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About Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies

About the Program

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies provides an opportunity to explore gender and sexuality and their intersection with race, ethnicity, class, and other elements of diversity. The program is interdisciplinary, which makes for a rich variety of course offerings across many fields. 

The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program was initiated in 1979, when it began to offer one of the first certificate programs at the University.  Since that time, we have grown into the intellectual center for scholarship and teaching on women, gender, and sexuality at Ohio University.  We now offer the second largest undergraduate certificate program in Arts and Sciences and the ninth largest in the University.

In addition to more than 70 courses focusing on women, gender, and sexuality that are offered in WGSS and allied departments, the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program offers the following programs:

  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in WGSS
  • Certificate in WGSS (undergraduate and graduate levels)
  • Certificate in LGBTQ studies (undergraduate level)

The WGSS core faculty currently includes both full time instructional faculty and tenure-track faculty who are jointly appointed with other departments on campus, including English, Geography, Classics and Religious Studies, and Media Arts and Studies.  We also have over 50 affiliated faculty in 20 additional departments and schools across the university.

In addition to serving our majors and certificate students, WGSS courses meet BRICKS General Education requirements and also contribute to a number of other programs across the University.  These include popular certificate programs (including Diversity Studies, Global Health, and Wealth and Poverty), undergraduate majors (including International Studies/Global Studies, Criminal Justice, Human Services, Journalism, and GEOG-Globalization and Development), and graduate programs (including Global Health, Community Dance, Latin American Studies, Asian Studies, and International Development Studies).

Our unit’s goals are fostering social justice, empowerment, and critical thinking through intersectional research and teaching on systems of gender and sexuality and their effects.  Having functioned as an interdisciplinary unit for over forty years we are a model for effective and sustainable interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship at OU.   

Ask an Adviser

To speak with an adviser in more detail about individual coursework, programs of study, or career options open to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies students, please contact our Undergraduate Chair  Dr. Patty Stokes or our Graduate Chair  Dr. Myrna Perez .

Wondering what you can do with a WGSS degree or certificate? See Careers & Internships .

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WGSS Mission Statement

The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at Ohio University examines gender and sexuality and their intersection with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, disability, and other elements of diversity. The WGSS curriculum introduces students to a wide range of theoretical and practical perspectives on the influence and meaning of gender in the human experience across time and cultures. The program promotes interdisciplinary teaching and research about gender and sexuality across myriad social and cultural contexts; it builds ties among scholars, providing a locus of feminist and queer scholarship and activism on campus, in the community, and beyond.

WGSS Student Learning Outcomes

Student learning assessment at the program level is intended to promote and maintain program excellence and improve student learning. Each department in the College of Arts & Sciences has developed a set of learning outcomes for their programs and engages in faculty-led assessment activities to help inform curricular and program review and development. Student learning is assessed in different ways across A&S departments, informed by disciplinary standards and the specific learning outcomes of the program.

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