To affirm the human dignity of all, the members of this program support and actively work to ensure the inclusion of our faculty, staff and students regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Learn more
Spotlight
Emily Garrett
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: I arrived at the Gender Studies Program in a similar way that many other students do. I began my Freshman year at Notre Dame as a hesitant Neuroscience major, and upon realizing...
Anne Jarrett
Graduation Year: 2020
Story: This summer (2017), with the financial support from the Boehnen family and the moral and other support from the Department of Gender Studies, I was able to spend my summer inter...
Megan Moffitt
Graduation Year: 2017
Story: On the recommendation of a friend, I took Introduction to Gender Studies during the second semester of my freshman year, and it was one of the best academic decisions I have mad...
Kristin Brennan
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: I stumbled upon the Gender Studies major in a roundabout way. When I arrived at Notre Dame, I knew that I wanted to find a second major to round out my intended first major in b...
Faith Mayfield
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: Sophomore year, I took a gender studies class cross-listed with my then only major, English and I absolutely loved it. It really opened my eyes to the way I experience gender an...
Tesia Janicki
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: My sophomore year, I enrolled in "Gendering Christianity" on a whim. This became one of the most thought-provoking classes I would take at Notre Dame. It challenged my identity ...
Olivia Phillips
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: My name is Olivia Phillips, and I’m a senior from Lakeland, Florida. I’ve only recently discovered a love for Notre Dame’s Gender Studies department, having picked up the minor ...
Abigail Bartels
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: The Gender Studies Program has given me the opportunity to engage with ideas that permeate my research and study in political science and in theology. I kept running into gender...
Katie Lee
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: I quickly developed an interest in Gender Studies after arriving at Notre Dame, and I tried to engage in all the opportunities the Program offers to its students. As a sophomore...
Emily Maiden
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: I was at a regional political science conference a couple years ago presenting a paper I wrote on the signing of the 2013 peace agreement in the DR-Congo. My paper focused on hi...
Connor Hayes
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: After taking two gender studies courses as electives, I quickly realized that this discipline radically transformed the way I view the world, and I declared my third major in ge...
Moira Horn
Graduation Year: 2017
Story: I first discovered the Gender Studies program at Notre Dame during the spring semester of my freshman year after my first year advisor suggested I take Introduction to Gender St...
Kayla O'Connor
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: In the past three years Gender Studies has provided me with the opportunity to take classes that caught my interest and broadened my world view. From rock and roll, to American ...
Kristi Rice
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: When I came to Notre Dame as a freshman, I had no idea what academic path I wanted to pursue. I took several different classes within the College of Arts and Letters to see what...
Michael Nolan
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: My first interest in Gender Studies began even before I started taking any classes. At the end of my freshman year, I joined the FIRE Starters, the peer educators of the Gender ...
Rae Moors
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: It took me until my junior year at Notre Dame to recognize the possibilities available in our Gender Studies program. I first walked into the office looking for Abby Palko, Dire...
Ellen Jennie Chaleff
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: I originally signed up for a Gender Studies minor so I would not have to seek approval for certain classes that seemed interesting and that lined up with my current job. I work ...
Rachel Hughes
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: I was placed in Intro to Gender Studies as a first-semester freshman at Notre Dame. I had no previous exposure to anything gender studies related in high school, and coming from...
Nathan Smith
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: Studying Gender at Notre Dame has proven to be a powerful experience for me. As a young male adult in the world growing up with my mother and sister and array of father figures,...
Alexandra Lorenzo
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: Sophomore year I took Intro to Gender Studies as a university requirement, not knowing Gender Studies would eventually become my passion. Before my Intro class I would have scof...
Nora O'Sullivan
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: Coming into a heterosexual and patriarchal university as a freshman, I was interested in Gender Studies in my first year. However, I did not think it was a substantial thing to ...
Elena Misailedes
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: One of my best friends took Introduction to Gender Studies during my freshman year and absolutely raved about it. Her readings for class inspired great discussion and sparked my...
