PhD in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

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The PhD program in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Stony Brook creates a space within the academy for critical thinking across disciplines about the explanatory categories of gender, race, nation, class, disability, and sexuality. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies examines how these categories emerge and operate across diverse cultures and historical periods, and how they influence social, political, economic, and institutional structures, as well as personal experiences in the world. 

The program is particularly strong in the following areas:

Black & Women of Color Feminisms
Critical Disability Studies
Feminist Media Studies
Political Thought, Social Justice & Policy
Race & Ethnic Studies
Queer & Trans Studies
Transnational Feminisms

Students benefit from mentorship by WGSS core faculty and an interdisciplinary network of affiliated faculty across the social sciences, humanities, and health sciences. Stony Brook WGSS PhD Graduates have gone on to accept positions at teaching-centered colleges and research universities, and others outside of the academy at UX research firms, policy institutes, and other community-based and non-governmental organizations. 

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 Quick Links

Graduate student handbook 2025-2026

Requirements for the ph.d. degree 

Suggested timeline 

Profiles of current students 

Profiles of Recent Graduates