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