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Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies emphasize 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.

What is Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program

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.

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.

Our Major and Minor

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.

Learning Outcomes

At graduation, we expect that our majors can master the following critical thinking skills providing a strong foundation for the other skill sets learned during your time as a Women's, Gender, and Sexuality major or minor.

Investigate how lived experience is impacted by diverse intersections of gender, race, class, age, sexuality, religion, (dis)ability, gender identity, nationality, and other forms of social situatedness

Examine and communicate the significance of gender and sexuality as a parts of wider social and political structures of power, knowledge, experience, culture, embodiedness, intimacy, and labor

Utilize critical thinking skills to analyze, evaluate, and apply appropriate interdisciplinary feminist, gender, and sexuality studies scholarship to inquiry in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts adjacent to or outside of WGS

Discover and communicate how theory and practice mutually inform each other

WGS 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 a 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.

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

Dr. Karen Maitland Schilling served at 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.