ChooseWhy Choose This Program?
Why Study Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Goucher?
WGS is an interdisciplinary exploration through which students examine the social construction of gender and sexuality as well as the material impact of those constructions on the lived experiences of individuals. We offer historical, contemporary, and transnational analyses of gender, power, oppression, and resistance.
LearnWhat Will You Learn?
What Will You Learn?
Employing a comparative approach, students explore how gender intersects with issues of nation, geographical location, histories of colonialism, culture, religion, sexuality, class, and race. The Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program focuses on the nuanced historical processes through which individuals and communities live out gender and sexuality; the set of institutional and ideological practices that shape them; and the concrete processes and political moments through which inequities are transformed. Learn More
DoWhat Will You Do?
What Will You Do?
WGS prepares students to utilize feminist methodologies, sexuality studies, and interdisciplinary approaches to examine and enrich other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and the arts. Our goal is to help students see the ways in which gender and sexuality are thought about and practiced, and help students develop their own analytical skills to evaluate, assess, and imagine differently.
Course Curriculum
Faculty
Program Contact
Seble Dawit, Department Chair, Professor of American Studies and Religion
Full-Time & Half-Time Faculty
Irline François, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies – Afro-Brazilian Cultural Studies, Caribbean Literary Studies, Gender and Migration Studies, Haitian History and Culture of Resistance, Latin American Women’s Movements, and Transnational Feminist Theory and Women’s Activism.
Jessica Wilcox Cowing, Visiting Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Affiliate Faculty
Study Abroad
By studying abroad, choosing three-week intensive courses led by Goucher faculty or semester programs suited to their academic plans, Goucher women, gender, and sexuality studies students gain a global perspective that enhances their course of study. Visit the Office of Global Education website for more information.
Opportunities & Internships
Public Leadership Institute for Women
Under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Goucher established a Public Leadership Institute for Women to prepare students for leadership roles in the public arena. The institute provides an opportunity for students to work as interns with women leaders at all levels of government. Goucher students have served as interns in Washington, DC, with women lobbyists, members of regulatory commissions, and congresswomen, and in Annapolis with women members of the Maryland legislature and the women's caucus of the Maryland General Assembly. Placements have also included internships with women judges and members of city and county councils. Internships with women office holders are also available to students in their home communities during January and summer breaks.
The Public Leadership Institute for Women sponsors public leadership conferences that bring prominent women leaders to campus to meet and talk with students. Recent speakers have included judges, members of the Maryland state legislature, and a former member of the European Parliament.
Goucher offers a January seminar on gender and public policy in Washington, DC. The seminar provides students with a firsthand look at the policy-making process at the federal level through faculty lectures supplemented by guest presentations by women judges, lobbyists, regulatory board members, congressional leaders, and government agency representatives. Policy briefings and site visits are an integral part of the seminar. Not limited to Goucher students, this seminar attracts students from across the country.
Internships
Internships help students explore possibilities, apply classroom learning, and gain experience. Explore internships and credit options.
The women, gender, and sexuality studies faculty consider well-structured internships to be essential to a student's education. Students are required to do an internship before or during their senior year to graduate with a major in women's studies.Student Employment
Student employment connects students to both on and off-campus opportunities. The Career Education Office provides resources and support to students with or without Federal Work Study to find jobs, submit applications, and learn more about the job search process. Students have access to Handshake — a website for job postings, events, resumes/cover letters, and career management.
Major & Career Exploration
Exploring career options, choosing a major, and making career decisions is a multi-step process in which all students are encouraged to engage early and often. Goucher students have a variety of resources available through the Majors and Career page to assist them in this process.
Job Search
A Goucher education prepares students for today’s job market and beyond. Students can explore job opportunities and access job search resources through the CEO Job Search page.
Graduate & Professional School
Students access resources for searching and applying to graduate and professional school through the CEO Graduate and Professional School page, through faculty and staff members, or utilizing their own resources, network and tools.
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School 4+1 BA/MS Program
Goucher College and Johns Hopkins Carey Business School are offering Goucher students a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program. This 4+1 program combines a bachelor’s degree from Goucher with a master of science degree from Johns Hopkins in business analytics and risk management, information systems, health care management, finance, or marketing. Students can apply during their junior year. GRE or GMAT tests have been waived but applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better and have passed some quantitative reasoning courses with a grade of B or better.
News from the Center for Geographies of Justice
- June 3, 2022
Irline François has received a Fulbright Distinguished Professor Award in the Humanities and Social Sciences, a prestigious award in the Fulbright cohort.
- September 4, 2020
Many faculty on campus are teaching courses that resonate with the present moment or its historical roots and they have opened their classes to anyone who is interested in attending.