Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies

  • BA
  • Major
  • Minor
A woman wearing a white hijab sits, listening, in a classroom while two other women sit, listening, in the background.

Do you consider yourself a feminist? The Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies program is a perfect opportunity to expand your knowledge, analytical skills and understanding of the issues facing women both nationally and globally. It is a rich, interdisciplinary program that will engage you in rigorous intellectual study and invite you to develop a notion of citizenship that holds social justice at its core. 

The program will provide you with a knowledge of the history and evolution of feminist theory and practice. You will gain an understanding of the feminist debates that take place in a multitude of disciplines and the role that they play in broadening and restructuring other disciplines. The program places Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies within a cross-cultural context and will enhance your awareness of issues affecting women in different cultural, religious, ethnic, economic and class settings. 

Become empowered to participate in transforming repressive cultural and political practices and to use your knowledge to create a personal and communal agenda aimed at social change. The program will prepare you for postgraduate education and for careers in fields related to social services, education, psychology, communications and the media, the arts, law, health professions and community action work. 

See the curriculum.

Enhance Your Degree with a Minor

The Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies minor is an 18-credit interdisciplinary academic program open to students of any major. The minor requires three core courses:

  • Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
  • Inventing Feminism
  • Feminist Theory

For the remaining nine credits, you have a great deal of flexibility in choosing from courses in various academic departments, allowing you to either get a broad perspective of women’s studies or to specialize in an area such as women in literature or women in society. In consultation with the director of the Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies program, you will be able to work out a suitable course of study to meet the minor's requirements and to pursue your personal interests. See the curriculum.

Become Certified to Teach!

Earn your BA in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies together with certification to teach in grades K-6.

This program combines the required courses for the BA in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies with those required for Teacher Certification in grades K-6. To meet the approved requirements for certification, coursework is required in Health for Teacher Education, Mathematics, and Professional Sequence Requirements. 

Students who wish to pursue K-6 teacher certification in Elementary Education must apply and be admitted to the Teacher Education Program. Once admitted, students will be matriculated into the BA in Elementary Education program as a second major. 

Please visit the Teacher Education Program website for the required sequence of courses and other program requirements, guidelines and procedures. Students are advised to review the Teacher Education Program Handbook. 120 credits of coursework are required for the baccalaureate degree with a minimum 3.0 overall GPA. Major GPA requirements differ depending on field of study. Consult the Teacher Education Program Handbook for more information. See the curriculum.

students in classroom.

Combined Programs

A combined degree program enables undergraduate students to enroll in graduate courses in their senior year, which can be counted toward the completion of both their bachelor’s and master’s degree requirements. The ability to take these “swing courses” allows students to earn both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in a shortened period of time, typically within five years. Some combined programs also include teacher certification.

The Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies program offers the following combined programs:

  • BA in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies (Combined BA/MBA)
  • BA in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies with Teacher Certification in Elementary School Teacher in Grades K-6 (Combined BA/MAT K-6)

Career Opportunities

Nonprofit and Advocacy Work
Media and Communications Specialists

Human Resources and Diversity Consultants
Health Care and Public Health

Education and Research

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Undergraduate Admissions Office

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Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies (GSWS)

Get detailed information about the program itself—from curriculum and faculty expertise to research, internships and career outcomes. A representative from the department can explain how the program connects to your academic and professional goals.