The Gender and Women?s Studies (GWS) major and minor are rigorous inquiries into multiple forms of sexual difference as constructed by culture and history, and the ways these forms intersect with social forces like race, sexuality, class and colonialism.

Studying GWS challenges conventional cultural assumptions about women, sexuality and gender roles. It promotes the development of new ideas and research in feminist scholarship within an open, supportive environment.

Majors can either emphasize the theoretical focus of recent feminist interdisciplinary scholarship or pursue a joint major that links feminist research and theory to disciplines like art history, economics, English, French, history, media studies, politics, psychology, religious studies, theatre, or science, technology and society.