You're studying what? What is Gender/Women's Studies (GWS)? Is that where you study women? What are you going to do with it?

These are all questions that are often asked when someone says that they study GWS. So what is GWS exactly? GWS is an interdisciplinary program that is designed to foster critical awareness of the reciprocal relationship between gender and culture, (the ways in which culture condition perceptions of femininity and masculinity and how these perceptions contribute to the formation of culture). Women and men study this twofold process as it has developed in Western and nonwestern cultures and in the socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial groups that make up these societies.

So, what can one do with a degree in GWS? It is a study that is applicable to almost anything. After all, men and women work together daily in our society! The assumption of potential employers will be that you area critical thinker and socially aware. In areas such as law, biology, psychology, history, and medicine there is a demand for a specialization in Women and GWS issues. There are also organizations that work directly on feminist issues and there is also a need for educators in this field. No matter what your career objective, chances are there is a place for GWS in the job!