Texas Woman’s University in Denton has announced that it is offering a bachelor’s degree in multicultural women’s and gender studies beginning this fall. The university already offers a master’s degree, a Ph.D. program, and a graduate certificate program in multicultural women’s and gender studies but until now a bachelor’s degree program has not been offered in the field.
“Before an official announcement went out, six students contacted me,” said Danielle Phillips-Cunningham, an associate professor and leader of the new program. “Three have already registered as majors, and, at the latest majors fair, 25 signed up for more information.”
Dr. Phillips-Cunningham explained the rationale for adding a bachelor’s degree program by stating that “students could come into the masters and doctoral programs without a background in women’s studies because the theories in our field are taught in various fields, and that has grown over time. Many of the undergraduate courses in other departments are shaped by theories that are foundational to the field of women’s studies, such as intersectionality, and theories about gender, race, class, and sexuality. We thought it was important to have a B.A. program in which students could focus on learning feminist theories and how to apply them in real, practical ways.”
Dr. Phillips-Cunningham is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta. She holds a Ph.D. in women’s and gender studies from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She is the author of Putting Their Hands on Race: Irish Immigrant and Southern Black Domestic Workers (Rutgers University Press, December 2019).