"My time in the Women’s Studies program has inspired me to not only be a better person, but a better advocate in an unending fight for equality for all people.”
-- Aris Kaleps-Clark, 2011 B.A in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies graduate
Career - what can you do with a women's, gender, and sexuality studies degree?
Employers are looking for flexible workers that can work with diverse populations in our global economy. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is excellent preparation for today’s workforce where skill with difference and diversity encourages critical research and creative thinking.
Students will become confident presenters and defenders of their thoughts and findings, critically examining evidence gathered from various sources. They will be able to present their work to various audiences and possess excellent communication skills.
Our Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies graduates have gone on to become attorneys, corporate executives, counselors, teachers, librarians, journalists, human resource specialists, victim advocates and managers of non-profit organizations.
Most importantly, students gain valuable knowledge about themselves and how they can affect positive change through work in public service organizations, education, advocacy, government, health care services, communications, media and private industry.
Career paths
- Nonprofit Administrator
- Lawyer
- Communications Manager
- Human Resource Specialist
- Victims Advocate
- Educator
- Health Care Worker
- Counselor
- Librarian
- Journalist
Quick Facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Curriculum
The flexible program of study in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies provides students with a rich liberal arts education. Our major and minors emphasize a cross-cultural and intersectional understanding of women, gender, and sexuality with a particular emphasis on race, class, age, and disability.
The core curriculum for the major offers critical historical, sociological, philosophical, psychological, and literary examinations of the lives of women.
Students will study the history of feminist thought and action, from matriarchal societies through Mary Wollstonecraft and the three waves of modern feminism. This will lead to a survey of contemporary feminist thought.
Students of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies emphasize analytical and methodological frameworks to examine different histories, activism, borders, political participation, media representation and ideologies shaping women's lives.
As part of the School of Cultural and Critical Studies (SCCS), all WGSS majors take a rigorous core curriculum in their junior and senior years that consists of a theory course (CCS 3030: Intersections of Gender, Race & Culture), a service-learning course (CCS 3710 Gender, Race & Culture in Community-Based Practice), a research methods course (CCS 4850: Qualitative Research Methods), and a writing course (CCS 4860: Capstone Seminar).
Taking the courses with other majors across SCCS helps students develop a stronger sense of community and interdisciplinary connection. Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minors are welcome to take these courses as well.
Students will graduate with a solid foundation in research methods, critical reasoning, speaking, presenting and discussion. This modern toolkit equips them for many roles in the workforce.
Sample courses
- Introduction to Women’s Studies: Perspectives on Gender, Class and Ethnicity
- History of Feminist Thought & Action
- Contemporary Global Feminism
- Introduction to LGBTQI+ Studies
- Women of Color in the United States
- Women, Gender, and Health
- Women and Interpersonal Violence
- Latinx Gender and Sexuality
- Intersections of Gender, Race & Culture
- Gender, Race & Culture in Community-Based Practice
Student organizations
BGSU has several identity, cultural or political organizations expressly for students. They invigorate campus life and help push the agenda towards equality and justice for all on our campus and in our communities.
BGSU Feminist Alumni Network (FAN)
BGSU Feminist Alumni Network (FAN) is a community of feminist alums who want to reach out to current students, connect with former classmates, share information about jobs and internships, and more! For more information or to get involved, see BGSU Feminist Alumni Network on Facebook or email us at bgsu.feminists@gmail.com.
Center for Women and Gender Equity
The primary goal of the Center for Women and Gender Equity at BGSU is to address issues of gender equity on our campus and in our community through our programming and services. We also understand that it is our responsibility to approach issues of gender as always linked to issues of race, sexuality, class, ability, citizenship status and all other categories of identity in which people are marginalized and face systemic oppression.
When we say “women,” we mean all women; transgender women, women of color, immigrant women, queer women. White womanhood is not a default or universal experience and should not be the foundation for our feminism.
When we say “gender equity,” we recognize gender as more than a binary of man or woman.
National Women’s Studies Association
The professional association for Women’s Studies is called the National Women's Studies Association. As well as organizing conferences, they have student prizes, disseminate research, act as a clearinghouse for opportunities, and have student memberships available for all incomes.
There are many other on-campus, local and national organizations that provide resources, support, and advocacy for women.
Updated: 08/07/2024 03:04PM