Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Own your power to ignite change. Join our dynamic Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies program to explore the socio-political movements, local and global identities and intersectional social freedoms. With award-winning faculty guiding you, you'll critically investigate pressing issues like artificial intelligence's impact on marginalized people, transnational politics, reproductive rights and technologies and the impact of normative power and privilege on the world, the environment, the workplace and in interpersonal human relations.
You'll learn to challenge systems of oppression, amplify marginalized voices, and drive change toward a more equitable world. If you're passionate about feminism, sexuality, intersectionality and making a difference, this program is for you.
As you study, you’ll develop skills to support you on different career paths. Our graduates work in many different fields in the public and private sector, including law, social work and services, the arts, film and theatre, business, counselling and therapy and policy analysis and non-profits. Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies alumni have also pursued post-graduate work and professional degrees.
*Pending Senate Approval
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OUAC Code: YRF
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What you'll learn
- Develop the practical, theoretical, communication and organizational skills to think, write, conduct research, and act critically and creatively in the interdisciplinary fields of gender, sexuality and women’s studies.
- Discover how intersecting questions of gender, sexuality, race, class, nation and ability shape society and our understanding of history and identity from interdisciplinary, transnational and decolonial perspectives.
- Envision and create practical possibilities for meaningful social change through an intersectional approach to gender and sexual justice.
Hands-on experiences
- Attend field trips to theatres, galleries and local organizations that connect you with communities reflected in the curriculum.
- Learn from guest speakers, including activists, drag performers, poets and politicians, who share their experiences and insights.
- Participate in small-scale community-based research projects, such as the collection of oral histories from marginalized communities, to engage in hands-on research that applies theoretical knowledge to different issues.
- Apply your knowledge and skills through our new practicum course, where you'll work with community organizations, advocacy groups or research institutions focused on gender, sexuality and women's issues.
- Participate in activities organized by our two student clubs: The Sexual Education Centre at York (SECY) and Exploring Feminism Together at York (EFTY). Our student clubs are dedicated to advocacy, education and campaigns on gender and sexual diversity issues.
Faculty Testimonials
My teaching aims to expose students to the intersections of race, gender and sexuality in national and transnational contexts. Through a critical, interdisciplinary, and collaborative approach, I foster intellectual curiosity and encourage students to examine power dynamics and difference. My courses are crafted to carefully, consistently and strategically push students to rethink their intellectual horizons, while helping them to appreciate the value of this critical labour for addressing social inequality and intersecting oppressions. I always enjoy the energy that students bring to the classroom as they become critically alive to themselves and with each other – a lifelong skill they will need to navigate and challenge the complexities of our globalized world.
— Amar Wahab
As an interdisciplinary scholar, my work sits at the intersection of Gender and Black studies. My research examines the Haitian Revolution through a Black feminist and queer lens, to in part, widen the scope of the Black Radical Tradition and to highlight alternatives to masculinist framings of insurgency discourses. My passion for uncovering critical perspectives and theoretical frameworks to understand inequality and resistance, reverberates in my teaching and pedagogical approaches. What I love most about teaching in the School of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s studies is helping students analyze the ways in which our struggles are intertwined, and how gender is never isolated from other societal factors and structures that construct our world.
— Bianca Beauchemin
As an Indigenous feminist and sociologist, I bring an intersectional Indigenous feminist approach to both my research and teaching, examining how colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy continue to shape our social institutions and relationships with the land. In the School of Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, I teach courses on race, gender, sexuality, Indigenous feminisms, and Indigenous research methods that invite students to think critically, develop research skills, and engage creatively with pressing issues of justice, climate, and community. I love teaching because my students inspire me, they challenge me to stay connected with emerging scholarship, creative expression, and the lived realities that drive our collective work toward decolonial futures.
— Angele Alook
My research examines evolving forms of Islamophobia, with a focus on building strong community–academic partnerships that connect scholarship to real-world impact. I am particularly interested in how questions of feminism, secularism, and racism shape contemporary forms of exclusion and resistance. At the undergraduate level, I teach courses on anti-racist feminism and feminist theory, and at the graduate level, I offer a seminar on Islamophobia and gender. Through both my teaching and research, I aim to equip students with critical tools to analyze and challenge systems of power and inequality.
— Nadia Hasan
I am an artist and my courses blend creativity, critical thinking, and hands-on exploration. I support students to dive into complex ideas through unconventional, experiential activities, like field trips to galleries, artist studios, and even a donkey sanctuary to explore queer affect. My teaching goes beyond textbooks: whether it’s cooking as art, collaborating with local community gardens or drawing for non-drawers, I design assignments that allow students to connect theory to personal, embodied experiences that are relevant to their lives. Students bring their whole selves—body, mind, and identity—creating a vibrant, supportive community where learning is deeply personal, collaborative, and transformative.
— Allyson Mitchell
Interested in this program?
As a future student if you fill out this form you will be entered into a draw for a chance to win 1 of 4 $50 YU Bookstore gift cards. See full contest details.
