1. Home ›
  2. Undergraduate ›
  3. Careers

Careers

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

96% of recent Notre Dame Gender Studies majors found success within six months of graduation.

44% find full-time jobs

  • ABA therapist, Bierman ABA Autism Center
  • Administrative associate, University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  • Admissions officer, St. Olaf College
  • Analyst, Prometheus Federal Services
  • Applications specialist, American Technology Components
  • Data analyst, AT&T
  • English language instructor, Chung Dahm Learning
  • Fellow, Atlantic Media
  • Founder and president, Youth Health Chana
  • Higher education consultant, Huron Consulting Group
  • Legislative intern, Krieg DeVault
  • Marketing coordinator, Suite NY
  • Marketing professional, World Wide Events
  • Medical assistant, Dermatology Associates of Concord
  • Program associate, International Research and Exchanges Board
  • Research assistant, Tufts Medical Center
  • Tech consultant, Capgemini
  • Youth development professional, Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County

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.

29% go to graduate or professional school

  • Applied anthropology: University of South Florida
  • Bioethics: Indiana University
  • Business administration: Lewis University
  • Computer engineering: University of Louisiana at Lafayette
  • Divinity: Yale University
  • English literature: University of Virginia
  • Irish folklore and ethnology: University College Dublin
  • Law: Harvard University, Loyola University Chicago, Northeastern University, University of Miami, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Library and information science: University of Washington
  • Medicine: Emory University
  • Philosophy: Indiana University Bloomington

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

19% enter service programs

  • Alliance for Catholic Education, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Americorps, Austin, Texas
  • Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Milwaukee
  • Maggie’s Place, Phoenix
  • Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, Parramos, Guatemala
  • Open Arms Home for Children, Komga, South Africa
  • Partners in Health Mexico, Angel Albino Corzo, Mexico
  • Spanish government, Madrid
  • Teach for America, Memphis, Tennessee

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.

4% 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

Printable version