Zoe Jimenez
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: I was introduced to the Gender Studies Department after working on the 4 to 5 Movement. I attended a panel about gender and sexuality that featured Professor Palko, and I tal...
Blake Avery
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: As a freshmen focused primarily on pursuing a career Film Production, I had no idea that gender studies as a collegiate interdisciplinary field existed. After taking Introduc...
Natalie Perez
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: The multi-disciplinary nature of the Gender Studies program as well as its amazing faculty have allowed me to grow in my time at Notre Dame. As a GSC major I feel that I am n...
Molly Shank
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: Towards the end of the fall of my sophomore year a friend recommended Gender Studies to me saying, “I think you would like it.” Never has a simple sentence been s...
Christa Dines
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: Having taught English as a Second Language to refugees from Burma, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, I learned firsthand about problems facing women in countries and cultures where basi...
Mia Lillis
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: While I had been weighing whether or not to add Gender Studies to my academic repertoire for a good year prior, it was not until my spring semester of my junior year that I f...
Joshua Whitaker
Graduation Year: 2013
Story: I took the introductory course at the beginning of sophomore year and picked up the major soon after. I focused mainly on literature courses. It offered a theoretical/critica...
Maria McLeod
Graduation Year: 2013
Story: Though I have always been interested in gender-related issues, it wasn't until I saw the film "Sin by Silence" during my sophomore year that I knew I wanted to formally study ge...
Karl Abad
Graduation Year: 2013
Story: Going out on a whim and taking a random Gender Studies course during my freshman year was probably one of the best decisions I have made here. My Gender Studies classes a...
Nora Goebelbecker
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: I spent a large part of my sophomore year stumbling around various offices and websites, attempting to plan a summer research project that would fuse my Political Science maj...
Jason G'Sell
Graduation Year: 2012
Story: As a sophomore, my boyfriend at the time had declared a gender studies minor and talked about it incessantly. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about. As an acting ...
Katherine M. Lukas
Graduation Year: 2012
Story: I chose to minor in Gender Studies after recognizing the gendered nature of buying behavior and purchasing power. Female consumers control 70-80% of the purchasing power in o...
Emma O'Brien
Graduation Year: 2012
Story: I was a freshman biology major set to immerse myself in science for the next four years when my freshman year advisor recommended I take the Intro to Gender Studies course. I...
Melissa Buddie
Graduation Year: 2012
Story: The Gender Studies Program has significantly enriched my educational experience at Notre Dame. One of my favorite classes that I have taken during my undergraduate career was...
Paige Gesicki
Graduation Year: 2012
Story: When you can leave an intro class and feel that the subject not only informed your perspective on the world but also deepened your self-awareness, you have found a special mo...
Manuela Fernandez-Pinto
Graduation Year: 2014
Story: I am mainly interested in feminist epistemology, and the relation between feminism and science. I think that the Gender Studies Minor offers a great opportunity to graduate stu...
Meaghan Jennings/Patrick Bears
Graduation Year: 2010
Story: For us, Gender Studies exists not merely as a major, but as a discipline that truly transcends the academic experience. It is this interdisciplinary field of study that...
Danny Nolan
Graduation Year: 2009
Story: My Gender Studies Major has open my perspective and helped teach me about differing viewpoints that I had never really considered. I believe that it's really made my e...
Brandon Pierpont
Graduation Year: 2009
Story: My Gender Studies Minor has opened my mind to the many important influences that gender, race and class play in my society. I am now better able to recognize the subtle...
Mandy Lewis
Graduation Year: 2010
Story: One of the greatest things about being a Gender Studies major/minor is that it's NEVER boring. While studying transgenderism in Theories of Sexual Difference (Professor J...
Andrea (Dre) Torres Hermoza
Graduation Year: 2009
Story: Being a Gender Studies Major has helped my understanding and analysis of why women's roles are what they are in Latin American Politics. I have been able to apply the theorie...
Patrick Tighe
Graduation Year: 2010
Story: By being a Gender Studies minor, I accomplished one of my life dreams—to write a play that deals with the intersection of relationships, desires, and pornography. This ...
