About Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
What is Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program (WGS)
Miami faculty with graduate students at Duke University, Feminist Theory Workshop in March 2022.
The Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program (WGS), in the Department of Global and Intercultural Studies at Miami University, offers a dynamic, interdisciplinary major and minor that investigates how our lives are affected by gender race, class, age, sexuality, religion, (dis)ability, gender identity, and nationality. WGS emphasizes the importance of understanding gender and sexuality as elements of wider social and political structures of power, knowledge, experience, culture, embodiedness, intimacy, and labor.
WGS also offers a graduate certificate.
Major in Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary major that investigates how our lives are affected by gender race, class, age, sexuality, religion, (dis)ability, gender identity, and nationality.
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies emphasizes the importance of understanding gender as a part of wider social and political structures of power, knowledge, experience, culture, embodiedness, intimacy, and labor.
Courses are organized around contemporary feminist research and theory, and focus intersectionally on women, gender, and sexuality as subjects of inquiry. Our coursework also focuses on how theory and practice come together. Students may choose from courses spanning departments, disciplines, divisions and ideologies.
The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program provides a context in which women's work and women's issues are explored in-depth, celebrating women's creativity, women's lives, and women's work. In Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, students find an active and supportive community, close interaction with faculty, opportunities to take on leadership roles, and an academic program that allows them to cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Flexibility of the major requirements allows you to design a program to suit your needs and interests. This major prepares you for graduate or professional school and for a career in research and writing, a nonprofit agency, public policy, social services, business, law, education, or communication.
- Program Requirements (Miami General Bulletin)
Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to identify the modes of inquiry typical of a variety of interdisciplinary scholarship and apply these modes of inquiry in a number of genres typical of interdisciplinary knowledge dissemination.
- Students will be able to demonstrate the academic writing process, which begins with rigorous habits of thinking, reading, interpreting, data gathering, analyzing, discussing, and arguing.
- Students will be able to communicate effectively and responsibly to a public audience regarding topical matters involving intersectional issues relevant to WGS.
- Students will be able to construct an analytical, comparative, and evidence-based argument that demonstrates both thoughtful synthesis of multiple sources and a keen awareness of context, purpose, and audience.
Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program is a dynamic, interdisciplinary program that investigates how our lives are affected by gender race, class, age, sexuality, religion, (dis)ability, gender identity, and nationality.
- Program Requirements (Miami General Bulletin)
Earn a Graduate Certificate
The graduate certificate in Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies is a 12-14 hour program available to graduate students in any field of study across the university.
Its purpose is to enhance a disciplinary graduate degree with specialization in Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students in this program explore the influence of gender and other social differences on the production and dissemination of knowledge.
Masters and doctoral students who earn a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies gain an advantage in a highly competitive job market. In the worlds of business, public service, government, education, and fine arts, job candidates with knowledge of how gender, sexuality, and cultural difference function in their area of expertise may stand out in a crowded field. Perhaps even more important is the intellectually stimulating experience of thinking across and outside disciplinary parameters. Sharing these inquiries with students from other fields creates a rich supplement to a discipline-centered degree program.
- Program Requirements (Miami General Bulletin)
Students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate may have the opportunity to teach WGS 201, Introduction to Women's Studies. The high quality of this pedagogical program is reflected in the fact that 5 graduate student teachers of WGS have earned graduate teaching awards in recent years.
More about Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
In WGS, students find an active and supportive community, close interaction with faculty, opportunities to take on leadership roles, and an academic program that allows them to cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries. With 5 core faculty members and around 45 affiliates, the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at Miami University integrates expertise in virtually every field of human endeavor.
Careers
Miami alum Rachel Rudwall addresses the 2018 M.I.A.M.I. Women Leadership Symposium.
Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies graduates gain knowledge, self-awareness, intercultural competency, and breadth of perspective, which are valuable in their own right and which public service organizations, private industry, government, and graduate schools need. And the employment picture is bright: comparisons of Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies graduates with female college graduates nationwide show an edge for WGS students in both traditional and non-traditional career fields. Recent graduates have gone on to law school, graduate school in many fields, public service and private sector careers, political leadership positions, and teaching in both K-12 and higher education. And the employment picture is bright: comparisons of women's studies program graduates with female college graduates nationwide show an edge for women's studies in both traditional and non-traditional career fields.
See also:
- What Can I Do with a Major in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies? (Arts and Science Academic Advising)
Employers are eager to have the skills our students acquire. A recent (2013) Association of American Colleges and Universities survey of potential employers, It Takes More than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success: Overview and Key Findings, that 93% of employers "a demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than [a candidate's] undergraduate major."
- "More than 9 in 10 of those surveyed say it is important that those they hire demonstrate ethical judgment and integrity; intercultural skills; and the capacity for continued new learning."
