Study of Women and Gender Major

The tuition fee is 61,260 USD per year.

The Program for the Study of Women, Gender & Sexuality is an interdisciplinary endeavor examining gender, race, class, and sexuality as simultaneous aspects of social worlds. Students analyze the construction and operation of power relations, social inequalities, and resistances in national and transnational contexts. The program integrates academic disciplines with an understanding of global activism.

Focus areas include Queer Studies, Race and Ethnicity Studies, Transnational, Postcolonial, and Diasporic Studies, Feminist Science Studies, Reproductive Justice, Black Feminism.

The major requires ten semester courses totaling 40 credits, including specific courses in queer studies, race and ethnicity, and transnational/postcolonial/diasporic studies, plus two 300-level courses. An 8-credit, two-semester thesis is required for honors.

The programme totals about 40 credit hours. For international students, tuition is well above the median for US programmes. The institution admits about 20% of applicants.

Residential life is central to Smith. The college has 40 self-governing houses rather than conventional dorms, and most students live on campus throughout their college career. House communities bring together students from all four class years and sustain traditions such as Friday afternoon tea. The campus includes Paradise Pond, formed in the 18th century by a dam on the Mill River. It serves as a campus attraction and a living laboratory for science students. Smith is in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Smith’s open curriculum gives students room to shape an education across disciplines. Current students combine fields such as computer science and psychology, sociology and landscape studies, or neuroscience and chemistry. The college supports paths into STEM, the humanities, graduate study, professional school, and service programs. Career support begins when students arrive, with nine career advisers, internship opportunities, conference funding, fellowships advising, and access to Smith Career Connect. Eighty-seven percent of graduates complete at least one internship while at Smith.

International students can draw on a worldwide alumni network of 53,000 people in more than 130 countries. Praxis grants support unpaid internships around the world, while Smith’s fellowship advising includes opportunities such as the Fulbright program. Recent student experiences have included work connected to Ghana, international taekwondo competition, and climate research in Rhode Island. The college’s location in Northampton places campus life within a Massachusetts setting while its academic and alumni networks extend well beyond the United States.