Abigail L. Palko
Graduation Year: 2010
Story: I defended my dissertation, entitled “Motherhood, Declined: Negotiating Maternal Subjectivities in Irish and Caribbean Novels, 1934-2007,” in December 2009 and will graduate in ...
Stacey E. Williams
Graduation Year: 2008
Story: A major or minor in Gender Studies is incredibly valuable because of its real-world application. Since becoming involved with Gender Studies, hardly a day goes by when I d...
Karen Monique Gregg
Graduation Year: 2011
Story: I aim to study the intersection of religion, gender, and social psychological processes in my career as an academic. Since the Department of Sociology does not offer a focused p...
Amber Handy
Graduation Year: 2011
Story: Congratulations to Amber Handy (History/Medieval PhD) - Distinguished Graduate Student 2011. Established in 1991, the Distinguished Graduate Award is conferred on a graduate...
Kelly McGauley
Graduation Year: 2011
Story: It was my love for feminist fiction that I explored through my English major that initially interested me in Gender Studies, but as I began taking more classes in the program...
Kelly Pierson
Graduation Year: 2011
Story: My Gender Studies courses have reconfirmed my passion for working toward equality and fairness in this world. This enthusiasm has led me to my summer internship for Women in ...
Jill Schroeder
Graduation Year: 2010
Story: As a freshman, I got placed in a class called Gender & Sexuality in Pop Media to fulfill my fine arts requirement. This class showed me how pervasive gender is in the media ...
Miriam Olsen
Graduation Year: 2010
Story: With a generous grant from the Boehnen Fund for Excellence in Gender Studies, I spent the summer between my junior and senior year rewriting the College HAS Issues program fo...
Jade Avelis
Graduation Year: 2016
Story: Gender is a consequential and ubiquitous aspect of human life that needs much additional formal analysis and discussion. Taking courses specifically addressing gender in various...
Amanda (Mandy) Lewis
Graduation Year: 2010
Story: I just sort of fell into my Gender Studies major. My FYS advisor signed me up for the Intro to Feminist and Gender Theory course as an elective (because I...
Christine Klauer
Graduation Year: 2011
Story: As a Gender Studies minor I have developed the ability to articulate well-constructed ideas and arguments with a consciousness in history, learned or formulated, with the set go...
Lauren Morisseau
Graduation Year: 2015
Story: I declared my Gender Studies Minor at the beginning of my senior year (quite late, I know!) and though it was challenging to complete in one year, I have never regretted it! I h...
Pete Freeman
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: The Gender Studies Program has allowed me to pursue my academic and creative endeavors in the areas of family, children's education, and motherhood. From faculty mentorship to r...
Molly Burton
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: I'm one of the few that came to Notre Dame wanting to major in Gender Studies. I took the intro class the first semester of freshman year, but it was my Women and Politics class...
Arielle Sims
Graduation Year: 2017
Story: The Gender Studies Program was not how I began my academic career at Notre Dame, but as I look towards graduation, I remember how fortunate I am to have found it. Through the Pr...
Emily Beaudoin
Graduation Year: 2017
Story: My Gender Studies major has played a transformative role in my time at Notre Dame. Most significantly, I have taken advantage of numerous opportunities to expand my Gender Studi...
Celanire Flagg
Graduation Year: 2017
Story: "Management Consulting and Gender Studies" many people exclaim, "what an interesting combination." This is the response that I receive when people hear my majors. They are curio...
Grace Nickels
Graduation Year: 2017
Story: During my first semester at Notre Dame, I took Introduction to Gender Studies with Professor Abigail Palko. I learned so many new and intriguing concepts that I never had the op...
Gabrielle Marzke
Graduation Year: 2017
Story: The Gender Studies Program has been my lifeline and support system while at Notre Dame. I came to Notre Dame intending to major in political science, but I took Introduction to ...
Luciana Jansen
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: When I first got to Notre Dame, I had no idea of what to expect. I knew I had some interest in pursuing a business degree, but I also knew that there were so many other options ...
