Gender studies

Gender at the centre of academic analysis

Gender studies at UNSW is a vibrant, cross-disciplinary area of study that situates women, feminism, gender, sex and sexualities at the centre of academic analysis. You’ll analyse gender as part of a wider context of social relations in which gender intersects with other categories of difference, including race, ethnicity, class and disability, and examine crucial societal issues playing out across multiple areas of life in politics, religion, corporate strategy, social policy and justice.

Enhance your study with our dynamic electives  

Gender studies brings together some of the most popular subjects offered across UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture. You’ll have the opportunity to study world history, human rights, sex and desire, women’s writing, Asian cultures, and queer and gender theory, as part of a constantly evolving gender studies subject area. 

You’ll explore subjects such as gendered worlds, history of sexuality, sex, human rights and justice, race and gender, and global feminisms, helping you understand your interaction with the world around you.

Learn from academics with real-world experience  

You’ll learn from researchers and staff who share their subject matter expertise with international and national governmental bodies such as the United Nations, NSW Health Expert Advisory Group of Drugs and Alcohol, The Australian Advertising Standards Board, The Australian Council for Education, Rape Crisis NSW, and the NSW Health Ministerial Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS and STIs. 

Others are members of advisory boards of NGOs such as the Australian National Committee on Refugee Women, The Australian Refugee Rights Alliance, The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, and the Australian Centre for Human Rights.

Launch your career in social policy & justice  

An understanding of gender issues will benefit graduates in a wide range of careers, especially those concerned with social policy and justice. Combined with other areas of study, Gender Studies will provide you with valuable practical and theoretical skills for careers in:

• The Commonwealth Office for the Status of Women
• non-government organisations 
• advocacy 
• counselling 
• education 
• international relations 
• law
• public health
• public policy
• social work.