Explore the dynamic interplay of gender, sexuality, race, class, and movements for change.
The Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies, established in 1970, is one of the oldest in the country. Faculty are award-winning leaders in scholarship and teaching. They draw on feminist thought to foreground transformative intersectional and transnational analyses of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and class, as they are shaped in conjunction with local and global, political and economic histories and structures. All undergraduate majors receive training in feminist histories, theories, and methodologies and complete a capstone course — part of our commitment to connecting critical and creative skills with community-based social justice practice. The PhD program in Feminist Studies, established in 1998, was one of the first of its kind and remains highly regarded among only 25 current U.S. doctoral programs in the field. Consistent with the department's interdisciplinary focus, our faculty conduct scholarship across a wide range of areas in the humanities and social sciences.
Undergraduate Programs
Careers
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies alumni are adept collaborators who have experience working in settings with diverse perspectives and a critical agility in creatively addressing the world’s persistent and urgent problems. They use these skills in a variety of fields, including business, creative arts and humanities, museum curation, education, government, health care, law, media and communication, nonprofit administration, psychology, public policy, and technology.
Career Paths
A Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies degree can lead to a career as a(n):
- Advocacy trainer
- Arts programmer
- Attorney
- Business consultant
- Community organizer
- Educator
- Health care professional
- Journalist
- Legal rights advocate
- Librarian
- Lobbyist
- Media producer
- Museum curator
- Program coordinator
- Public policy consultant
- Social services researcher
- Technology developer
Girl in a Coma oral history interview. Photo by Scott Macklin.
Making scenes and building communities
The Womxn Who Rock Community Research Project brings together musicians, media-makers, artists, scholars and activists to explore the role of women and popular music in the formation of social justice movements. Started in 2010, the project is an ongoing collaboration among UW faculty, graduate students, community members, and worldwide scholars of gender, race and sexuality.
Find Yourself in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Analyze society from the perspective of gender and sexuality. Apply what you learn to support positive social change.
Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies Stories
Learning Hard Truths Through Internships
Sana Shetty, interested in human rights law, has a more nuanced understanding of potential careers thanks to internships.
At the Intersection of STEM and Feminism
With a double major in computer science and gender, women & sexuality studies, Simona Liao is lifting women in STEM in the U.S. and China.
The Power of Cohorts & Collective Histories
Kemi Adeyemi, Jasmine Mahmoud, and Nikki Yeboah first met as PhD students in Chicago. Now they pursue scholarship in support of Black arts as UW faculty.