Career Planning
Degree flexibility, Career planning resources, Going to grad school, Job search
The Flexibility of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Students who major or minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at UWL can be characterized as people who want to make a difference. The vast majority of our students want, in particular, to help people, and therefore tend to gravitate to the helping professions, especially those in health, education, and social services.
Most of our students come to us with these desires. They stay with us because they find that Women's Studies helps them figure out how to do it, develops their confidence that they can do it, and helps them assess ways to place what can be very demanding work into a balance with their personal lives.
Our students learn that their desire to make a difference can happen at many levels, from the individual, to the community or the workplace, to the society or the culture. Making a difference can also happen anywhere, not just in the helping professions. Difference-making also uses a broad range of skills, thus providing a niche for a broad range of people.
In other words, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies offers infinitely flexible programs.
Career Planning Resources
Career Services at UW-L! Your first stop!
What Can I Do with a Major in WGSS?
- Think about this in three ways: you have skills, you have attitudes and values, and you have knowledge.
- Use the resources below to get some ideas
about what those are and how you might use them:
- The University of Louisville has a good list of ideas: http://louisville.edu/career/students/career-planning/what-to-do-with-a-major-in-1/Womens%20-%20Gender%20Studies%20final.pdf
- University of Dayton has excellent ideas, and check their bibliography at the end too: http://www.udayton.edu/artssciences/womens_and_gender/careers.php
- Portland State University's WS career page includes a list of other websites with WG-related career info: http://www.pdx.edu/careers/what-can-i-do-degree-womens-studies
- NWSA Student Center: Job Search Resources page Good collection of resources for every step of the process of career development, from identifying your skills to writing resumes and cover letters, interviewing, researching companies, and evaluating job offers.
- University of Pennsylvania's Career Resources for LGBT students. Are you gay, lesbian, bi, or trans? Your career issues might be a bit different from your classmates'. Here's some resources that can help.
- University of Florida's Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research Careers in Women's Studies page: see especially the list of "Websites Related to Women's Studies Careers/Outreach."
- St. Louis University's Careers in Women's Studies page: employment categories and professions enhanced by Women's Studies.
- Are you interested in women's health? The Office of Research on Women's Health has a good career-planning page: http://orwh.od.nih.gov/career.html
- Are you a woman interested in a career in sports? Here's a job board (and more!): http://www.womensportsjobs.com/default.htm
- If you're doing a dual major, or a minor in WGSS, your other department's website may also include valuable resources. Psychology's is especially good.