What Can I Do with My Women’s and Gender Studies Major?

Overview

Using cross-cultural and multi-racial perspectives, students majoring in women’s and gender studies explore women’s lives, labor and arts, the politics of sexuality, the structural, institutional, legal, and historical meanings of gender, the impact of gendered analysis on the sciences and much more. They engage with concepts and debates in contemporary feminist theory and critical theories of gender and sexuality as they intersect with race, ethnicity, class, religion, nationality, and geopolitical and regional specificities.

In doing so, students develop the ability to explore and engage critical and historical concepts and to apply them to discussion, debate, academic research, academic writing, and praxis. They also have the opportunity to design and execute independent research in the field at an advanced level, sufficient to be considered for publication. These skills, along with the deeper understanding that women’s and gender studies students gain of the world and of structures of oppression around them, prepare students for a wide range of career and education options.

Skills

The study of women’s and gender studies facilitates the development of a core set of skills sought after by employers in a wide range of occupational settings. A sampling of representative skills and abilities follows.

Research

  • Using a variety of resources
  • Gathering and interpreting data
  • Original analysis
  • Defining problems
  • Understanding social context
  • Applying theoretical approaches to research problems

Critical Thinking

  • Approaching problems from multiple perspectives
  • Avoiding simplistic conclusions
  • Reading critically
  • Thinking independently
  • Recognizing unnoticed patterns and structures
  • Understanding components of complex problems

Communication

  • Writing effectively
  • Reading critically
  • Articulating ideas/theories
  • Creating persuasive arguments
  • Analytical writing
  • Assessing conflicting viewpoints
  • Public speaking

Social and Cultural Relations

  • Understanding and appreciating human relationships along gendered, classed, and racial lines
  • Identifying cultural/social forces
  • Understanding diversity

Sample Internship Opportunities

  • National Organization for Women
  • International development agencies (e.g., USAID)
  • Communications/Media
  • Political Action Committee (e.g., Emily’s List), U.S. or State Congress
  • Girl Scouts USA
  • Women’s health organizations
  • Research institutes/think tanks (e.g., Women’s Research & Education Institute)

Where are GU Women’s and Gender Studies Majors Now?

  • Socio-Political Researcher
  • Founder and CEO of a nonprofit
  • Assistant to the President at a nonprofit
  • Paralegal
  • National Teaching Fellow
  • Marketing
  • Legal Assistant
  • Consulting analyst
  • Medical school
  • Law school
  • Graduate school
  • District representative in the senate

Every year we survey Georgetown University’s graduating class to find out what they are doing after graduation. To learn more about what others with your major have done after graduation, see our first destination reports.

Relevant Websites and Publications

Professional Organizations

For more information about career options, internship and full-time opportunities, contact the Cawley Career Education Center at One Leavey Center, (202) 687-3493. For more information about the major and degree requirements, contact the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.