Women’s and Gender Studies
Online
BA
Program introduction and alerts
Earn your degree online at UMassD
Explore the lives, voices, histories, roles, and ideas of women. Learn how gender, together with race, class, and sexuality, affects all our lives.
Flexibly designed with part-time learners in mind, a bachelor's degree in Women's and Gender Studies (WGS) analyzes how gender structures societies past and present. You’ll study how it affects people at the individual and group levels and you’ll explore paths to achieve equality for all people.
Your studies will be interdisciplinary, combining core WGS courses with classes in fields such as political science, crime and justice studies, health and society, and history that are taught by WGS faculty or faculty affiliated with WGS.
With a degree in Women's and Gender Studies, you can pursue careers in advocacy, business, communications, education, family services, human resources, law, marketing and sales, nonprofit organizations, and politics.
Program curriculum and details
Transferring to UMassD
With our generous transfer policy, students with existing credits may transfer up to 90 credits from a regionally accredited institution.
The UMass Dartmouth Women’s and Gender Studies degree program requires students complete 120 credits to graduate.
Women’s and Gender Studies degree students combine core courses in WGS with additional courses in the following focus areas:
- Intersectional Gender Studies
- Politics, Justice, and Policy
- Cross-Cultural and Transnational Inquiry
- Politics of Cultural Representation
Within those concentrations, students learn to read analytically, write critically, and communicate effectively through argument, analysis, exposition, and oral presentation.
Sample Course Offerings
Examples of courses offered in the Women’s and Gender Studies program include (course offerings subject to change):
- Intro to Women's and Gender Studies
- Global Feminism
- Ecofeminism: Philosophy and Practice
- Women in World History
- Race, Gender, and Biomedicine
- Reproductive Rights and Health
- Global Women Writers
Graduates have a solid understanding of the role of diversity within the nation and the world, preparing them for a career in a variety of fields and graduate study including:
- Advocacy
- Journalism
- Law
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Education
- Politics
Course descriptions, schedules and requirements
Transfer Applicants
- Submit official transcripts from all accredited colleges or universities for which you enrolled in courses
Students coming directly from high school and/or with 0-11 college credits will be required to:
- have high school transcript sent to UMass Dartmouth
- have official SAT or ACT scores sent to UMass Dartmouth (only required for those applicants with a high school GPA under 3.0 and graduated from high school less than four years ago)
Students who complete high school through the GED/HiSET program will be required to:
- submit a copy of the GED/HiSET certificate from the state
- submit a copy of your GED/HiSET test record
- submit an official high school transcript
Customize your education and receive the help and guidance to finish as planned:
- Value and affordability of a UMass education
- Generous transfer policy
- One-on-one personal advising from enrollment through graduation
- Free online and in-person tutoring and writing center
UMass Dartmouth advanced degrees
- JD
- MBA
- MPP
Learning style: online
Online courses are taught by UMass Dartmouth faculty to provide high quality instruction and personal attention. Students have the flexibility to accommodate work and home responsibilities within the structure of defined assignment due dates. The majority of our online courses are taught asynchronously.
Accreditations and distinctions

UMassD is a Military Friendly School, with leading practices in the recruitment and retention of students with military experience. Learn more about veteran services and benefits at UMassD.