About

History

The Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of South Florida is one of the oldest in the nation. The Women's Studies program was founded at USF in 1972. In 1987, USF became the first public university in Florida to offer the B.A. in Women's Studies.

By 1991, the program had grown to include a full-time faculty of eight, achieving departmental status with the USF College of Arts & Sciences. In 1997, the Board of Regents granted permission to offer a Master's Degree in Women's Studies.

In 2007-2008, the Department experienced a number of faculty retirements, moves to other universities, and moves to other USF departments. With the support of the College of Arts and Sciences and Interim Chairs Marilyn Myerson and Jennifer Lewis, rebuilding began.

2010 and 2011 marked a number of changes in the Department: two new faculty received joint-appointments; two USF faculty moved to Women's Studies; a permanent chair was appointed; and we changed our department's name to Women's and Gender Studies to better reflect the work of questioning gender binaries and hierarchies.

The 2022-2023 academic year marked the 50th anniversary of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at USF. This milestone was celebrated with a conference, art exhibits, scholarly talks, and more - to read about it visit our 50th Anniversary celebration page. The Department name was changed in 2023-2024 to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.