CIP 05.0207 Area, Ethnic, Cultural and Gender Studies

Women's Studies

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

2,155

2025 · 271 schools

International share

4.0%

86 international students

Bachelor's degrees

1,621

2.3% international

Master's degrees

164

23.8% international

Overview

Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that examines the role, experiences, and contributions of women in society. It emerged in the late 20th century during the feminist movements and has since evolved to incorporate a wide array of perspectives, including race, class, sexuality, and global contexts. The curriculum often includes subjects such as feminist theory, gender studies, women's history, and social justice.

Students in Women's Studies explore the historical and contemporary issues affecting women, including gender inequality, reproductive rights, and violence against women. The field also emphasizes the importance of intersectionality, recognizing how various social identities can intersect and influence women's experiences differently. Through critical analysis and research, students gain a deeper understanding of the structures of power and privilege that shape societal norms and gender relations.

Graduates of Women's Studies programs often pursue careers in education, social work, public policy, advocacy, and non-profit organizations, where they can apply their knowledge to promote gender equality and social justice. The skills developed in this field—such as critical thinking, research, and effective communication—are valuable in various professional settings.

Overall, Women's Studies not only seeks to highlight women's voices and experiences but also aims to challenge and transform societal norms, making it a vital area of study in today's world. The ongoing exploration of gender issues contributes significantly to broader discussions about equity, diversity, and inclusion in society.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

1,149 02

1,427 03

1,606 04

1,710 05

1,786 06

1,854 07

1,962 08

2,043 09

2,138 10

2,231 11

2,355 12

2,321 13

2,221 14

2,179 15

2,309 16

2,312 17

2,470 18

2,394 19

2,296 20

2,353 21

2,356 22

2,228 23

2,257 24

2,155 25

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 88% and the international share went from 2.2% to 4.0%.

International share (%)

2 02

3 03

2 04

2 05

3 06

2 07

2 08

2 09

1 10

2 11

2 12

2 13

3 14

2 15

2 16

2 17

2 18

3 19

4 20

3 21

3 22

4 23

3 24

4 25

Graduates by group, 2025

White

47.6%

Asian

6.0%

Hispanic

23.5%

Black

9.3%

Other

9.5%

Intl.

4.0%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 271 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

