one of the following areas: the Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Engineering
- At least one of these five courses is at the 300-level or above
For courses to count toward the certificate, they must have:
- Significant queer/trans/sexuality studies content through reading and/or writing (i.e., a student can do a term paper focused in queer/trans/sexuality studies to enable a course to count that otherwise would not have significant enough content)
- Sexuality studies courses are expected to challenge the assumption that heterosexuality is natural and normal and should not be using “gender” as shorthand for “women” or for “women and men” (i.e., not treating gender as a binary)
For 2022-23 the Amherst faculty advisor will be Professor Khary Polk of the Departments of Black Studies and Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies. More information is available at https://www.fivecolleges.edu/academics/queer-trans-and-sexuality-studies#certificate-requirements