Hailey Fulwider
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: This summer (2017), I was lucky enough to be chosen as a recipient of the Boehnen Summer Internship Grant. Thanks to the Boehnen family, I was able to work at a small marketing ...
Meghan Watts
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: I got started with Gender Studies my sophomore year at Notre Dame, almost by accident. I took the intro to try it out, and realized that I'd already taken two courses for Englis...
Haley O'Connor
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: As a pre-law student, I am interested in studying the intersection between law, gender, and politics. Adding a Gender Studies major to my Political Science major allowed me oppo...
Natalie Mayer
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: I decided to pick up the gender studies minor during my junior year. Like many of my peers, I realized that a lot of the issues I was interested in and cared about related to ge...
Ashley Flakus
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: I took Introduction to Gender Studies on a whim during spring semester of my first year. People had told me that college was the time to take a class that would change your pers...
Chloe Moreno
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: Gender Studies has allowed me to take a wide variety of classes that I would not have been able to take otherwise, and yet, my experience has been so positively impacted by them...
Kaleigh Frigon
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: Gender Studies has allowed me to learn about topics that are 'invisible' at Notre Dame. ND says that it has a diverse student body and that they foster discussions about all top...
Katharine Lisko
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: Gender Studies at Notre Dame has opened up an incredible community here that has taught me the importance of understanding, acceptance, and new perspective. My GS courses have a...
Rebecca (Becca) Fritz
Graduation Year: 2018
Story: My name is Becca Fritz, and I'm a graduating senior finishing up a double major in Neuroscience and Gender Studies. After coming to Notre Dame as a Neuroscience major, I am so g...
Abby Ferguson
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: This summer (2018) I had the opportunity to work with Becky's Fund, a DC-based domestic violence awareness and prevention nonprofit, thanks to the generosity of the Boehnen Fami...
Amy Mansfield
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: During my sophomore year, I took a class called "Women's Voices?" to fulfill a literature requirement. Though a tough class, I remember thinking throughout the course, "Wow. I r...
Sarah Kelly
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: I always knew that I wanted to study gender, but thanks to Notre Dame Gender Studies, I have had amazing opportunities. This summer I had the opportunity to get a jumpstart on m...
Trey Murphy
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: This summer research is my first experience with Gender Studies at Notre Dame, and it has been such an amazing experience. Because of the funding I received, I was able to meet ...
Abigail Ferguson
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: After taking Introduction to Gender Studies in my Freshman year I was immediately hooked. Soon I became a minor, and then a supplementary major, and now I am graduating with a f...
Lia Rocchino
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: The Notre Dame Gender Studies program has allowed me to pursue my academic and professional interests in a way no other program could. I stumbled upon it after realizing that al...
Christina Lai
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: I took an Intro to Gender Studies course in my freshman year, loved it, and decided to take another course. I became interested in how we ended up where we are today and what co...
Allison Dopazo
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: I am very happy that I chose to major in Gender Studies at Notre Dame. The classes have been incredible, challenging, and eye-opening. The professors are all very interesting an...
Maria Vetter
Graduation Year: 2019
Story: I took Introduction to Gender Studies my Sophomore year to fulfill a Social Science requirement and promptly signed up for a Gender Studies Minor when the class was over. I abso...
Maria McLeod
Graduation Year: 2013
Favorite Gender Studies: Though I absolutely adored all of my Gender Studies professors at Notre Dame, my favorite woul...
Jacki (Larson) Miskimins
Graduation Year: 2008
Favorite Gender Studies: My favorite memories definitely center around the friends I made in the program - including the s...
Krista Duttenhaver
Graduation Year: PhD 2010
Favorite Gender Studies: I loved teaching the Intro to Feminist and Gender Theory. Not only did I get the chance to get...
Samara Cahill
Graduation Year: PhD 2009
Favorite Gender Studies: Dr. Botting was the best boss ever! It was great working with her, Linnie, Krista, and all the...