- "More than 75% of employers say they want more emphasis on 5 key areas including: critical thinking, complex problem-solving, written and oral communication, and applied knowledge in real-world settings."
- "80% of employers agree that, regardless of their major, all college students should acquire broad knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences."
- "Employers consistently rank outcomes and practices that involve application of skills over acquisition of discrete bodies of knowledge. Employers also strongly endorse practices that require students to demonstrate both acquisition of knowledge and its application."
According to these data, the education provided by the WGS Program, with the strong emphasis we place on engaged learning, intercultural and civic awareness, and connecting theory with practice, is the wave of the future.
Masters and doctoral students who earn a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies may also gain an advantage in a highly competitive job market. In the worlds of business, public service, government, education, and fine arts, job candidates with knowledge of how gender and cultural difference function in their area of expertise may stand out in a crowded field. Perhaps even more important may be the intellecutally stimulating experience of thinking across and outside the disciplinary parameters of a specialized area of study. Sharing these inquiries with students from other fields creates a rich supplement to a discipline-centered degree program.
Mission and Goals
Mission
People watching a participant in 2018 M.I.A.M.I. Women Leadership Symposium Hawk Tank event
The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Miami University is a dynamic, interdisciplinary program that investigates how our lives are affected by gender, race, class, age, sexuality, religion, (dis)ability, gender identity, and nationality. Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies emphasizes the importance of understanding gender as a part of wider social and political structures of power, knowledge, experience, culture, embodiedness, intimacies, and labor.
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies courses are organized around contemporary feminist research and theory, and focus intersectionally on women, gender, and sexuality as subjects of inquiry. Our coursework also focuses on how theory and practice come together. Students may choose from courses spanning departments, disciplines, divisions and ideologies.
The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program provides a context in which women's work and women's issues are explored in-depth, celebrating women's creativity, women's lives, and women's work. In Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, students find an active and supportive community, close interaction with faculty, opportunities to take on leadership roles, and an academic program that allows them to cross the traditional disciplinary boundaries. With 5 core faculty members and 44 affiliates, the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at Miami University integrates expertise in virtually every field of human endeavor.
Goals
In addition, the program responds to specific university goals for student learning by:
- promoting critical and creative thinking
- facilitating engaged learning
- providing opportunities for undergraduate research
- emphasizing strong written and oral communication skills
- fostering leadership skills and opportunities
The program with its major, minor, graduate certificate, and Miami Plan courses and sequences, is integral to Miami's commitment to community diversity, transnational perspectives, and academic excellence.
Faculty
Core Faculty
Godeanu-Kenworthy, Oana (Undergraduate Advisor)Alcalde, Cristina
Cho, Yu-Fang
Detloff, Madelyn (Graduate Advisor)
Kollman, Kathleen
McLaughlin, Lisa
Neitch, Kenna
Emerita Faculty
Callahan, PhyllisDonahue, Darcy
Fuehrer, Ann
Goldy, Charlotte A. Newman
Harrington, C. Lee
Johnson, Cheryl
Lloyd, Sally
Medley, Kimberly E.
McMahon-Klosterman, Kathy
Student Organizations
American Association of University Women
The mission of AAUW at Miami is to empower women as individuals and our community by helping women gain the confidence to be next-generation leaders in the workforce and beyond.
Black Women Empowered
Through group discussion and community outreach, BWE members support the varied identities, struggles, and legacies of Black women. BWE encourages students to organize toward social justice, cross-cultural alliances, and freedom for all backgrounds.
Colors (Miami Colors)
Colors is student organization that is prioritized around the support, education, awareness and advocacy of the GLBTQA (Gay, Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Trans, Questioning and Ally) community.
Feminists Working on Revolutionary Democracy
Feminists Working On Revolutionary Democracy is a student organization composed of individuals who desire to address — through activism, discussion, and support — important issues that specifically concern all people marginalized by systems of oppression. We use grassroots activism and discussion to heighten awareness about these issues. Our hope is to empower people of all genders, sexualities, and identities to feel confident and supported on campus and off.
GLBTQ Services (GLBTQ)
The mission of GLBTQ Services is to make the Miami University community an open, safe, and inclusive environment for people of all sexualities and gender identities.
I Am That Girl: Miami University Local Chapter
I Am That Girl is an organization dedicated to empowering girls and young women to express who they are and to be their true selves through honest conversation about the issues they and other young women face.
Love You Like A Sister (L.Y.L.A.S.)
LYLAS is a support group for women on campus. We have six principles(pride, achievement, knowledge, refinement, respect and sisterhood.
Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault (MARS)
Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault (MARS) is an organization devoted to educating our male peers of the realities of sexual assault.
