Explore the lives, voices, histories, roles, and ideas of women. Learn how gender, together with race, class, and sexuality, affects all our lives. When you major in Women's and Gender Studies (WGS), you'll analyze 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.
Our curriculum focuses on core courses in feminist theory and these areas of concentration:
- Gender Studies: the social construction of gender and the ways gender intersects with other forms of identity
- Politics, Justice, and Policy: the gendering of our socioeconomic and political worlds and the individual and collective components of social change
- Cross-Cultural Inquiry: culturally and historically specific ideas of gender, sex, and sexuality
- Arts and Letters: a feminist perspective on the study of literature, history, and the arts
For the major, you'll complete 36 credits, consisting of five core courses, including a 3-credit internship course and electives from the above concentrations. You'll complete 120 credits overall.
With an emphasis on critical thinking and communication, the minor in women's and gender studies can enhance your career prospects and graduate study opportunities.
For the minor, you'll complete 18 credit hours.
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Tricia Breton believed in the transformative power of education.
Career Placements
- Allied Insurance
- Bright Horizons
- Crossroads for Kids
- Franklin Democratic Town Committee
- Harbor Health Services
- Honors College: take advanced courses, pursue research, and be part of a community of scholars
- Study Abroad: earn academic credits and gain a global perspective on your field
- Undergraduate Research: faculty work with students on cutting-edge research projects
- University Studies: gain the benefit of a broad university education to enhance your knowledge and skills
Women's and Gender Studies Faculty
Study online
We offer you the option to earn a certificate or complete your degree online.