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About Us

The Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Program at the University of Houston is more than an academic program—it’s a catalyst.

Since its inception as Women’s Studies in 1991, WGSS has become a space for intersectional, multidisciplinary, and transnational inquiry, urging students to critically examine power, privilege, inequality in all their forms. We offer a WGSS major, minor, and graduate certificate, as well as an LGBT Studies/Queer Studies minor. Our program draws its vibrancy from the dynamic global energy of Houston, one of the most diverse cities in the world. We celebrate the brilliance of Houston’s diverse communities while challenging students to explore the ways that their intersectional identities—shaped by gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, dis/ability, citizenship and more—inform their realities and the lives of those around them. 

With global feminism at its core, WGSS thrives on the diversity of thought brought in by a range of faculty across 14 disciplines, as well as connections with local and transnational communities and organizations in Houston. Our program also brings gender studies to the community through the Friends of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (FWGSS), the Carey Shuart Women's Archive and Research Collection, and the Institute for Research on Women, Gender & Sexuality (IRWGS), connecting theory with practice. WGSS students and faculty at the University of Houston immerse themselves in critical thought through attending WGSS lectures, workshops, conferences, and cultural events.

WGSS connects research and activism in gender and sexuality studies, promoting community engagement and preparing students to be active citizens in a deeply interconnected world--ready to make their work matter and ready to foster positive change in Houston and beyond!

Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies offers and undergraduate major in WGSS, leading to a BA, and two undergraduate minors (Women's Studies and GLBT Studies) and a graduate certificate (in Women's Studies). Doublemajoring is also an option. 

Friends of Women's Studies
 

Advisory Council

Carmen Peña Abrego, Dina Alsowayel, Ph.D., Nina Andrews, Annette Bracey, Lemar Brown, Patricia Cabrera, Elizabeth Chiao, MD, Decie Autin Coleman, Ruth Dreessen, Caroline Fant, MaryScott Hagle, Eliza Horn, Geordie Hrdlicka, Mandy Kao, Shannon Langrand, GinRu Lee, Susana Monteverde, Swati Narayan, Tanya B. Pal, Sue Payne (Chair), Kathryn Peek, Ph.D., Beverly Robinson, Rebecca Rush, Yava Scott, Joy Sewing, Shreela Sharma, Ph.D., Angela Shippy, M.D., Carey C. Shuart, MaryRoss Taylor, Patricia Gardner Young
  

WGSS/FWS Studies Timeline

1991
The UH Women’s Studies Program is initiated, and the Friends of Women’s Studies (then known as the “Community Outreach Board”) is established.
1996
FWS opens the Women’s Archive and Research Center.
1999
Postdoctoral Fellows Program inaugurated.
2009
Women’s Studies Program introduces a second minor in GLBT Studies.
2010
Program is renamed the Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies Program.
2011
Women’s Archive is endowed and renamed the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive and Research Collection.
2015
WGSS major approved by the State.
2019
Launch of Institute for Research on Women, Gender & Sexuality.