The Department of African American Studies  is committed to providing students with critical and multidimensional scholarship, teaching, and community service based on Black feminist ideologies and concepts. The Black Women’s Studies minor explores, examines, and engages the intellectual traditions connected to the cultural, historical, philosophical, and social perspectives of the lived experience at the nexus of Blackness and womanhood; topics covered within the minor are interdisciplinary in nature. The minor emphasizes the significance of understanding power and political structures of power through the intersections of race and womanhood. Students will acquire skills in critical thinking, cultivation of dialogue, research development, and contribution to social change based on Black feminist ideologies and concepts. The coursework in the minor focuses on integrating academic and experiential scholarship, teaching, and learning.

University Graduation Requirements

To be awarded a minor, at least 12 units of coursework must be completely distinct and separate from the coursework in the major, and coursework for the minor must include a minimum of 6 upper-division units (University Policy S16-4). Minor preparation or support courses do not count toward the 12 distinct units. Of the coursework for the minor, at least 6 units must be completed in residence at SJSU. The minimum aggregate GPA for all coursework required for the minor must be at least 2.0.