Frequently Asked Questions

While the minor degree is only available to undergraduate students, the certificate program is open to everyone (including undergraduate who don’t want to earn a minor). So a person can earn a certificate in Gender and Sexuality studies at any time. To earn the certificate, you enroll in courses through Open University (via the College of Extended Learning). Once you complete the courses for the certificate (see the GSS webpage for the list of optional courses), you apply for the certificate through the Registrar here on campus.

Prior to enrollment/registration, the student identifies a community organization doing work in the area of gender and/or sexuality. The student then meets with a member of the organization to discuss what type of work the student might do for/with the organization. If the organization agrees, the organization and the student outline a scope of work/duties equating to a minimum of 120 hours (for four units) completed by the 9th week of the quarter. The details of the contract between the student and the organization are outlined using the Independent Study Contract (available from the program coordinator Dr. Jennings). The contract must be signed and completed in order to get approval to enroll for internship units. Once the conditions of the internship contract are met, the person from the organization assigned as the student's supervisor will complete an evaluation of the student for purposes of assigning a credit/not credit grade.

Prior to enrollment/registration, the student meets with a prospective faculty member who has expertise in the area of interest to the student (it may be any faculty member at CSUSB). During this meeting the student proposes a project or research paper focused on some aspect of gender and sexuality studies. The student and the faculty member then complete an Independent Study Contract (available from the program coordinator Dr. Jennings) outlining the nature of the work to be done and the due dates for completion. The contract is then signed by both parties and approved by the coordinator of the GSS program (Jennings). In order to enroll in the independent study course, the student contacts the Office of Teaching and Foundations (School of Education) who enables the student to enroll in the class once the contract has been approved by the coordinator (Jennings). Once the project is complete, the letter grade is assigned by the independent study faculty member.