2022 graduation

Photo from our Women's and Gender Studies 2022 graduation brunch

Welcome to Women's and Gender Studies!

Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST) is a multidisciplinary field that provides an integrated approach to understanding the social and cultural constructions of gender that shape our diverse experiences. With its roots in social justice movements of the last three decades, the methods and goals of Women’s and Gender Studies support the University’s mission of education informed by both ethical and intellectual values. In addition to educating undergraduates in traditional classroom environments, the program provides opportunities for civic engagement through internships, support for faculty scholarship on gender issues across the disciplines, and diverse co-curricular programming for the university.

About Our Program

The Department of Women's and Gender Studies brings together scholars and scholarship on women and gender, areas that have come to occupy an increasingly important place in a number of disciplines in the last quarter century. Areas of inquiry include the participation of women in social and cultural production; the construction of gender and its role as a constitutive element of social, political, economic, and legal structures; feminist theory; and the development of ideas about femininities, masculinities, and sexualities. Gender is examined as it intersects with class, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, age, nationality, and the like. The Department of Women's and Gender Studies provides an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the social and cultural constructions of gender that shape the experiences of everyone. The curriculum offers a solid foundation in women's and gender studies, facilitating graduate study and careers involving gender justice concerns, and preparing students for leadership roles in diverse workplaces and communities. The Department of Women's and Gender Studies offers a major and minor.

Academic Program

WGST Spotlight

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The Strongest Advocate
Working as a deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice after law school, Mirelle Raza ’15 credits a women’s and gender studies course for inspiring her to advocate for vulnerable people.

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Creating a Personalized Path Through Women’s and Gender Studies
Associate Professor Sharmila Lodhia discusses what the confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson teaches us about gender and law during her Preview Week mock class on April 8.