Undergraduate Program in Women's and Gender Studies
What is Women's and Gender Studies?
We are a multidisciplinary program housed in the College of Arts and Sciences that offers a well-established undergraduate major and minor, as well as a minor in LGBTQ/Sexuality Studies.
Central to our program is the study of women, in all their diversity and through a variety of disciplinary lenses. We therefore study women's contributions as writers and scholars, artists and activists, public figures and private citizens, both in the past and in the present.
Central also is the study gender more broadly, which means we analyze the construction of feminine and masculine identities (across time and cultures) and assess in turn the ways in which gender signifies what one scholar has described as “relationships of power.”
With course offerings from more than twenty academic disciplines Women's and Gender Studies introduces students to exciting ideas, dynamic professors and classmates, as well as feminist thought and perspectives in small, collaborative communities of learning.
Why get a degree in Women's and Gender Studies?
A degree in Women's and Gender Studies offers an interesting, interdisciplinary program of study in a vibrant field that is on the cutting edge of scholarly inquiry. Recent graduates now hold positions as lawyers, counselors, and teachers; others are pursuing MA's and PhD's in a wide range of disciplines; still more are obtaining law and medical school degrees. Many of our students also combine a major in Women's Studies with a major in another field, such as English or Sociology, earning valuable interdisciplinary training, appealing to employers and higher education programs alike. A degree in this field of study allows you to:
learn about the lives of women and analyze the social, political, economic, and educational structures that influence their lives,
critically examine how gender and sexuality are constructed and defined,
gain a wider perspective about current social and academic debates,
take courses from a wide range of disciplines,
develop finely tuned skills in reading, writing, and analysis.
Contact Women's and Gender Studies advisors Margaret Jacobs and Rose Holz for more information on the WGS major or minor or contact LGBTQ/Sexuality Studies Advisors Barbara DiBernard and Rose Holz for information on that minor.
