About Women’s and Gender Studies

Mission Statement

Women’s and Gender Studies, an interdisciplinary program founded in 1971, encourages the production, discussion, and dissemination of knowledge about women’s experiences, oppressions, and achievements, in Montana, the U.S., and the world. In the last decade, this focus has broadened to include study of the social and cultural construction of gender, sex, and sexualities. By fostering awareness of cultural and international diversity, as well as of the circulations of power mediated by race, class, age, and sexual orientation, Women’s and Gender Studies encourages students to think critically and to envision justice for all peoples.

Students may choose an option in Women’s and Gender Studies within a Liberal Studies major or may complete a Women’s and Gender Studies minor. They may also select any of a wide range of courses cross-listed with departments in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, law, education, and other disciplines. Women’s and Gender Studies offers scholarships and prizes, and sponsors or co-sponsors a variety of events including lectures, discussions, and performances, that make a vibrant contribution to both the campus and the Missoula community life.

The program is administered by the Co-Directors in consultation with the Women’s and Gender Studies Steering Committee, an interdisciplinary group of faculty with teaching and research interests in women. Students may choose an option in Women’s and Gender Studies within the Liberal Studies major or may elect to complete the Women’s and Gender Studies minor. To be admitted to either program, students register with the Women’s and Gender Studies advisor, who will explain option or minor requirements and supervise their program.

What’s it all about?

Anthropology, literature, communications, film, ethics, humanities, psychology, sociology, geography, history, religion, politics, welfare, violence, health, laws, forestry, gender, sexual identity, human rights, culture, poverty, oppression, celebration, slavery, freedom, families, and critical thinking all from the perspective of the woman’s experience.

Why would I want to choose Women’s and Gender Studies?

In a nutshell, Women’s and Gender Studies encourages students to think critically and to envision justice for all peoples. Being an option for Liberal Arts majors, the Women’s and Gender Studies option is a cutting edge discipline focusing on many of the issues in today’s society. A Women’s and Gender Studies Option gives you the opportunity to explore areas of history, sociology, psychology, culture, religion, etc. that women have influenced for generations yet have not received the focus and attention to their contributions that their male counterparts have had. If you are a woman, or work with, live with, attend school with, know, love, and interact with women, you will be affected by the issues that women’s studies courses examine.

You may want to consider a Women’s and Gender Studies minor. Since there is such a wide range of courses that are cross-listed as Women’s and Gender Studies, you may already be taking many of the required courses! And, if you are just starting your university career, a Women’s and Gender Studies minor fits nicely into most any major, complementing other coursework nicely.

Graduates from Women’s and Gender Studies: What can I do with a Women’s and Gender Studies degree?

Graduates from the Women’s and Gender Studies Program don’t just go out and get jobs, they go out and change the world! Women’s and Gender Studies graduates acquire a solid foundation of liberal arts and social science. They are articulate, imaginative, analytical, persuasive and creative. They have learned to think critically and can envision justice for all peoples. They are the kind of people employers today want to hire!

Graduates of Women’s and Gender Studies go on to be:

  • Directors of Women’s Organizations
  • Clergy
  • Historians
  • Artists
  • Activists
  • Leaders of Non-Profit Organizations
  • Politicians
  • Law Makers
  • Business Managers
  • Educators
  • Journalists
  • Social Workers
  • Civil Servants
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Counselors
  • Organizers