The Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Kentucky investigates gender broadly conceived, and the cultures and contributions of women worldwide from feminist/womanist perspectives.

The purpose of the department is to develop and coordinate an interdisciplinary curriculum in Gender and Women's Studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels; support critical research, teaching and public programming in Gender and Women's Studies that take into account various beliefs about gender, race, class, and sexuality; and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The Gender and Women's Studies Department aims to serve the university and the Commonwealth through promotion of equity and commitment to excellence.

History of GWS

The Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at UK (formerly the Women’s Studies program) was initiated in 1989. Since that time, more than 200 undergraduate students have enrolled in the GWS minor program, with 21 undergraduate students completing topical majors in GWS.

In 1994, GWS began offering the Graduate Certificate Program and since its inception 170 Graduate Certificates in GWS have been awarded.

The GWS program reached department status in June 2009. Since becoming a department, 17 undergraduate students have graduated with a primary major in GWS and 8 students have graduated with GWS as a secondary major.

In Fall of 2013, GWS began its PhD program. The program continues to grow and we currently have 14 graduate students enrolled in the PhD program.

With our continued growth, we are clearly moving into a new phase. In the future, we will look back on this historical period in the evolution of Gender and Women’s Studies at UK as one of programmatic growth and scholarly innovation.

Administration and Staff

Chair:
Srimati Basu
214 Breckinridge Hall
859-257-4372
srimati.basu@uky.edu

TA Coordinator:
Aria Halliday
212 Breckinridge Hall
859-257-9719
a.halliday@uky.edu

Department Manager:
Michelle Del Toro
GWS Office, 110 Breckinridge Hall 0056
859-257-1388
michelle.deltoro@uky.edu