B.A in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies

Program Overview

The Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program (GSWS) offers a unique and wide-ranging way of studying and engaging with the world. We study concepts such as sex, gender, and sexuality; identities such as nonbinary, woman, man, cisgender, transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and queer; the intersections of sex, gender, sexuality, race, class, nation, (dis)ability, and other related systems of identity and inequality; and academic subjects including feminist history, transgender studies, queer theory, sex and politics, gender and language, and ecofeminism. GSWS is both an academic discipline and a meeting place for students and faculty in every discipline who want to explore these critically important issues. The program is scholarly, and it is fully engaged with the world in which we live.

Curriculum

From the UVM Catalogue:

• Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies B.A.

Outcomes

Upon completion of the GSWS BA degree, students will be able to:

1. Understand gender and sexuality as systems of power intersecting with others such as race, class, and ability.
2. Learn and apply the history, theory, and methodologies of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies.
3. Communicate effectively in spoken, written, and/or creative work.
4. Navigate the ethical connections between the academic study of GSWS and the non-academic world of everyday experience.

Careers

• Advocate for domestic violence survivors
• Attorney
• Counselor
• Journalist
• Psychotherapist
• Social worker
• Policy analyst
• Teacher
• Union organizer
• University professor

Where Alumni Work

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Change Media Group
• Holman Immigration Law
• Jitegemee, Inc.
• Pennsylvania Ballet Academy
• Steps to Success, Brookline
• Vermont Association of Business, Industry & Rehabilitation

Graduate Schools

• American University
• Linköpings Universitet
• University of New Hampshire
• University of Pennsylvania

More

Beyond the classroom

At UVM, you’ll find many places where discussions about gender, race, and sexuality reflect your intellectual experience in the classroom. You can connect with other students, get involved as campus educators and advocates, and deepen your commitment to diversity and cultural understanding.

The UVM WAGE Center which raises awareness about critical issues related to gender, and the Center for Cultural Pluralism (CCP), which equips us with the cultural and social justice competencies necessary to function at our best, encourage conversation and collaboration.

The Prism Center serves the diverse queer and trans community at UVM and is committed to creating a more socially just, equitable, and inclusive campus. The Mosaic Center for Students of Color (MCSC) also serves as an active and inclusive community for students of color from across the University. You can also find out about relevant student clubs and organizations (or learn how to start your own!) at SGA Clubs and Orgs.