Rank	School	State	Graduates	International
#3	Harvard University	Massachusetts	6	0
#4	Yale University	Connecticut	10	2
#7	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	4	0
#8	Duke University	North Carolina	1	0
#12	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire	2	0
#16	Rice University	Texas	2	0
#20	University of California-Berkeley	California	17	2
#20	University of California-Los Angeles	California	1	0
#20	University of Notre Dame	Indiana	1	0
#23	Georgetown University	D.C.	2	0
#23	Emory University	Georgia	10	2
#25	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan	15	0
#27	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	9	1
#31	Tufts University	Massachusetts	1	0
#34	University of Florida	Florida	29	2
#34	The University of Texas at Austin	Texas	17	1
#34	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin	30	2
#42	Villanova University	Pennsylvania	1	0
#44	University of California-Santa Barbara	California	17	1
#44	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	New Jersey	13	2
#44	Ohio State University-Main Campus	Ohio	10	0
#49	University of Maryland-College Park	Maryland	16	1
#49	University of Rochester	New York	1	0
#49	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	Washington	19	2
#52	University of Georgia	Georgia	9	0
#55	The Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania	4	0
#55	Purdue University-Main Campus	Indiana	12	0
#59	George Washington University	D.C.	3	0
#59	Tulane University of Louisiana	Louisiana	5	0
#59	Brandeis University	Massachusetts	6	0
#59	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	Massachusetts	8	0
#59	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minnesota	4	0
#59	Stony Brook University	New York	9	1
#59	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	Pennsylvania	11	0
#59	Texas A & M University-College Station	Texas	3	0
#69	Michigan State University	Michigan	4	0
#72	Syracuse University	New York	7	0
#73	University of Connecticut	Connecticut	3	0
#73	Rutgers University-Newark	New Jersey	3	0
#73	Binghamton University	New York	1	0
#80	Clemson University	South Carolina	1	0
#85	University of Delaware	Delaware	5	0
#85	Fordham University	New York	3	0
#90	Texas Christian University	Texas	2	0
#95	American University	D.C.	7	0
#100	Florida International University	Florida	13	0
#100	University of South Florida-Main Campus	Florida	12	0
#100	University of Iowa	Iowa	8	0
#100	Saint Louis University	Missouri	1	0
#109	University of California-Santa Cruz	California	24	0
#109	Loyola Marymount University	California	2	1
#109	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado	9	1
#109	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	New Hampshire	5	0
#109	Temple University	Pennsylvania	6	0
#116	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	Oklahoma	6	0
#116	University of Oregon	Oregon	11	0
#121	Arizona State University-Tempe	Arizona	13	0
#121	University of Arizona	Arizona	9	1
#121	Loyola University Chicago	Illinois	18	2
#121	SUNY at Albany	New York	12	4
#121	University of South Carolina-Columbia	South Carolina	3	0
#133	Clark University	Massachusetts	2	0
#133	University of Vermont	Vermont	6	0
#137	California State University--Long Beach	California	8	0
#137	San Diego State University	California	16	1
#137	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	Maryland	4	0
#148	Mercer University	Georgia	5	0
#148	University of Kansas	Kansas	10	0
#148	University of Tulsa	Oklahoma	2	0
#148	University of Rhode Island	Rhode Island	13	0
#156	The University of Alabama	Alabama	13	5
#156	California State University-Fullerton	California	11	0
#156	University of St Thomas (MN)	Minnesota	1	0
#156	Montclair State University	New Jersey	5	0
#156	Oregon State University	Oregon	20	2
#156	Virginia Commonwealth University	Virginia	8	0
#169	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	Colorado	2	0
#169	DePaul University	Illinois	12	0
#169	Simmons University	Massachusetts	2	0
#169	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Nebraska	4	0
#179	University of Louisville	Kentucky	12	0
#179	CUNY Hunter College	New York	7	0
#179	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	Ohio	14	4
#179	University of Utah	Utah	22	0
#186	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Hawaii	20	0
#191	Florida Atlantic University	Florida	3	0
#191	Hofstra University	New York	1	0
#191	Washington State University	Washington	1	0
#202	University of Massachusetts-Boston	Massachusetts	9	2
#202	Ohio University-Main Campus	Ohio	7	1
#208	California State University--Fresno	California	2	0
#208	California State University-Sacramento	California	19	0
#208	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	North Carolina	13	0
#208	University of North Texas	Texas	4	1
