Gender Studies
School of Cultural and Social Transformation
Arts Pass
Bennion
Center
Office of
Undergraduate Research
Courses
Getting Started
- Meet with Transform advisor
- Join our first-year learning community - GNDR 2500 & 3500
- Apply to the Honors College
Explore the major:
- GNDR 1100 - Intro to Gender Studies
- GNDR 1080 - Love & Relationships
Making Progress
- Regularly check in with an advisor to stay on track
- Use degree planning tools like Degree Audit
- Begin upper-division courses to fulfill your advanced & elective requirements
- Consider the Pacific Islands Studies Certificate or add a double major or minor in Ethnic Studies or Disability Studies
- Look into requirements for Community Engaged Scholar or Undergraduate Research Scholar designations
Finishing Up
- Complete your Signature Experience (if you haven't already) via internships, research, community-engaged learning, or a TA-ship
- Review degree audit with advisor
- Apply for graduation
Community
Getting Started
- Join our Gender Studies first-year learning community
- Take a CEL-course in GNDR or ETHNC
- Follow Transform on social media
- Attend the Get Involved Fair & connect with student groups that interest you
Making Progress
- Regularly check in with advisor to learn about events/opportunities in Transform
- Apply for the Dolores Huerta Scholarship to support your social justice community engagement
- Attend (or help plan) our Transform monthly Communi-Teas
- Participate in Praxis Lab if part of Honors College
- Become an Orientation Leader
- Get a job on campus
- Apply to go on an Alternative Break with the Bennion Center
- Meet with an Involvement Ambassador
Finishing Up
- Get involved with the Alumni Association
- Consider a leadership position in ASUU or campus clubs
- Attend Bennion Center events or apply to lead an Alternative Break
Knowledge & Skills
Getting Started
- Take advantage of faculty office hours
- Explore academic resources like Marriott Library, Writing Center, & Learning Center
- Talk to a pre-professional advisor if interested in law/med/dental school
Making Progress
Fulfill your Signature Experience, options include:
- Become a TA for a Gender Studies class
- Participate in research with a faculty member
- Join Transform's year-long internship program
- Write and/or edit for Frontiers
- Explore for-credit Hinckley Internship courses
- ...
- Attend a workshop at the Financial Wellness Center
- Enhance your degree with a minor/certificate or double major
Finishing Up
- Complete requirements to be an Undergraduate Research Scholar
- Take test prep courses for graduate school applications (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, etc.)
Transformation
Getting Started
- Take a course outside your major to consider new perspectives
- Write down your interests, goals, & dreams
- Create an Individual Development Plan
- Attend a Learning Abroad 101 session
Making Progress
- Use your ArtsPass or other UCard benefits to attend social or cultural events you haven't experienced before - sports events, museum, concert, play, ballet, etc.
- Learn another language
- Go on a learning abroad trip
- Choose electives that complement your career/research interests
- Update your IDP
- Attend Hinckley Forums
- Participate in a workshop with the Counseling Center or Center for Student Wellness
Finishing Up
- Participate in commencement & convocation ceremonies
- Explore/apply for graduate programs
- Take personal inventory of skills acquired/enhanced in your undergrad career
- Be proud of yourself!
