Job Placement

GWSS is a leader and model in the graduate education of gender and sexuality studies. Our highly selective doctoral program began in 1998, accepting small diverse cohorts (3-4 students) annually. By 2023, 30 students completed their PhDs in Feminist Studies at the University of Minnesota. The growth of the field, nationally and internationally, provides excellent employment opportunities for our graduates, and the department has a stellar record of placing its graduates in academic positions. We have employment data on all of our students. Of the 30 doctoral students who have graduated by 2023, 20 obtained tenure-track positions. Many others received postdoctoral fellowships and visiting professorship positions. Our graduates hold tenured and tenure-track appointments at major state flagship universities, private universities, and leading liberal arts colleges, as well as at smaller regional, state university branch campuses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. A small number of students use their PhDs to pursue non-academic careers in the non-profit sector and NGOs, entrepreneurship, and the legal profession.

A sampling of institutions where our students have accepted tenure-track positions

(includes non-North American institutions with varying tenure systems)

Coastal Carolina University

Colorado College

Grand Valley State University

Illinois State University

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Jackson State University

Keene College

Minnesota State University - Moorhead

Monterey Peninsula College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Research Institute of Comparative History and Culture

Rhode Island School of Design

Queens University

State University of New York - Adirondack

University of Alabama

University of California-Davis

University of Indiana-Bloomington

University of Iowa

University of Michigan

University of New Mexico

University of North Carolina - Greensboro

University of Toronto

University of Washington

Westminster College