#227	Ball State University	Indiana	2	0
#227	West Chester University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	8	0
#227	University of Texas-San Antonio	Texas	3	0
#236	University of Nevada--Las Vegas	Nevada	2	0
#236	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	New Mexico	2	0
#236	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	North Dakota	2	0
#236	Portland State University	Oregon	1	0
#236	Chatham University	Pennsylvania	1	0
#250	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth	Massachusetts	3	0
#250	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	New Mexico	3	0
#250	Pace University-New York	New York	2	0
#250	University of Wyoming	Wyoming	3	0
#262	University of Maine	Maine	2	0
#262	University of Texas--El Paso	Texas	2	0
#276	Northern Arizona University	Arizona	2	0
#276	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	Ohio	5	0
#276	Widener University	Pennsylvania	1	0
#288	Wichita State University	Kansas	1	0
#288	University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee	Wisconsin	6	0
#299	Southern Connecticut State University	Connecticut	6	0
#299	University of Toledo	Ohio	5	0
#308	Oakland University	Michigan	4	0
#328	Old Dominion University	Virginia	8	0
#332	Texas Woman's University	Texas	6	0
#342	Cleveland State University	Ohio	2	0
#365	The University of Montana	Montana	3	0
#365	Eastern Washington University	Washington	2	0
#382	University of Southern Maine	Maine	3	0
LAC #1	Williams College	Massachusetts	2	0
LAC #2	Amherst College	Massachusetts	5	0
LAC #10	Wellesley College	Massachusetts	10	1
LAC #12	Vassar College	New York	5	0
LAC #14	Hamilton College	New York	1	0
LAC #16	Grinnell College	Iowa	14	1
LAC #19	Barnard College	New York	13	1
LAC #19	Middlebury College	Vermont	4	0
LAC #21	University of Richmond	Virginia	3	0
LAC #22	Colby College	Maine	2	0
LAC #22	Smith College	Massachusetts	15	0
LAC #22	Colgate University	New York	4	0
LAC #26	Bates College	Maine	1	0
LAC #29	Bucknell University	Pennsylvania	5	0
LAC #31	Trinity College	Connecticut	1	1
LAC #31	Denison University	Ohio	2	0
LAC #34	Colorado College	Colorado	3	1
LAC #34	Spelman College	Georgia	52	0
LAC #38	Scripps College	California	3	0
LAC #44	Pitzer College	California	1	0
LAC #47	Connecticut College	Connecticut	2	0
LAC #49	The University of the South	Tennessee	1	0
LAC #54	Dickinson College	Pennsylvania	4	0
LAC #54	Gettysburg College	Pennsylvania	2	1
LAC #59	Oberlin College	Ohio	1	0
LAC #60	Hobart and William Smith Colleges	New York	2	0
LAC #62	Agnes Scott College	Georgia	2	0
LAC #62	Berea College	Kentucky	2	0
LAC #62	Gustavus Adolphus College	Minnesota	3	0
LAC #68	College of St. Benedict	Minnesota	1	0
LAC #74	St. John's University (MN)	Minnesota	1	0
LAC #78	Saint Mary's College	Indiana	2	0
LAC #78	Hope College	Michigan	1	0
LAC #81	Wheaton College (MA)	Massachusetts	1	0
LAC #85	Knox College	Illinois	2	0
LAC #85	Drew University	New Jersey	1	0
LAC #91	Augustana College	Illinois	5	0
LAC #100	SUNY College at Geneseo	New York	2	0
LAC #116	Ohio Wesleyan University	Ohio	2	0
LAC #125	Goucher College	Maryland	2	0
LAC #128	Cornell College	Iowa	2	0
LAC #128	University of Minnesota-Morris	Minnesota	1	0
LAC #128	SUNY at Purchase College	New York	2	0
LAC #154	University of North Carolina Asheville	North Carolina	1	0
LAC #168	Cottey College	Missouri	2	0
LAC #176	Virginia Wesleyan University	Virginia	1	0
LAC #184	Fort Lewis College	Colorado	1	0
—	Mt San Antonio College	California	30	0
—	City College of San Francisco	California	23	1
—	Evergreen Valley College	California	23	0
—	Arizona State University Digital Immersion	Arizona	22	0
—	East Los Angeles College	California	17	0
—	West Valley College	California	17	0
—	Citrus College	California	16	1
—	Santa Rosa Junior College	California	16	1
—	San Jose City College	California	14	0
—	Sierra College	California	14	0
—	Minnesota State University-Mankato	Minnesota	14	2
—	Diablo Valley College	California	12	0
—	Santa Monica College	California	11	1
—	Cerritos College	California	10	0
—	De Anza College	California	10	0
—	Foothill College	California	10	1
—	Long Beach City College	California	9	0
—	Chabot College	California	8	0
—	Riverside City College	California	8	0
—	College of the Sequoias	California	8	0
—	State University of New York at New Paltz	New York	8	0
—	Sonoma State University	California	7	0
—	State University of New York at Plattsburgh	New York	7	0
—	College of Charleston	South Carolina	7	0
—	California Institute of Integral Studies	California	6	0
—	California State University-Dominguez Hills	California	6	0
—	Claremont Graduate University	California	6	1
—	Sacramento City College	California	6	0
—	Towson University	Maryland	6	0
—	University of Minnesota-Duluth	Minnesota	6	0