If you’re curious about how gender, identity, and sexuality shape the world, and you want to turn that curiosity into real world impact, the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Program at the IU School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis gives you the foundation to explore those questions with depth and purpose.
WGSS is an interdisciplinary program that encourages you to explore big questions about culture, power, and human experience. You’ll examine how ideas about gender and sexuality develop, how they influence everyday life, and how they intersect with factors like race, class, and nationality. Through courses that span history, literature, politics, science, social movements, and cultural expression, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how these forces shape communities and institutions.
You’ll learn to analyze issues from multiple angles, communicate with confidence, and think critically about the world around you—skills that open doors in education, law, public service, health, business, nonprofits, and many other fields. Whether you’re drawn to research, advocacy, leadership, or simply want to enter your career as a more thoughtful and informed professional, WGSS gives you a strong foundation to build on.
At IU Indy, you can explore a wide range of WGSS courses and pursue either the undergraduate minor or the Ph.D. minor. You’ll learn from faculty who are deeply engaged in studying gender and sexuality across disciplines and who bring that expertise directly into the classroom.
What you gain from studying WGSS
WGSS gives you a fresh way to understand the world and a versatile set of skills you can take anywhere. You’ll learn to break down complex issues, communicate clearly, and recognize how gender and sexuality shape everyday life—insight that makes you a stronger thinker and a more adaptable professional.
- Law, Public Policy, and Social Services: Understand real-world challenges and advocate with clarity and purpose.
- Biology, Medicine, Nursing, Counseling, and Health Professions: Recognize how gender and identity influence health and patient experiences.
- Education, Journalism, and Communication: Strengthen your critical thinking and communication skills to tell clearer, smarter stories.
- Business, Marketing, and Management: See how gender shapes workplace dynamics and consumer behavior so you can lead and strategize with confidence.
Undergraduate Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
An undergraduate minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies lets you explore how gender and sexuality shape everyday life through courses that connect history, theory, politics, and culture. You’ll approach these topics from multiple perspectives, gaining insight often missing from traditional coursework.
The WGSS minor pairs seamlessly with any major—business, biology, education, psychology, communication, and more—adding depth to your studies and helping you work more effectively with people from all backgrounds.
A WGSS minor gives you a strong foundation for any career that involves working with people. You’ll build marketable skills like critical thinking, communication, intercultural awareness, and leadership, along with opportunities for civic learning, community engagement, and professional development.
Many students use the minor as a springboard into further study in law, psychology, history, literature, communication, social work, or business administration. Others take it into careers that benefit from a strong understanding of gender roles and identity, including paralegal and probation work, school counseling, journalism, community agencies, government, nonprofits, human resources, healthcare, and legal or policy advocacy.
Ph.D. Minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Ph.D. minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies gives you the chance to broaden your scholarship through an interdisciplinary lens that deepens and expands your graduate research. If your work touches on culture, identity, power, institutions, or human experience, this minor offers a meaningful way to enrich your perspective and strengthen your academic voice.
You’ll explore a wide range of issues related to women, gender, and sexuality and examine how these forces shape society. Courses encourage you to think across disciplines, engage with contemporary research, and connect theory to the questions driving your own work. You’ll study with faculty from multiple fields who bring diverse expertise to the classroom, giving you fresh entry points for interpreting and analyzing complex social and cultural dynamics.
This minor is especially valuable if you want to expand your methodological toolkit, incorporate gender‑focused analysis into your dissertation, or position yourself for careers that value interdisciplinary thinking. Whether you’re headed toward academia, policy work, healthcare, communication, community leadership, or another professional path, the WGSS Ph.D. minor helps you build a richer, more nuanced foundation for your research and teaching.
More information
For questions about any of these academic offerings, contact the Religious Studies Program director, Rosa Tezanos-Pinto.
