The Department of Women's and Gender Studies (WGST) produces successful graduates who leave The University of Toledo with an interdisciplinary degree that prepares them for graduate school, professional degree programs, and the rapidly changing workplace. Our students pursue engaging careers in both the public and private sectors. Our recent alums can be found working in Washington, DC for the President's National Security Council or working locally for a women's advocacy organization. They can also be found in graduate programs in English, Higher Education, Theology, and Women's Studies as well as in law school, and health programs.
Why a degree in WGST? Let our graduates tell you!
Meet WGST alumni Zainab Al Musalim (22) and Josie Groll ('20). Zainab is working at King Fahd University Hospital in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Josie is currently in law school. See how an undergraduate degree in Women's and Gender Studies fueled their growth as people and students. More...
Welcome to Women's and Gender Studies
It is my pleasure and honor to welcome you to the Department of Women's and Gender Studies at The University of Toledo! We are a vibrant community of committed feminist students, faculty, and staff who create opportunities, and sometimes trouble, in our efforts to forge a just, more livable world for all of us.
Our students come from a variety of places around the state and world, and from a deep diversity of experience and identities; they bring with them their passions, their hopes, and their energy to develop their knowledge and skills to apply to our mission of intersectional equity and justice.
The department supports their goals by providing challenging academic courses at all levels, career development opportunities through internships in a broad range of communities, activist experiences through student groups and local organizations, and special research opportunities through academic conferences, student research showcases, and independent studies with our diverse home department and affiliated faculty. Graduates of our program work at the US State Department, the Center for Disease Control, and at domestic violence and rape crisis shelters in their communities. Many have earned scholarships to study law, medicine, social work, and women’s studies at the graduate level. We are so proud of all of them!
The department's award-winning faculty and staff share our students' passion, and we continually strive to create courses and opportunities that foster our students' and our own engagement and effectiveness. We invite you to peruse our course offerings, look at the many distinguished accomplishments of our students and faculty, and contact us to schedule a meeting or to learn more about how we can support your dreams for yourself and the equitable and sustainable world we are co-creating together.
Welcome to UToledo WGST!
Sharon Barnes, Associate Professor, and Chair
Department of Women's and Gender Studies