Women's Studies is an academic, interdisciplinary program oriented toward the study of women and gender roles.  The program draws on new scholarship about women from different cultural perspectives and socioeconomic backgrounds in order to examine and critique traditional models of thinking and to develop creative models of examining women and their experiences.  Theoretical and critical debates that have influenced modern gender studies as well as contemporary feminist thought are integral parts of the curriculum.

The Women's Studies program allows both female and male students a forum to broaden their education by enriching their understanding of women trough multiple fields of inquiry, and by offering theoretical and experiential opportunities to explore issues of diversity in gender, class, race, and sexuality.  The program supports critical thinking about women's and men's social, economic, cultural, and political roles in the past, present, and the future.  The program challenges students to develop their intellectual understanding of the impact of gender as an organizing force and cultural construct in societies.  Students are encouraged to explore the meaning and application of such understanding to their own lives.