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Major · Area, Ethnic, Cultural & Gender Studies

A critical-studies major that rewards skill-stacking and graduate plans

Women’s Studies (CIP 05.0207) trains students in research, writing, ethics, and policy analysis through the lens of gender. Roughly 1,479 students complete it across 363 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning $52,065 in five-year tracked wages.

Schools offering
363
Annual completions
1,479
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$52k

About this major

Women’s Studies (CIP 05.0207) is a critical-studies major built around the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of women, and the development of modern feminism across periods and locations. Coursework spans literature, philosophy, the arts, social science, and policy, often under the contemporary heading of Women’s and Gender Studies. Students read primary sources, write argumentative essays, run qualitative or mixed-methods research projects, and engage public debates with evidence and care.

The major rewards readers and writers who like ambiguous questions with structured answers. Strong fits include students drawn to ethics, policy, history, or cultural analysis, plus those planning pre-law, pre-MSW, or pre-public-health tracks. Many graduates pair the credential with a second major, a minor in statistics or data, or a language — the academic substance gains traction when stacked with an applied deliverable.

Scale is modest and concentrated in two segments. Completions reach 1,479 students across 363 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning $52,065 in five-year tracked wages and associate’s holders earning $35,455. The packet names one direct occupational match — area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, at $84,290 median wage and 2.4% projected growth, requiring a doctoral degree. Realistic destinations span nonprofit and advocacy work, public policy, social services, education, journalism, HR and DEI roles, healthcare administration, law after a JD, and academic research after a PhD. Within its concentration, the major is larger than African-American/Black Studies (563 completions) and the catch-all 05.0299 (686), suggesting durable institutional support rather than boutique scarcity.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary $84k +2.4% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$52k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$35k

Bachelor's

$52k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if you read widely and want a major built around argument, evidence, and ethical reasoning rather than memorized procedure, you’re drawn to questions about gender, power, and culture and want four years to engage them seriously, you’re planning a graduate or professional credential — JD, MSW, MPH, PhD — and want a strong reading-and-writing foundation rather than a vocational track, you’re willing to stack the major with an applied skill set (data, statistics, a language, design, technical writing) to broaden labor-market entry points, and the bachelor’s wage signal of $52,065 fits your expectations for the kinds of roles named in the packet.

Think twice if you want a single named occupation tied to the credential — the only direct match in the packet is postsecondary teaching at $84,290, which requires a doctorate. Reconsider if employer-recognized vocational training matters more than analytic depth for your target career; nursing, accounting, computer science, or engineering will signal more directly. Pause if you’re drawn to the subject but not the academic side — community organizing, advocacy fellowships, or policy internships may serve you better than four years of seminar-driven study. Also weigh the concentrated completion footprint: 1,479 graduates across 363 institutions means program quality varies, so check the department’s faculty, course catalog, and alumni outcomes before committing.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Women's Studies

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA 61 0 61
University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT 0 31 31
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 0 27 27
University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 0 26 26
Citrus College Glendora, CA 23 0 23
San Jose City College San Jose, CA 21 0 21
California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA 0 20 20
University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 0 19 19
Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ 0 19 19
West Valley College Saratoga, CA 18 0 18
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other

686 completions/yr

African-American/Black Studies

563 completions/yr

Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano Studies

394 completions/yr

American Indian/Native American Studies

355 completions/yr

Ethnic Studies

297 completions/yr

Deaf Studies

254 completions/yr

Disability Studies

85 completions/yr

Asian-American Studies

59 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Women’s Studies majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition organizes coursework around the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of women, plus the development of modern feminism across periods and locations. Day-to-day, you read primary and secondary sources, write argumentative essays, design qualitative or mixed-methods research, and engage with debates spanning literature, philosophy, the arts, and policy. Many programs are housed as Women’s and Gender Studies (WGSS) and pair theory with applied work in community organizing, archives, or policy briefs.
What kinds of jobs do Women’s Studies graduates end up in?
There is no single career destination. The packet names one direct match — area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary, at $84,290 median wage with 2.4% projected growth and a doctoral degree typical for entry. In practice, graduates land in nonprofit and advocacy work, public policy, social services, education, journalism, HR and DEI roles, healthcare administration, law after a JD, and academia after a PhD. The bachelor’s opens doors broadly rather than into one named occupation.
Is the bachelor’s enough, or should I plan on graduate school?
Both routes are common. Bachelor’s graduates earn around $52,065 in five-year tracked wages, while associate’s holders earn $35,455 — the four-year credential carries most of the wage signal. The named occupational match (postsecondary teaching, $84,290) requires a doctorate, and many graduates pursue JD, MSW, MPH, or PhD programs. Plan the major as a launchpad: pair it with a second major, minor, or applied skill set, then decide on graduate study based on the specific career you target.
How does Women’s Studies compare to nearby majors in the same family?
Within the area-ethnic-cultural-gender-and-group-studies concentration, Women’s Studies is the largest single CIP at 1,479 completions, ahead of the catch-all 05.0299 (686), African-American/Black Studies (563), Hispanic-American/Latino Studies (394), American Indian/Native American Studies (355), and Ethnic Studies (297). The methods and texts overlap heavily, and many universities offer joint or interdisciplinary tracks. Pick based on the questions you want to spend four years on — gender, race, ethnicity, or disability — rather than on labor-market signal, which is similar across these CIPs.
How should I think about the public conversation around this major?
Women’s Studies attracts ROI critique from employers and commentators who fixate on early-career wages. The honest read is that graduates outperform that critique when they pair the credential with applied skills — data analysis, technical writing, a second language, statistics, design — or with graduate study in law, social work, public health, or policy. The credential signals strong reading, writing, and ethical-reasoning capacity; the labor market rewards those skills when paired with a concrete deliverable.
Where do most Women’s Studies graduates come from?
Completions are concentrated at a mix of California community colleges and four-year publics. Mt San Antonio College leads with 61 associate’s graduates, followed by the University of Utah (31 bachelor’s), University of Florida (27), UC Santa Cruz (26), Citrus College (23), and San Jose City College (21). The community-college share suggests a meaningful transfer pathway: complete general-education and introductory WGSS coursework at low tuition, then transfer into a four-year program at a state university or selective campus.