Key Allegheny Benefits

• Strong written communication skills, developed by research papers and the Senior Project.
• Exposure to a variety of disciplines, theories and investigative methods-excellent foundation for graduate school.
• Critical and analytical thinking skills.

Allegheny Distinctions

• Interdisciplinary program draws on resources of many college departments, permitting flexibility in course selection to accommodate the needs and interests of all students.
• Fully supported Senior Projects that prove to employers and graduate schools the ability to complete a major original assignment.
• Students are actively involved in shaping and guiding the development of the program.
• Individualized attention, close student-faculty relationships.
• Collaborative efforts with Women's Services, Athena House, and the Ophelia Project reflect the conviction that concerns of women should be addressed both in and out of the classroom.

Endorsements

• "Students in women's studies programs receive an enormous amount of individual attention, far more than they would receive in an ordinary major...The students also receive one or more integrative experiences during their courses that give a special flavor to their work not always found in more traditional subject areas." - Conclusions of a national study of women's studies programs produced for the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences
• "[Allegheny student interns] are responsible, reliable and very interested in learning." - Women's Services, Inc.

Facilities Strengths

• Over 200 computers in 16 campus locations are specifically designated for student use, enhancing teaching and learning in virtually every discipline. All students have free access to the Internet, and all residence hall rooms are wired for direct Internet connection.
• Pelletier Library has over 626,000 volumes and is a U.S. Government and Pennsylvania State documents depository (containing over 190,000 documents).

Student Research and Special Projects

Every Alleghenian completes a Senior Project in the major field-a significant piece of original work, designed by each student under the guidance of a faculty advisor, that demonstrates to employers and graduate schools the ability to complete a major assignment, to work independently, to analyze and synthesize information, and to write and speak persuasively. Some examples:

• "Conceptualizing the Margin: A Critique of Mainstream Development Theory and Alternative Development Practice Through a Critical Analysis of Rural Development Projects in Kerala, India"
• "Grace, Guts and the Pursuit of Gold: American Women Athletes and their Involvement with the Olympic Movement from the 1970s to the Present "
• "Mannish Maidens and Hermaphroditic Spinsters: Pathologizing Lesbianism in 20th - Century America"
• "Black Women and Hip Hop"
• "A History of Midwifery in the United States"
• "The Portrayal of Motherhood and Sexuality in Kate Chopin's The Awakening"
• "Marching to the Beat of a Different Drummer: Women Musicians, Gender Sterotypes "