Why pursue a degree
in women's studies?

The Center for Women's Studies at Wichita State University is dedicated to putting women's history, accomplishments and experience on center stage. It is an academic department in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, established as a campus-wide resource for scholarship and teaching about women and gender issues.

The Women's Studies major or double major is ideal for students who are:

• interested in a focused interdisciplinary degree that crosses departmental boundaries,
• interested in pursuing scholarly work on women, ranging from literary criticism to clinical psychology,
• planning careers which can be enhanced by a focus on women's concerns, such as medical practice, law, administration, counseling and guidance, psychology, social work, personnel, labor and industrial relations, communications and advertising, health care, teaching and business,
• pursuing leadership positions in the community, interested in graduate school in women's studies or related fields.

The Women's Studies minor is ideal for students who:

• wish to supplement their major with information and experience related to women and gender issues,
• desire formal recognition of their course work in women's studies,
• seek formal contact with faculty members who share a scholarly interest in women's experiences and lives.

Women's Studies provides a balanced and comprehensive view of the history of women and their contributions to present day society. It offers a vision of future possibilities for women as they reach their full human potential, both in traditional occupations and in newly-achieved positions of responsibility throughout the world.

A Brief History

The Center for Women's Studies at Wichita State University originated with a single course, Women in Society, taught on a voluntary basis by WSU faculty in 1971. Thus women's studies at WSU is one of the oldest University-level women's studies programs in the country. In addition to serving the university community through their academic program, WSU women's studies faculty also serve the larger Wichita by participating in numerous groups and projects aimed at achieving greater visibility and equity for women. The Center and its faculty regularly sponsor campus activities that link the work and goals of women's studies with the lives of community people.