At Howard Community College, Women's Studies courses are all cross-listed with other academic departments. The philosophy behind this is that Women's Studies represents a perspective, an approach rather than a body of content. Women's Studies begins with women and examines their lives, using the methods and focuses of other disciplines. For instance, Women's History begins with women rather than with existing categories of historical writing. History is traditionally chunked into periods; for Western Civilization these might include the rise of civilizations, the medieval period, the Renaissance and Reformation, the rise of the nation state, etc. Periodization in an American History textbook would include the Colonial Period, the Revolution, the Federal Period, The Civil War, etc. Instead of asking how women fitted into the Renaissance or Revolutionary period, Women's History begins with the lives of actual women and then seeks to discover how these historical subjects shaped and were shaped by the times in which they lived. As an example, historian Joan Kelly-Gadol realized that for wellborn women the Renaissance represented a tightening of restrictions, a narrowing of opportunities and freedom rather than the expansion typically described. Men of their class had a different experience. So, rather than beginning with history, or sociology, or literature, or art, or health, we begin with women. As we examine their experiences, we use the tools of a particular academic discipline to study them. All WMST history courses are cross-listed with the history department and may be taken for either Women's Studies [WMST] or history [HIST] credit. Women, Art, and Culture [WMST-193] may also be taken for Fine Arts [FINE] credit. Women, Gender, and Society [WMST-111] can also fulfill a sociology requirement [SOCI-193]. By and About Women [WMST/ENGL-212] may be taken for either Women's Studies or English credit. And, Women's Health [WMST-150] is also a health course [HEED-150].

All of our Women's Studies courses have been articulated with nearby four-year colleges and universities, usually under both the WMST and the departmental designation. Some examples of colleges and universities with whom we have existing articulation agreements include: University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland Baltimore County; University of Maryland Eastern Shore [UMES]; University of Maryland at Baltimore [UMAB]; University of Maryland, University College; Bowie State University; Coppin State College; Frostburg State University; Goucher College; Hood College; The John's Hopkins University School of Continuing Studies; Morgan State University; College of Notre Dame of Maryland; St. Mary's College of Maryland; Salisbury University; Towson University; University of Baltimore; Villa Julie College; Washington College; Western Maryland College. It is always strongly recommended that you check with the receiving institution to which you are planning to transfer to determine whether the WMST or discipline-specific designator version of the course [HIST, SOCI, ENGL, FINE, HEED] will fit better into your program. Another good resource is ARTSYS, which summarizes the current status of articulation agreements.

If you are pursuing a Women's Studies concentration within the Interdisciplinary Studies degree here at HCC, you might be interested in going on to major or minor in Women's Studies when you transfer. The following colleges and universities offer such possibilities:

• Goucher College offers a major and a minor in Women's Studies.
• University of Maryland, College Park offers B.A., M.A., and PhD programs in Women's Studies.
• UMBC now offers a BA Major, a Minor, a Certificate, and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Gender & Women’s Studies
• Towson University offers a major and minor as well as an applied Master of Science Degree and a graduate Certificate in Women's Studies. 
• University of Maryland, University College offers a minor and a certificate in Women's Studies.
• The Johns Hopkins University offers a minor in the Program for Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality as well as a post-baccalaureate program in Women, Leadership, and Change. 
• The College of Notre Dame of Maryland offers a concentration in Women and Social Deviance.