Gender and Women's Studies Now a Department

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2009) -- The College of Arts and Sciences grew over the summer.

The University of Kentucky and A&S will begin the 2009 – 2010 academic year with a new department and major to offer students. The Gender and Women’s Studies program is now the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies - and for the first time in the history of the university students can earn a bachelor’s degree in the field. The departmental status of GWS became official at the June 9 meeting of the UK Board of Trustees, with Pat Cooper being named as the first department chair.

GWS continues to offers a graduate certificate as it has for several years, and plans are in the works to develop a Ph.D. program. Students outside the department can sample the offerings of GWS by taking elective courses, joining the undergraduate association, or by attending any of the events sponsored by GWS throughout the year. (Mark your calendars for two Sept. 24 events featuring gender and masculinity scholar Michael Kimmel, author of “Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men”.)

The GWS program at UK has long been a powerhouse of interdisciplinary research on gender issues, drawing faculty from across campus to Breckinridge Hall to teach and write about how gender roles affect cultures, institutions and individual lives. With elevation to departmental status, GWS can now provide a tenure-track “home” to top scholars who have made gender and women’s studies the focus of their academic careers.

To read more about the elevation of GWS to departmental status, and what it means to faculty and students, click here.