Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies revisits and revises histories and herstories to explore how beliefs and behaviors are shaped by gender, race, class, sexualities, and abilities. Students learn to understand the multiple dimensions of power and how the status quo affects individuals, communities, workplaces, and cultural, political, and economic outcomes. We emphasize how to affect social change by engaging in creative problem solving.
The department department also invites experts in the field to present their research and perspectives through the Sally Miller Gearhart Lecture Series.

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Events

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What You Can Do with a Degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Since women comprise more than half of the world’s population, an understanding of their experiences, abilities, and needs is an asset to careers in many fields, including government, business, law, medicine, journalism, counseling, childcare, education, and social services. The major can also prepare students for entering a growing number of graduate programs that emphasize the study of women or gender. Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies provides students with a foundation for employment in:

  • Nonprofit organizations
  • Research institutes
  • Colleges and universities
  • Healthcare practices and organizations
  • Federal, state, and local government agencies
  • Youth and family agencies
  • Libraries and archives
  • Political action committees
  • Public interest groups
  • Human rights organizations
Cover of LGBT+ magazine

Feminist and Queer Zine Launch

What do feminist and queer zines look like? What is the collective power of zines, and how can they respond to our current political climate? Participants discussed these questions and more at the official launch party of the Gender Collective's inaugural issue, "Future Building: Hope and Praxis."

Our Degree Programs

Students in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies can pursue a major or a minor. The department also offers a minor in queer studies and a graduate certificate in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.

Retired NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence speaking to a class

Learn from Experts in the Field

Our faculty are experts who conduct intersectional research within their fields and work closely with students to provide individualized guidance. Core and affiliated faculty in the department come from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, including history, literature, anthropology, sociology, geography, philosophy, law, political science, public policy, environmental studies, ethnic studies, religious studies, architecture and fine arts, music, romance and Germanic languages.

Students marching during the Take Back the Night rally

Get Real-world Experience

Our students extend their learning beyond the classroom through numerous hands-on learning opportunities. Immerse yourself in another culture while studying abroad, develop vital job skills in an internship, or conduct original research on a topic that sparks your interest.

Scholarships and Funding

Students who need help funding their studies can apply for scholarships from the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences.

Undergraduate Scholarships
Graduate Funding

Academic Support

Our academic advisors can help students understand their major or minor requirements, plan their course of study, explore study abroad opportunities, and more.

Undergraduate Advising
Support for Graduate Students

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies News and CAS Events

April 29, 2024
Faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences were among the 15 University of Oregon scholars to receive award money from the Faculty Research Awards, provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.
April 9, 2024
WOMEN'S, GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES - Professor Judith Raiskin, who has been awarded a CAS Diversity Grant matched by a grant from the Division of Equity and Inclusion to support her documentary Outliers and Outlaws.
April 9, 2024
WOMEN'S, GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES - Yvette Saavedra, an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, has been awarded the 2024 Antonia I. Castañeda Prize for her article “Speaking for Themselves: Rancheras and Respectability in Mexican California, 1800-1850,” by the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies.

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University of Oregon Night at the San Francisco Giants
Jul30
University of Oregon Night at the San Francisco Giants Jul 30 Oracle Park
The BIG 10+ Academia Career Fair
Oct16
The BIG 10+ Academia Career Fair Oct 16
Bob Bussel Labor History Lecture
Apr24
Bob Bussel Labor History Lecture Apr 24 William W. Knight Law Center

All CAS events »