About our programs

This list includes the thirty-three schools that represent our GWSS training and institutional homes^[1]

American University ~ Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: WGSS is an interdisciplinary program encompassing feminist, masculinity, and sexuality studies. The program is committed to a multicultural curriculum that sustains and integrates diverse perspectives. WGSS courses emphasize participatory education in which student involvement, critical thinking, and personal insight are encouraged and made relevant in the learning process. WGSS students gain experience off-campus in the nation’s capital through an internship placement in an organization or agency whose mission embraces some aspect of women’s/gender/sexuality studies. AU has a major and two minors: WGS and Sexuality & Queer Studies, and Graduate Certificate.

Augusta University ~ Women’s and Gender Studies: “The Augusta University Women’s and Gender Studies program was established in 1998. In addition to a thriving interdisciplinary minor, the program participates in a variety of co-curricular programming efforts on campus and in the community. …. Women’s and gender studies is defined by what is taught, how questions are asked and explored, and often, how the subject is taught.”

Clark Atlanta University ~ Africana Women’s Studies: Founded in 1982, the AWS Program is the only degree-granting Africana Women’s Studies program located in an historically black college in the US, the only women’s studies program in the US which offers the doctoral degree in Africana Women’s Studies, and the only Africana Women’s Studies program in the world. AWS provides opportunities for the systematic analysis of the convergence of gender, class, racial, and sexual bias. It primarily focuses on the comparative examination of the contributions, problems, strategies and concerns of women throughout the African diaspora.

College of Charleston ~ Women’s & Gender Studies: “Our program explores the intersections of gender, class, race, ethnicity, age, religion, ability, and sexuality. Through the College of Charleston’s Women’s and Gender Studies minor or major, you will be able to devote yourself to the study of women and gender in different cultures, contexts, and time periods. We discuss complex cultural issues—from historical to contemporary controversies—and teach students to think on their feet and develop a range of analytical approaches.”

College of Southern Nevada ~ Women’s Studies: CSN is the largest college in Nevada, serving 40,000 students across three campuses and is considered a Hispanic serving institution. CSN has offered an Associates of Arts degree in Women’s Studies since 2004. Classes are taught by faculty from different departments as Women’s Studies does not have full-time faculty members. The interdisciplinary nature of Women’s Studies makes it a discipline in which faculty are enthusiastic about the application of the program and courses to other disciplines, and employment opportunities.

DePaul University ~ Women’s and Gender Studies: WGS  emphasizes feminist and social justice theory with focuses on agency, social responsibility, advocacy and activism. We help you understand the interconnectedness of systems and structures of gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ability, culture, religion and nation within broader historical, social, global, and transnational contexts. We provide opportunities for research and advocacy, community and campus engagement, leadership development, service learning and internships. We offer a major and minor, a BA/MA, an MA, a joint MSW/MA, and a four-course Graduate Certificate Program.

Emory University ~ Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies: The Department of WGSS at Emory University has helped to define the discipline of women’s studies in the United States. Home to the first women’s studies PhD program in the United States, which began in the fall of 1990, Emory’s WGSS program has close connections with organizations and people outside the academy, such as Rosalynn Carter at the Carter Center, and has service learning opportunities for undergraduate majors. It also has sustained relationships with other local women’s studies programs, especially Georgia State University and Spelman College.

Florida Atlantic University ~ Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies: The Center for Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Florida Atlantic University is the longest-running such program in the State of Florida with internationally known faculty across a wide range of disciplines. Our program prepares students to think critically about how gender and sexuality interact with politics, culture, ideologies, social structures, and economics, historically and globally. Our students see themselves as change agents making a difference in their own lives, in their organizations, in their communities, and around the world.

Georgia State University ~ Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: The Institute for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies has been chartered since 1994, although its history reaches back to the 1970s. Today, WGSS offers a cutting-edge academic program focusing on three areas: globalization, sexuality studies and social change. GSU offers a major or minor; an MA program with an interdisciplinary approach to the study of gender, sexuality, race and class, and a Graduate Certificate which has three interrelated areas of concentration: globalization, sexuality studies and social change.

Icesi University ~ Gender Studies Program: The Gender Studies Program at Universidad Icesi was created as a seminar associated to the Law and Social Sciences School in 2007 with the purpose of leading activist research and pedagogical work on gender and women’s studies. Although it does not offer a major, the program’s associated faculty teach a variety of elective courses on gender and intersectional perspectives to students throughout the University. It is also the incubator to an Observatory for Women’s Equality .