People Against Violence and Sexual Assault (PAVES)
PAVES is an organization with the goal to promote awareness and prevention to the Miami community regarding sexual and interpersonal violence. That goal is accomplished through large and small campus events and partnering with on and off campus allies.
Pride
Raising awareness of social injustices based on sexual orientation and gender through educational programming, dialogue and any other format we deem appropriate. Talk about issues related to sexual orientation and how to lessen the isolation of LGBTQ.
Spectrum
Miami University's undergraduate LGBTQ-straight alliance, holding weekly meetings and building a strong community with roots in education, activism, awareness, and acceptance.
Student Awards
The WGS Program sponsors an essay contest each year in the late spring to recognize outstanding student work in the area of women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Prizes are awarded to the best essay written by a graduating senior in the program and for the best paper by any other undergraduate student.
The program also supports womanist/feminist work done outside of the classroom. Funds are made available through the Women's Studies Memorial Award to support work done in the spirit of previous WGS affiliates who have died, in order that their contributions to women's well being might be perpetuated.
Karen Maitland Schilling Prize
On May 6, 2011, the WGS Program announced the endowment of the Karen Maitland Schilling Prize.
Dr. Karen Maitland Schilling served Miami University as Director of the Women's Studies Program, Director of Liberal Education, Chair and Professor of the Department of Psychology, and Dean of the College of Arts and Science. A clinical psychologist by training, she divided her teaching effort between the undergraduate program and the doctoral program in clinical psychology. Her research has focused heavily on program development and evaluation, and she has consulted at dozens of universities in the U.S. and abroad on assessment and curriculum development and served for six years as a program faculty member for institutes on general education for the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Under her determined leadership and through her advocacy, Dr. Schilling has diversified the faculty, effected major curricular reform, and inspired her colleagues with her intelligence, good humor, and grace.
The Karen Maitland Schilling prize is awarded by the Office of Student Financial Assistance to one or more Miami University graduating seniors who best exemplify Dr. Schilling's commitment to scholarship and leadership. Preference shall be given to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS) and/or Psychology majors or minors, or other students in the College of Arts and Science conducting feminist projects. A committee of WGS faculty shall recommend nominations of the recipient(s) to the Dean of the College of Arts and Science and the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
Support the Program
The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program has always relied on the generosity of our friends and supporters. We use our unrestricted gift account for incidental expenses that help improve our connections to scholars, teachers, students and community members through small symposia, workshops, gatherings, and travel grants. The gift account, for example, can be used to pay mileage expenses for Women's Studies majors to travel to regional high schools to talk about Women's Studies, to help our students attend conferences, such as the AAUW National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, and to facilitate informal gatherings such as sponsorship of a reception for Dr. Sami Schalk, currently an Assistant Professor of English at SUNY Albany and one of the 2017 Miami '18 of the last 9’ honorees—Sami graduated with a major in Women's Studies and Creative Writing.
Unrestricted Gifts
These gifts allow us to apply your gift to the area of greatest need.
Designated Gifts
In addition to unrestricted gifts, you may specify that your contribution be devoted exclusively to one of the following initiatives.
- Nellie Craig Award Fund
Named for the first known African American student at Miami, the Nellie Craig Award offers support to a Miami University scholar whose work focuses on African American Women history and African American Women's and Gender issues. - Las Mujeres AwardFund
This award offers support to a Miami University scholar who provides leadership on Chicana issues and research initiatives in conjunction with the Miami Latin American Studies Program and the Miami University Latina/o Community Coordinator. - Miami Tribe Award Fund
This award offers a support to a Miami University scholar whose research involves American Indian women and women of the Miami tribe. The Miami Tribe Women's Studies Coordinator works closely with the staff of the Myaamia Project based in Oxford, Ohio, and also may travel to Miami tribal locations in Indiana and Oklahoma to meet with women tribal leaders. - GLBTQ Studies Endowed Chair Campaign
The GLBTQ Studies endowed chair campaign is one of the Bicentennial initiatives of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program and the GLBTQ Advisory Committee to the Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity. The campaign seeks to raise $1,000,000 to create an endowed chair in GLBTQ studies. - Internship Travel Fund
This fund will support students who travel outside of southwestern Ohio for WGS-related internships. Depending on resources available in the fund, qualifying students will be awarded small travel grants to cover transportation expenses. - Karen Maitland Schilling Prize
This prize is awarded by the Office of Student Financial Assistance to one or more Miami University graduating seniors who best exemplify Dr. Schilling's commitment to scholarship and leadership. Preference shall be given to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS) and/or Psychology majors or minors, or other students in the College of Arts and Science conducting feminist projects. A committee of WGS faculty shall recommend nominations of the recipient(s) to the Dean of the College of Arts and Science and the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