Impact
Getting Started
- Talk to your professors/advisor about your interests, goals, and opportunities for advocacy
- Meet with a Student Success Coach
- Explore volunteer opportunities in the Bennion Center & other community partners
Making Progress
- Apply for the Dolores Huerta Scholarship to support your social justice community engagement
- Complete the requirements to become a Community Engaged Scholar
- Join or lead an Alternative Break with the Bennion Center
- Apply for leadership within ASUU or campus clubs
- Explore the Sorenson Impact Center and Lassonde Institute
Finishing Up
- Present your research project in the spring at the Undergraduate Research Symposium
- Publish your work in the Undergraduate Research Journal
Careers
Getting Started
- Meet with a Career Coach to explore your strengths, interests, & values
- Familiarize yourself with CPDC services and resources
- Activate your Handshake account
Making Progress
- Create a resume and have it reviewed by a Career Coach
- Attend a career fair or expo
- Take a Career Exploration course
- Establish relationships with faculty so they can effectively serve as references or write letters of recommendation in the future
- Expand your network via LinkedIn, Alumni Search, Forever Utah
- Conduct personal research & informational interviews to learn about careers or fields that interest you
Finishing Up
- Refine your resume/application materials and practice interviewing with a Career Coach
- Connect with employers through Handshake
- Apply for jobs/grad school
Start Your Career Journey
Find support at the Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC)
About the Major
Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on interactions of gender with race, class, sexual orientation, and nationality. In addition to a focus on the history and achievements of women, gender scholarship has inspired research and curricula that address men’s lives, masculinity, and the lives of people who identify as LGBTQ+. The U’s Gender Studies major lives within the School for Cultural & Social Transformation. We also go by the shorter nickname, Transform, which we feel embodies what we are, do and feel: our goal is to forge the wave of the future for the study of shifting sexualities, changing genders, dynamic immigrations, and emergent struggles against all racist thought and action.
The Gender Studies program provides opportunities for you to engage with cutting-edge concepts, faculty, and space. Your coursework covers topics such as gender theory, feminist thought and practices, queer and sexuality studies, community engagement, and community organizing, and you can also take courses in Ethnic Studies and Disability Studies to explore intersections of these fields. The Gender Studies major offers you the flexibility to explore your interests, passions, and build on your goals, and includes a Signature Experience requirement that allows you to develop professional skills and put your studies into action. A degree in Gender Studies teaches you to be a critical observer, participant, and actor in the social world, so you develop the skills you need to analyze, understand, and transform the important matters in your personal life, your communities, and the world.
The Gender Studies program provides opportunities for you to engage with cutting-edge concepts, faculty, and space. Your coursework covers topics such as gender theory, feminist thought and practices, queer and sexuality studies, community engagement, and community organizing, and you can also take courses in Ethnic Studies and Disability Studies to explore intersections of these fields. The Gender Studies major offers you the flexibility to explore your interests, passions, and build on your goals, and includes a Signature Experience requirement that allows you to develop professional skills and put your studies into action. A degree in Gender Studies teaches you to be a critical observer, participant, and actor in the social world, so you develop the skills you need to analyze, understand, and transform the important matters in your personal life, your communities, and the world.
Learning Outcomes
- Theory and History
- Develop intersectional knowledge of gender studies theories, concepts, and history; identify theories and approaches to gender and sexuality as these intersect with class, ethnicity, race, disability, religion, indigeneity, colonialism, and other social forces; use these theories to evaluate how these forces construct our worlds and to reveal power inequities within them; and understand the history of social movements, connect social movements of the past with those of the p
- Communication and Critical Thinking
- Develop information literacy: assess and evaluate the validity, reliability, and appropriateness of sources; cogently synthesize, employ, and communicate theories and key concepts in analytical essays, creative projects, and research papers; and communicate effectively in written and oral formats in an audience-appropriate manner
- Social Responsibility in a Diverse World
- Use knowledge of the historic and contemporary role and differential effects of gender and sexuality on local and global systems to develop or advocate for informed action to solve complex problems in society; identify one’s own cultural patterns and values and how they shape attitudes to difference and relationships to power; engage ethically with others in class and in the larger community; attend to and be accountable to diverse ways of being, thinking, perceiving, and acting; and understand
Plan & Prepare
At the U, we plan for our students to have an exceptional Educational Experience identified by four broad categories we call the Learning Framework: Community, Knowledge & Skills, Transformation, and Impact. This major map will help you envision, explore, design, and plan your personalized Exceptional Education Experience with the Learning Framework at the core. In addition to assisting you in planning your coursework and navigating the requirements of your major, this map will help you incorporate other kinds of experiences to expand your knowledge, support your development, and prepare you for the future you want.