Women Studies Gains Department Status

The Women Studies Program, established in 1970, achieved department status in September 1996.

There are several benefits to being a department, says Shirley Yee, chair of Women Studies. "In terms of national status, it elevates the unit in the eyes of students who are considering studying here," she says. "But our real push to have this happen was our interest in establishing a Ph.D. program, which is easier when a unit has department status."

Developing such a program tops Yee’s agenda as chair. In fact, a proposal already has been submitted to the Graduate School Council for its approval. "I think this is an opportune time to offer graduate degrees in women studies," she says. "We are constantly getting questions from people all over the nation, asking, ‘When is this going to happen?’ The demand is really there." Currently only a handful of Ph.D. programs in women studies exist across the nation.

Graduate programs notwithstanding, women studies has been an active academic unit on the UW campus for many years. Yee, an historian whose courses have included women’s history, race and gender, and the social history of American women, says that the interdisciplinary nature of the department is one of its greatest assets.

"We have anthropologists, historians, psychologists, and literary scholars, all within the department," she says. "And we have 57 adjunct faculty members from all over campus. I’ve found it a wonderful, intellectually stimulating experience."

Last year the department offered more than 50 courses, with nearly 1,900 students enrolled. There are currently 75 declared majors in the department.

Yee hopes to expand the interdisciplinary boundaries of Women Studies to include more science—perhaps with a science-based track. "We already have two core faculty who offer courses in the sciences," says Yee, "and many affiliates and adjuncts do as well, so we’re in a good position to do this. I’d like to not only have a science track, but also to infuse more components of science into our present courses."