SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES

WOMEN'S STUDIES

UCI's Program in Women's Studies is dedicated to the study of women, gender, and sexuality in their complex articulation with race, ethnicity, class, religion, and nationality. The Program's goal is to foster both critical and creative analysis of the various disciplinary perspectives—historical, political, economic, representational, technological, and scientific—that have (or have not) constituted women, gender, and sexuality as objects of study. By emphasizing a rigorous interdisciplinary perspective in their teaching and research, the Women's Studies faculty seek to produce new knowledge about the social meanings of gender, race, class, and sexuality, and to equip students with a range of analytical and methodological skills.

Women's Studies provides a unique intellectual community for undergraduate and graduate students, where faculty and students share a commitment to interactive teaching and learning. Students work closely with faculty and the program's academic coordinator to plan a coherent program of study and to anticipate work toward advanced degrees and a wide variety of career options.

A degree in Women's Studies prepares students for the expanding opportunities available in graduate programs and in numerous careers in both the public and private sectors. As more women work, business and corporations find the need for increased knowledge about women, and the growth of women's organizations and agencies—at the local, national, and global levels—is creating new opportunities for graduates with specializations in Women's Studies. Graduates bring unique skills and knowledge to the professions of law, medicine, social work, teaching, counseling, and to government service, all of which increasingly require expertise on issues concerning women and gender. A background in Women's Studies develops critical and analytical skills which prove valuable in the full range of life choices.

- From the 2007-2008 UCI General Catalogue