Marian University ~ Gender Studies:  Marian is a private, Catholic, liberal arts college in Indianapolis, Indiana committed to Franciscan (feminist) Values: Dignity of the Individual, Peace and Justice, Responsible Stewardship, and Reconciliation. The Sisters of St. Francis Oldenburg founded the university in 1937 to forward women’s education, and in 1954 Marian became the first co-ed Catholic college in Indiana. The minor in Gender Studies remains committed to social justice, gender equity, and rigorous academic inquiry though dynamic coursework, local internships, and multi-country study abroad programing.

Minnesota State University Moorhead ~ Women’s & Gender Studies: The Women’s & Gender Studies Program at MSUM provides multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary feminist approaches to understanding the impact of gender in all aspects of society. It was founded in 1971 and presently offers an undergraduate minor and major as well as an interdisciplinary Women and Science Certificate. The program builds on the goals of a liberal arts education with intention on making a feminist impact within the institution and the broader community.

Old Dominion University ~ Women’s Studies:  “We are committed to a social justice-based approach, and seek to bridge academic and community work. Our purpose is to provide undergraduate and graduate education that focuses on the intersection of knowledge and action. We reach out to local and global communities through a dedicated emphasis on service-learning, feminist dialogue across the university, and a range of public scholarship projects for students, faculty, and community members.”

Oregon State University ~ Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Our program was founded in 1972, originally as “Women Studies.” In 2012-2013, we renamed the program “Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies” to reflect our deepening commitment to queer studies and work on sexuality more broadly, as well as scholarship regarding gender constructions and processes, and critical men and masculinity studies. We offer a PhD, an MA, and a BA as well as minors in WGSS and Queer Studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Purdue University ~ Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Originally Women’s Studies, WGSS at Purdue “seeks to produce, promote, and advance knowledge, scholarship, theory, research, pedagogy, education, and action” in the pursuit of feminist ideals of equity, justice, and sustainability. WGSS at Purdue offers students four options to explore the discipline: a major or minor in WGSS, a minor in LGBTQ Studies, or a graduate concentration.

San Diego State University ~ Women’s Studies: SDSU’s Women’s Studies program was the first in the nation. The Women’s Studies Department is now celebrating the 50th anniversary and continues to put a strong emphasis on feminist, queer, and intersectional theories and frameworks, as well as, creating spaces for activism to be a part of the curriculum. SDSU has a BA (major & minor), MA, and Certificate options.

San Francisco State University ~ Women and Gender Studies: Women and Gender Studies (originally Women’s Studies) at SFSU formally became a department in 1976.”Forged out of transformative activism and scholarship, the department uses interdisciplinary approaches and foregrounds transnational and intersectional relationships among gender, race, sexuality, nation, labor, technologies, and globalization. Our students engage in challenging academics, work closely with professors, and lead community initiatives.” SFSU has a major, minor, and blended BA/MA program.

Santiago Canyon College ~ Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies: The Santiago Canyon College Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies program offers an historically influenced, intersectional-focused curriculum to students desiring to learn of the systematic and institutionalized oppression of gender within major Western societies. With its interdisciplinary perspectives, the program takes on the great task of exposing students to the intersections of gender with race, class, sexual orientation and ethnicity, unearthing the complexities of ‘gender’ in the modern world.

Smith College ~ Program for the Study of Women and Gender: Founded in the early 1980s, Smith College’s undergraduate major in the Study of Women and Gender graduates 20-30 majors each year. Smith is home to the Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History, an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, archives, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women’s history. Our graduates are in a wide range of fields, including community and labor organizing, politics, law, healthcare, the creative arts, journalism, publishing, and education.

Spelman College ~ Comparative Women’s Studies: Spelman College is an historically Black college that serves women of African descent. Comparative Women’s Studies (CWS) is an integral part of the groundbreaking programs of the Women’s Research and Resource Center, which was created in 1981. A first among historically Black colleges, this unique interdisciplinary program places an emphasis on Black feminist theory, women’s health, Black queer studies, and activism.

State University at Albany ~ Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: The Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at UAlbany has been offering courses since 1971. The WGSS department at UAlbany teaches various classes that intersect with other fields while remaining committed to education about social justice and liberation. Through The Teaching Collective, WGSS offers both undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to practice feminist pedagogy in organizing and teaching Introduction to Feminisms to their peers. SUNY Albany offers a BA (major & minor), and various graduate options.

University of Alaska, Anchorage ~ Women’s Studies:  The WS Program at UAA started in 1986 due to the passionate “grassroots effort supported by faculty from all over the University of Alaska Anchorage.” Women’s Studies at UAA offers courses grounded in feminist theory and intersectional analysis while working closely with the university’s Alaskan Native Studies program to cultivate a curriculum ground in the region and its history. Graduates of the WSP regularly go on to pursue graduate studies in GWSS.