Abigail Palko
Graduation Year: PhD 2010
Favorite Gender Studies: There was a moment in the middle of the Core Grad Seminar when I realized I needed to scrap mo...
Miriam Olsen
Graduation Year: 2010
Favorite Gender Studies: I so valued reading and writing material written by WOMEN and people within the LGBT community...
Ann Biddlecom
Graduation Year: 1989
Favorite Gender Studies: My senior year was the very first year the Gender Studies Concentration was offered and so I r...
Patrick Lasseter
Graduation Year: 2008
Favorite Gender Studies: I enjoyed all my Gender Studies classes, especially Sex, Sexuality, and Gender in the U.S. (bo...
Michael Zimmer
Graduation Year: 1994
Favorite Gender Studies: The radical feeling I had taking “Feminist Theology” at ND, which prompted me to r...
Kelley Tuthill
Graduation Year: 1992
Favorite Gender Studies: I have wonderful memories of several gender studies professors including Kathleen Biddick, Son...
Kelly Smith Gibson, MD
Graduation Year: 2004
Favorite Gender Studies: I loved all my Gender Studies classes, but my favorite may have been my Feminist and Multicult...
Sean MacCready
Graduation Year: 2004
Favorite Gender Studies: Gender, Race, Class, and Sexuality in Music by Professor Paula Higgins.
Jessie Potish Taylor
Graduation Year: 2004
Favorite Gender Studies: Two of my most memorable classes were Marriage and Family (a sociology course) and Women in Ea...
Shannon Kelly
Graduation Year: 2002
Favorite Gender Studies: Women & Religion with Professor Heidi Ardizzone or my GS Practicum with Professor Mary Beckman.
Rose Lindgren
Graduation Year: 2004
Favorite Gender Studies: Engendering Theology with Mary Rose D’Angelo was a fantastically eye-opening class. I lo...
Kellene Johnson McMillan
Graduation Year: 1993
Favorite Gender Studies: My favorite teacher and class was Gender and the Law (at the law school) by Professor Phelps. ...
Mary Beth (Asmussen) Maginn
Graduation Year: 2003
Favorite Gender Studies: Professor Sophie White’s class – history of clothing.
Emily Disque Hayes
Graduation Year: 2002
Favorite Gender Studies: I enjoyed Gender Issues in the Law with Professor Phelps.
Mary Elizabeth Lasseter
Graduation Year: 1999
Favorite Gender Studies: Now I work for an organization that uses food a means of exploring all the same gender/race/cl...
Sarah (Sally) Koenig Simone
Graduation Year: 1997
Favorite Gender Studies: Professor Biddick's history course
Catherine Sheehy
Graduation Year: 1992
Favorite Gender Studies: So many, but Kathleen Maas Weigert's classes helped me find my voice, and motivated me to ...
Cat Rambo (Catherine Francis)
Graduation Year: 1989
Favorite Gender Studies: I loved so many of my professors, but particularly Charlene Avallone and Gloria Jean Masciarot...
Events
Gender Studies Program Graduation Reception
Fri May 17, 2019 • 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Award Presentation at Noon Morris Inn – Private Dining Room Originally published at commencement.nd.edu.…
University Commencement Ceremony
Sun May 19, 2019 • 9:30AM - 11:45AM
Conferring of Bachelor and Honorary Degrees Guest tickets for admission are required Guest may enter Gate A or B starting at 8:00 a.m. Originally published at commencement.nd.edu.…
News
Three Arts and Letters professors named ACLS fellows
May 12, 2019
Two historians and one theologian among 81 fellows named from more than 1,100 applicants in the 2019 award cycle. ACLS awardees are selected for excellence in the humanities and humanistic social sciences,...
Winners of Undergraduate Writing Awards
May 01, 2019
Congratulations to Brooke Littman and Lia Rocchino. 2019 recipient of Philip L. Quinn Gender Studies Essay Award Brook Littman (Major: Film, Television, and Theatre, Supplementary Major: Pre-Health Studies) “Harold, They’re Lesbians”; A...
