What is MIT’s Women’s and Gender Studies?
Women's and Gender Studies is dedicated to the academic study of women, gender, and sexuality, viewed in a historical and cross-cultural perspective. WGS examines the complex ways in which social, political, and economic structures and institutions, in addition to cultural values and representations, have shaped gendered lives and dynamics of power in various time periods and across various cultures globally. The WGS curriculum examines the ways that gender and sexuality intersect with race, ethnicity, class, religion, nationality, ability, age, and other social categories. Our interdisciplinary program provides the opportunity for students to explore gender and sexuality using the analytical tools and methodologies of a variety of disciplines in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, including anthropology, literature, history, media studies, philosophy, sociology, psychology, STS, and political science, among others.
WGS offers an undergraduate curriculum with subjects covering diverse topics such as gender and sexuality, gender and technology, gender and media studies, women in the developing world, feminist political thought, women's literature, women's history, gender and health, gender and the law, global activism, race and gender, the psychology of race and gender, gender and science, women and war, reproductive technology, power and leadership in the workplace, the family, gender and development, and more (for a full listing of current WGS subject offerings see the catalog). Students may pursue a major, minor, or concentration in WGS.
There are three annual awards:
Louis Kampf Writing Prize in Women's and Gender Studies is presented for exemplary undergraduate writing that uses gender studies as a category of analysis.
Helen Elaine Lee Undergraduate Prize is presented to a WGS major or minor who contributes to class, campus, or the broader community in a way that supports the mission of WGS.
Ruth Perry Leadership Prize is presented to a graduate or undergraduate student who demonstrates leadership in class, on campus, or the broader community in a way that supports the mission of WGS.
MIT belongs to the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality, which was established in 1993 by MIT and six other Boston-area institutions. The current member institutions of GCWS include Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern, Simmons, Tufts, and UMass Boston.
In addition to serving MIT's student population, WGS is also an important resource for MIT faculty working on and researching topics related to women's and gender studies within their particular disciplines and who seek a broader community for intellectual inquiry or scholarly collaboration across disciplinary or departmental lines. WGS faculty affiliates are housed in numerous units, including Anthropology, Literature, History, Political Science, Linguistics and Philosophy, Architecture, Global Studies and Languages, Comparative Media Studies/Writing, and Science, Technology and Society Studies (STS), and Department of Urban Studies. We also welcome the participation of faculty with an emerging interest in the field of women's and gender studies, or gender equity issues.