Women's Studies Curriculum

Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary department for students who wish to explore the basic questions raised by recent scholarship on gender and its relation to other systems of cultural/political differences such as race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. This scholarship covers a variety of theoretical and empirical studies both within traditional disciplines and in interdisciplinary frames.

Because the department is interdisciplinary and the field vast, we require our students organize their studies with a focus on a traditional discipline, with a set of gender-related courses in another department, or with a concentration on a specific theme.

Early in their sophomore year, students interested in the major should consult the Women's Studies Department to plan their major. Students also have the option of electing a joint or double major and have access to Columbia graduate courses, since some cover special areas not otherwise available at Barnard. A minor in Women's Studies is also offered.

To contact the Womens' Studies Department, click here.