Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies
1024 ClemensNorth Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-4680
Gwynn Thomas
Chair
Why study Global Gender Studies BA at UB?
In Global Gender and Sexuality Studies, our objective is to inspire critical thinking in our students, challenging them to integrate local and global knowledge and to link theory and practice across a wide range of disciplines. Our students are encouraged to think outside the box, embrace multiple approaches, and become engaged citizens. The Global Gender Studies undergraduate program offers courses in three areas: Cultures and Identities; Women and Global Citizenship; and Gender and Public Policy. We are committed to intersectional analysis of gender, race, class, sexuality and disability.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of all requirements, the student will have knowledge of:
- Use gender as an analytical category to critique cultural and social institutions within a global perspective.
- Critically analyze the social construction of gender, especially in its intersections with race, class, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, geography, history and religion
- Evaluate gendered practices, including the conceptualization of difference, the production and recreation of femininity and masculinity, the division of labor, and the creation and maintenance of ideologies and social institutions.
- Explain the varieties of feminist theories, including an analysis of the debates that have shaped the development of feminist and gender studies scholarship.
- Integrate feminist theory and practice through analysis of feminist activism around the globe.
- Apply feminist theory and gender analysis to critique injustice and generate responses to oppression.
- Produce original written research grounded in feminist theory and gender analysis.
- Evaluate current academic research produced through feminist theory and gender analysis.
- Read documents closely and critically in order to explain and evaluate the central arguments of academic scholarship.
- Apply feminist methods, including critical self-reflection and ethical practices, to plan and conduct original research.
- Imagine a world that reflects feminist principles of liberation, social justice, respect and care.
The Learning Environment
Global Gender Studies at UB has been a leader in the field for more than three decades. Our program offers today’s women and men courses in three interrelated areas: Cultures and Identities; Women and Global Citizenship; and Gender and Public Policy. Our objective is to inspire critical thinking in our students, challenging them to integrate local and global knowledge and to link theory and practice across a wide range of disciplines. The Global Gender Studies faculty and its affiliated faculty members across the university work together to create an intellectual environment in which the changing roles and relationships of women and men throughout the globe can be studied and understood.
About Our Facilities
The Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies is housed in 1024 Clemens Hall. We have a student lounge and a quiet study area. The department holds classes in centrally scheduled space throughout the campus, which includes traditional classes and lecture halls that can accommodate the program’s teaching philosophies.
About Our Faculty
Our department is an intellectual community committed to building collaborations among faculty and students to explore the complex intersections of women, gender, race, class, sexuality and disability. Our nationally and internationally recognized faculty are active researchers producing cutting-edge scholarship in the humanities, arts and social sciences. Our faculty are dedicated teachers, and teach at all levels, from introductory courses to senior seminars. We provide students with opportunities to put their ideas into practice through conducting original research in their senior thesis, or to work with community organizations through internships. The reach of our program and ability to teach and mentor students is extended through affiliated faculty, which are are drawn from across the University at Buffalo.
Faculty List Directory
Please visit the Department of Global Gender Studies and Sexuality's webpage for additional information about our faculty.
Career Outlook
Career opportunities are at a record high for students with degrees and training in women’s studies and gender analysis. Employers need people who can think, research, write and solve problems. Our students are known for their ability to see connections and to integrate commitments to inclusion and justice, and our degrees help students stand out among their peers.
A bachelor's degree in Global Gender Studies prepares students for jobs in government, community service, national and international organizations, or graduate-level education. Master's and doctoral students often pursue careers in academia, public policy, government, media and advocacy. Currently, many government offices and national corporations seek to employees who are responsible for developing social justice and equality agendas, as well as incorporating gender issues into the organization's general policies.
Graduates have pursued some of the following careers:
- Admissions counselor
- Affirmative Action specialist
- Biographer
- Business manager
- Career counselor
- Community service agency director
- Financial planner
- Health policy planner
- Hospital administrator
- Human service worker
- Investment counselor
- Job developer
- Journalist
- Lawyer
- Legal advocate
- Local policy makers
- Medical Doctor
- Market research analyst
- Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) worker
- Planned parenthood counselor
- Psychologist
- Public relations specialist
- Social worker
- Teacher
- Women's rights advocate
Work Settings include but are not limited to:
- Advertising agencies
- Advocacy
- Book publishers
- Childcare/adoption agencies
- College alumnae associations
- Community organizations
- Economic development councils
- Economic research foundations
- Educational institutions
- Government organizations
- Health organizations
- Judicial system
- Labor unions
- Management consulting firms
- Market research firms
- Newspapers/magazines
- Nongovernmental organization
- Public and private Schools
- Policy institutes
- Newspapers/magazines
- Public relations firms
- Scouting organizations
- Social service agencies
- Television and radio stations
- Women's rights organizations
Post-undergraduate Opportunities:
Our students often pursue advanced degrees in counseling, education, gender and women's studies, law, literature, medicine, political science, psychology, public health, public policy, social work and sociology.
What percentage of graduates goes on to find related employment?
Our liberal arts curriculum allows our graduates to be employed in numerous areas. Of those not going on for advanced degrees, many were joint or double majors and/or double degree graduates and we estimate about 90% are employed in related fields.
What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?
Over 50% of our recent graduates have gone on to graduate school in law, education, the Master of Arts in Humanities, and public policy.
Academic Advising
The Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies, who is a member of the department's full-time teaching faculty, is available to meet with students throughout the semester. As we cannot provide advisement through emails, please contact the department's undergraduate studies program coordinator to find out the director's office hours. Students interested in doing a major or minor in the Global Gender Studies are encouraged to speak with the director to discuss their interests in the program, as well as to plan course sequencing to meet all criteria. NOTE: advisement for "general education" and other university requirements for the Global Gender Studies degree is provided by advisers in the College of Arts and Sciences Student Advisement & Services.
Academic Advising Contact Information
Please contact the undergraduate programs coordinator to schedule an appointment with our director of undergraduate studies.
Marla Segol
Main Office: 1023 Clemens Hall
marlaseg@buffalo.edu
716-645-2306
Scholarships and Financial Support
We do not have an independent scholarship program; however you may want to explore other avenues of financial assistance within the university described on the Undergraduate Admissions website.