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Study Gender Studies. Do Anything.

What can I do with a Gender Studies major?

As an interdisciplinary program grounded in the liberal arts, Gender Studies cultivates knowledge and skills that prepare students to live and think in a complex world. Notre Dame Gender Studies graduates are flourishing all over the U.S. and beyond, in a wide range of careers.

For Arts & Letters students, a degree in Gender Studies opens up career paths in areas like education, law, health, public service, communications, and the arts. Our alumni work as physicians, attorneys, researchers, policymakers, communications professionals, nonprofit administrators, social workers, teachers and professors, artists and writers, and in many other jobs that serve the common good.

For students in Science, Engineering, and Business, a minor or second major in Gender Studies cultivates the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that employers value most and prepares students to be innovators and transformative leaders in their primary areas of work.

Across all fields and industries, Gender Studies students are poised to address the problems of work in the world today, and to be leaders in transforming industries and workplaces in ways that are more equitable, inclusive, and just.

Find out how a Gender Studies major or minor fits with your other area(s) of study.

Skills you'll learn

  • Strong commitment to social justice and change
  • Critical thinking and analytical reasoning
  • Effective and authentic oral communication
  • Advanced research and writing
  • Ability to apply knowledge to real-world problems
  • Ethical judgment and decision making
  • Collaborative and innovative problem-solving
  • Ability to communicate meaningfully across differences

94% of recent Notre Dame Gender Studies majors found full-time employment, enrolled in graduate school, entered service programs, or launched independent projects within six months of graduation.

41% find full-time jobs

  • Advertising and promotions assistant, Macmillan Publishers
  • Assistant teacher, Japan Exchange and Teaching Program
  • Associate account executive, Bliss Integrated Communications
  • Attorney human resources assistant, Kirkland & Ellis
  • Business management associate, General Mills
  • Executive assistant to the CEO and CFO, Vinfen Corporation
  • Genetics clinic coordinator, Boston Children’s Hospital
  • Media associate, Starcom
  • MediaVest Group Medical scribe, Scribe America
  • Middle school teacher, Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy
  • National account manager, Coyote Logistics
  • Organizer, Impact
  • Project manager, Epic Systems
  • Quality assurance specialist, Epic Systems
  • Teacher assistant, Chicago Public Schools

Gender Studies students leave Notre Dame with a commitment to social justice, an expansive worldview, and a deep reservoir of real-world skills rooted in the ability to think critically and work collaboratively across disciplines and difference.

Prospective employers love that our students are intellectually curious, well-rounded, passionate, and socially engaged, as well as being excellent thinkers and writers.

Employers across every sector find that our graduates are critical thinkers, effective communicators, and collaborative, innovative problem solvers.

In short, Gender Studies students are the quintessential liberal arts students: they Study Everything so they can Do Anything.

28% go to graduate or professional school

  • Computer engineering: University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  • Law: Emory University, Harvard University, Loyola University Chicago, University of Virginia
  • Library and information sciences: University of Washington
  • Public health: University of Pittsburgh
  • Psychology: University of Nebraska
  • Social work: Arizona State University, Washington University in St. Louis

Many Gender Studies grads go on to graduate school in the humanities and social sciences, and to professional school to prepare for careers in law, medicine, public health, creative arts, and social work. 

“My Gender Studies education prepared me for the rigor of law school by teaching me how to grapple with complex social justice issues creatively and humbly. While the law can be a strong tool in effecting change, I am reminded by my experience in Gender Studies that the most just solutions are often the most cooperative ones.”

—Emily Garrett '18

17% enter service programs

  • House of Brigid, Ireland
  • Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Portland, Oregon
  • Teach for America, Dallas, Texas
  • Maggie's Place, Phoenix, Arizona

With its central focus on praxis, an education in Gender Studies prepares students to apply their learning in the service of the common good.

Many of our graduates go on to full-time service in social justice movements, direct service provision, and political organizing.

7% launch independent projects

Note: Outcomes data comes from First Destination reports, a survey of recent graduates conducted by the Notre Dame Center for Career Development and Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research. Status is known for more than 90% of each graduating class. 

Independent projects include internships and gap year activities such as writing a novel, making a film or fine arts project, traveling the world, caring for a family member, etc.

 

Further Reading

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