Women, Gender and Sexuality

Sangeeta Tyagi, Concentration Chair

The Women, Gender and Sexuality (WGS) concentration provides students with a theoretical and empirical understanding of contemporary policy issues concerning gender and sexuality. The curriculum explores a broad range of issues including the social and economic position of women in the United States and LGBTQIA+ identities and representation. Using an intersectional approach that incorporates race, class, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, age, ability, and nationality, students learn to evaluate and critique policy initiatives that intersect with gender and sexuality in order to improve equality and decrease gender-based disparities.

Students in this concentration benefit from access to all Heller research institutes and centers, as gender inequality often intersects with concerns related to poverty, health, disability, youth and families. Heller coordinates with the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Brandeis, as well as the Gender and Sexuality Center. In addition, students have the opportunity to enroll in classes at other universities in the Boston area, and to participate in the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality.

Students ultimately learn to be critical thinkers as they incorporate theory relating to gender and policy. Exposure to research and policy tools will allow the development of new dynamic approaches to strategy and policy change.

Course Requirements

• The full spectrum of MPP core courses
• The following specialized courses:
  • HS 240f, Contemporary Issues in Gender and Public Policy
  • HS 216f, Policy Perspectives on Women, Work and Inequality
• Additional course(s) selected from the following list in consultation with a faculty advisor:
  • HS 534b, Assets and Social Policy
  • HS 224f, Gender and the Environment
  • HS 283f, Gender and Development
  • HS 320f, LGBTQ+ Justice: A History of Pride, Prejudice, and Policy in the United States
  • HS 309f, Policy Approaches to Gender-Based Violence
  • HS 334a, Child and Family Policy: U.S. and Cross-Cultural Perspectives
  • WMGS 151a, The Social Politics of Sexual Education
  • WMGS 105b, Feminisms: History, Theory and Practice
  • WMGS 166a, Gender, Sexuality and Social Media
  • WMGS 107a, Introduction to Indigenous and Native Women, Gender, and Sexualities
  • WMGS 208b, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Research Seminar
  • SOC 133b, Sociology of Reproduction
  • PSYC 160b, Seminar on Sex Differences