Careers

Gender and women's studies students pursue a great variety of career paths. The skills students obtain in our department, and the kind of questions they learn to ask, make them desirable employees in a number of settings. Slides above highlight some of the jobs that recent WMU gender and women's studies graduates have taken.  We encourage current students and alum to connect with us on LinkedIn

Are you on the verge of graduating, or thinking ahead to post-graduation possibilities? Western Michigan University's office of Career and Student Employment Services offers one-on-one help in exploring career options, and is a great first stop for gender and women's studies majors and minors. Whether you are just getting started or nearing graduation, Career Services will help you identify your interests, strengths and opportunities and prepare for your job search. In addition, the Department of Gender and Women's Studies also offers advising related to careers.

Because gender and women's studies is an interdisciplinary field, general advice for liberal arts majors is applicable to gender and women's studies graduates. Keep in mind that gender and women's studies course work promotes the development of critical thinking and the ability to examine diverse global issues and insight into issues of oppression. A major or minor in gender and women’s studies provides an important complement to all fields. Among some of the more popular ones are psychological counseling, social work, communication, journalism, public relations, administration, government, human resources, publishing, teaching, medicine, law, business or criminal justice. Pursuing a major in gender and women's studies provides excellent preparation for graduate study in numerous academic disciplines.

Additional resources

  • Feminist Career Center lists feminist job and internship opportunities, arranged geographically.
  • Idealist is a searchable database of non-profit job and internship opportunities.
  • Jobs Abroad lists jobs outside the United States; add "women's studies" to the Field Filter.
  • National Women's Studies Association posts job opportunities, primarily on college campuses; most require graduate degrees.