Women's and Gender Studies

Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan Dearborn is a vibrant interdisciplinary community of faculty, students and alumni dedicated to excellence in scholarship, teaching, learning and activism.

Through this major, you will examine the ways that gender — through its connection with other forms of power such as race, class, sexuality, and nationality — shapes lives, bodies, institutions, and worlds. The community-building focus of the program will contribute to both your intellectual growth and post-graduate employment opportunities in today’s ever-changing labor market. Women’s and Gender Studies majors work in a variety of fields, including business and industry, education, health care, politics, law, and social work.

Degree requirements and coursework for the WGST major and minor

Dearborn Discovery Core requirements fulfilled by taking WGST courses

Women's and Gender Studies program goals:

• Analyze the ways gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, and class intersect to construct our social, cultural, and lived experiences.
• Apply the fundamental concepts, theories, and methods of women’s and gender studies scholarship, including the ways they challenge and/or enrich prevailing disciplinary approaches.
• Gain skills to recognize and understand the relationship between theory and practice as it relates to social and personal change.

Get Involved

• Check out student organizations related to gender equity and social justice such as the Alliance for DisAbility Awareness, PRIDE, the Social Justice League, Society of Women Engineers, and the Women Veterans Association. Explore UM-Dearborn student organizations on VictorsLink!
• Talk to the Women in Learning and Leadership (WILL) director to learn about the program.
• Consider attending the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) over the summer.
• Talk to Dr. Brainer about becoming a student member of the National Women’s Studies Association.

Get Real World Experience

• Find out about internship and research opportunities.
• Visit the Office of International Affairs to plan and register for a Study Abroad course.
• Explore your passions through an independent thesis project.

Plan for Life After Graduation

A Women’s and Gender Studies degree can be applied to a multitude of careers. It signals to employers that you are well-rounded, having studied across the disciplines instead of in one narrow skill area. Career Services offers assistance with job searching, resumes, interviews, and graduate school applications.

We recommend this book for students who are thinking about how to frame and apply their WGST degree.

Women’s and Gender Studies faculty teach and do research in diverse fields. Click the link below to read more about us and our work.

• Shirley Dudek Demmer Memorial Scholarship
• Stokes-Hoffman Scholarship
• Critical Difference Fund: This is a smaller pot of money set aside by Women’s and Gender Studies to support students who are experiencing financial hardships that make it difficult to continue in the program. Please reach out to the program director, Dr. Brainer, if you are in need of this support.
• Explore all student scholarships and application dates