University of Ghana ~ Gender Studies: The Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy at the University of Ghana  was founded in 2006 and is the oldest center of gender studies in the country. Although it does not currently offer a major for students, it offers a core class in gender studies that all students at the university take in their second year of studies.

University of Kansas ~ Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Founded in 1972, KU’s Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies critically analyzes gender and sexuality from local and global perspectives. The department has five undergraduate programs including majors and minors in WGSS and Human Sexuality, along with a Certificate in Gender, Law & Policy. In 2011, WGSS launched the graduate program with opportunities to pursue a PhD, MA, and Graduate Certificate. The graduate program is known for its rigorous methods training and innovative scholarship in public policy, law, and history.

University of Maine ~ Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies: Founded as Women’s Studies in 1988 after over a decade of planning, the University of Maine Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program offers an undergraduate minor and major and an interdisciplinary graduate specialization. The program is grounded in exposing students to feminist, queer, and gender theory, and encourages students to get involved in experiences that allow them to apply theoretical concepts to social action through internships, community involvement, and courses focused on activism.

University of Maryland, Baltimore County ~ Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies: Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies at UMBC is an interdisciplinary field that investigates how gender and sexuality operate as organizing axes of social, cultural, economic, and political institutions, as well as in the everyday lives and cultural products of people who must live within them. Emphasizing the importance of historical and cross-cultural perspectives, GWST critically examines the intersections of gender and sexuality with other differences, including class, race, ethnicity, nationality, age, and ability to make visible structures of power that otherwise remain hidden.

University of Minnesota ~ Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies: Formed in 1973, UMN GWSS is an interdisciplinary training ground focused on diverse feminist theories and methods, decolonizing pedagogies and exploring the relationship between knowledge production and power. The doctoral program in Feminist Studies prepares scholars for advancing interdisciplinary feminist research. In addition to the PhD and the graduate minor in Feminist and Critical Sexuality Studies also offers a BA in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, and undergraduate minors in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Studies.

University of Missouri-Columbia ~ Women’s and Gender Studies: WGS is an interdisciplinary field that established gender, sexuality, race, class, and dis/ability as fundamental categories for understanding social structures, cultural norms, and power dynamics. … The WGST major strengthens critical thinking, writing and research skills; highlights multiple forms of knowledge and encourages students to think of themselves and others as citizens of a diverse world. Undergraduate major and minor and graduate minor.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ~ Women’s & Gender Studies: WGS began as a series of classes taught in 1976 during a time of social unrest. We are the oldest WGS  program in the Southeast. WGS grew from a small program with no permanent faculty to a vibrant department (established in 2012) with a broadly interdisciplinary faculty of nine. We offer a major and minor, a graduate certificate, and are home to the Sexuality Studies and Women in Science programs. WGS has 100 affiliated faculty across campus and teach over 120 cross-listed courses in twenty-seven departments.

University of Toledo ~ Women’s and Gender Studies: Women’s and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study focused on the contributions, experiences, history, and issues of women, both nationally and internationally. The discipline also examines the significance and consequences of gender as a cultural category that shapes the experiences and knowledge of individuals and communities. Women’s and Gender Studies is grounded in feminist and gender theories that re-conceptualize and re-contextualize ideas and experiences as well as knowledge and knowledge production. Major and minor available.

University of Washington Bothell ~ Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies: UWB feels like a liberal arts college, especially the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences which houses Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies. Faculty collaborate closely with our undergraduate students on everything from co-publishing, to co-teaching, to co-leading study abroads. Our program is relatively new: we launched in fall 2016 and are transnational and intersectional in focus, and dedicated to innovative, engaged, and community-based pedagogy. GWSS faculty won the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Mentoring Award the first three years it came into existence. We have a major and minor.

University of Washington Seattle ~ Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies:  The Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies was formed in 1970 as the Women Studies Program. Launched in 1998, our doctoral program in Feminist Studies also offers certificate programs in Feminist Studies and Sexuality and Queer Studies. All of our degree programs are organized around four foci: global identity formations; decolonizing empire; feminist knowledge production; building socio-political movements for change. Intersectional and transnational analyses are the hallmark of our curriculum and of our scholarship.

Wellesley College  ~ Women’s and Gender Studies: The Women’s and Gender Studies Department has been committed to teaching at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and difference since 1982. Women’s and Gender Studies examines how the lives of individual women and men are shaped by broader structural forces in both historical and contemporary contexts, for e.g., nation-building, globalization, economic developments, and the legal system. Women’s Studies continues to reflect in its curriculum and faculty research the constantly changing directions that multiple first and third world feminisms are taking today.