What Can You Do with a Degree in Women's and Gender Studies?
Our students go on to pursue careers in fields like healthcare, law, journalism, business and more. A degree in WGST is particularly attractive to employers because it prepares you to interpret complex human experiences in local, state, national, and global communities. In addition to our undergraduate degree, you can also pursue a minor or cognate.
Overview
Women’s and Gender Studies (WGST) at the University of South Carolina promotes an interdisciplinary and intersectional understanding of diverse human experiences by focusing on the study of gender and sexuality. By examining power, privilege, and oppression, WGST faculty and students explore dynamics related but not limited to gender, sexuality, race, class, age, ability, body size, and religion in historical, social, and cultural contexts. Informed by feminist, queer, postcolonial, anti-carceral, and anti-racist approaches, WGST facilitates the centering of marginalized populations in research, highlighting axes of oppression, resistance, and agency. Through its research mission, WGST challenges dominant knowledge paradigms and co-constructs new knowledge. Through its teaching mission, WGST empowers students to think critically, communicate effectively, solve problems, embrace diverse forms of knowledge and knowing, and interpret complex human experiences. Furthering the activist tradition, WGST serves local, state, national, and global communities by acting as a resource and guide for issues related to gender and sexuality. In pursuit of our goals, WGST aspires to excellence and distinction in research/scholarship, teaching, and service. We seek to contribute to understandings of inequality and diversity in contemporary and historical contexts and work to build a world based on cooperation, community, and justice for all.
Looking for more specific information like what classes you’ll need to graduate, learning outcomes, and which classes we offer? The Academic Bulletin is the university’s official document of record concerning undergraduate-level academic programs and regulations. Links to the WGST Minor and BA Academic Bulletin pages can be found below.
Women’s and Gender Studies Minor
Students may minor in women’s and gender studies by completing 18 hours of specified courses.
Check the Women's and Gender Studies Minor Academic Bulletin page for more information.
Bachelor of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies
A student may also pursue a major in the field through the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in women’s and gender studies (requiring 24 hours of specified courses).
Check the Women's and Gender Studies, B.A. Academic Bulletin page for more information.
Further information may be obtained from the College of Arts and Sciences or the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.