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UW-Eau Claire’s women's, gender, and sexuality studies (WGSS) bachelor’s degree program will encourage you to think critically about how systems such as colonialism and patriarchy produce unequal power dynamics that shape how race, class, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, among other social categories, are understood and experienced. The WGSS major equips students with theories and research methods for advancing equity, diversity, inclusivity, and creating a more socially just world.

Explore Women's Experiences in Our Society

The WGSS degree at UWEC is the only of its kind in Northwestern Wisconsin. Its diverse offerings are rooted in social justice advocacy and introduce students to research on women’s activism and feminist theories, LGBTQ+ identities and experiences and Hmong histories and communities. During coursework, you may learn about LGBTQ+ activist movements. Domestic immersion programs include studying the achievements of women leaders involved in the American Civil Rights Movement through a 10-day excursion to historically significant locations in the U.S. South. Additional opportunities include a winterim study abroad trip to India, where you will learn about gender in relation to Indian law and public policy.

To further prepare you for your chosen career, all WGSS majors are required to do an internship before graduating. You may work collaboratively with community nonprofits or campus organizations such as the Black and Brown Womyn Power Coalition, the Chippewa Valley LGBTQ+ Community Center, the Community Table, the Eau Claire City-County Health Department, the Family Support Center/Center for Awareness of Sexual Assault (CASA), Western Wisconsin Dairyland, the Intersectional Women’s Center, and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center while conducting critical research along the way.

The interdisciplinary and critical perspectives learned in WGSS courses enrich all fields of study, so graduates are well-prepared to do work in a variety of fields. Graduates of the program have gone on to pursue careers ranging from writing for feminist and LGBTQ publications to owning small businesses to organizing community outreach programs for diverse and marginalized populations to pursuing a graduate degree in a variety of fields. No matter your path, you’ll find that a degree in WGSS benefits both you and your community.