Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies

Department Overview

B110 Padelford

Women, gender, and sexuality studies is an interdisciplinary discipline that offers students a cohesive framework for the study of women's and men's lives within historical and contemporary contexts, and from multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural, and international perspectives. As a field of inquiry, gender, women, and sexuality studies challenges traditional scholarship about human societies and fosters the construction of new theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding diverse experiences and realities.

Undergraduate Program

Adviser
B110S Padelford, Box 354345
(206) 543-6902
wsadvise@uw.edu

The Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies offers the following programs of study:

• The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in gender, women, and sexuality studies
• A minor

Bachelor of Arts

Suggested First- and Second-Year College Courses: GWSS 200, and any of the following: GWSS 206, GWSS 257, GWSS 283, GWSS 290.

Department Admission Requirements

Any student with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 can declare this major at any time.

Major Requirements

Minimum 58 credits, as follows:

1. GWSS 200 or equivalent, and one additional GWSS 200-level course (10 credits)
2. GWSS 300 (5 credits)
3. One course in feminist theory. GWSS 455 recommended for those planning to pursue graduate study. (5 credits)
4. One upper-division course focusing on transnational perspective. See adviser for list of eligible courses. (5 credits)
5. GWSS 497 (fieldwork) (minimum 3 credits)
6. Additional gender, women, and sexuality studies upper-division credits. 15 credits must be graded and only 10 credits from variable credit courses (GWSS 495, GWSS 496, GWSS 497, GWSS 499) can be applied toward this requirement. (25 credits)
7. Senior capstone, GWSS 494 (5 credits)

Minor

Minor Requirements: 30 credits as follows:

1. GWSS 200 or equivalent; and one additional GWSS 200-level course (10 credits)
2. GWSS 300 (5 credits)
3. Additional upper-division (300-400 level) credits in gender, women, and sexuality studies. Minimum 10 credits must be graded. Maximum 5 credits from variable credit courses (GWSS 495, GWSS 496, GWSS 497, and GWSS 499) can be applied toward this requirement. (15 credits)

Student Outcomes and Opportunities

• Learning Objectives and Expected Outcomes: A Bachelor of Arts in gender, women, and sexuality studies helps students prepare for careers in human, health, legal, or civil service, as well as in the private sector. Some gender, women, and sexuality studies graduates develop careers that focus directly or indirectly on women and women's issues. Many others move into careers that entail understanding the dynamics of gender, race, class, and sexuality. Such positions exist in politics, business, education, government, medicine, and the arts. Recent graduates of gender, women, and sexuality studies have found employment in public agencies, community services, health services, private businesses, and legal firms.
• Honors Options Available: With College Honors (Completion of Honors Core Curriculum and Departmental Honors); With Honors (Completion of Departmental Honors requirements in the major). See adviser for requirements.
• Research, Internships, and Service Learning: Students intern in local agencies or businesses to develop skills in an area of specialization appropriate to their area of interest. For lists of these opportunities, see adviser.
• Department Scholarships: None offered.
• Student Organizations/Associations: Students can join the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA), as well as a local student group, Feminism on Campus (FOC).

Graduate Program

Graduate Program Coordinator
B110 Padelford, Box 354345
(206) 543-6900
womenst@uw.edu

The Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies offers graduate training leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in interdisciplinary gender, women, and sexuality studies as well as in a chosen discipline. A master's degree may be awarded to students in the doctoral program, but the department does not offer a terminal master's degree. The core faculty represent the following disciplines: anthropology, American Indian studies, cultural studies, economics and development, English, history, international studies, psychology, queer/sexuality studies, and sociology. Although students are required to work primarily with a core faculty member in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, they have the opportunity to study with more than 90 faculty members from a wide range of disciplines who are adjunct faculty to Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies.

Admission Requirements

Applicants are admitted to begin study during autumn quarter only and are required to have their application materials completed by the beginning of the prior January. A complete application file includes the Graduate School application, one copy of official transcripts, three recommendations, a statement of purpose, and scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

Degree Requirements

Minimum 90 credits for the PhD.

All students are required to complete 15 credits of the core seminars: History of Feminism (GWSS 501), Problems in Feminist Theory (GWSS 502), and Feminist Research and Methods of Inquiry (GWSS 503). Under the guidance of a core faculty mentor and advisory committee, the student shapes an individual program of study. The doctoral program usually requires three years of study beyond the master's level, including independent field research and preparation of a dissertation. PhD students must exhibit proficiency in a language relevant to their theoretical and regional areas of specialization. Students are urged to establish foreign language competency as undergraduates before entering the graduate program or as early as possible in their graduate careers.

Financial Aid

A limited number of teaching and research assistantships are offered to PhD students.