Curious. Creative. Transformative.‌

The Graduate Programs in Women’s Studies and Gender Studies draw from a variety of departments and programs on campus to analyze how knowledge is shaped by power (especially around the intersecting axes of gender, sexuality, and race) and to create new pathways for promoting social justice. 

The WSGS community at Loyola is broadly interdisciplinary; culturally and intellectually diverse; tight-knit and supportive; politically and socially engaged; and committed to open-ended critique, inquiry, and invention. 

Loyola University Chicago is one of a very few institutions offering a dual degree in Social Work and Women's Studies and Gender Studies.

Earning both an MA in Women's Studies and Gender Studies and an MSW in Social Work together allows students to complete these degrees more quickly by taking courses that carry credit in both fields.

This dual degree program enables women's studies students to utilize their course work in an applied setting and allows social work students to enhance their capacity to work with women in social work settings after graduation.

As with all dual degree programs, students interested in the dual degree in Social Work and Women's Studies and Gender Studies must apply to each school simultaneously and be admitted based on the criteria for admission to each school. There are no separate admissions criteria for completing a dual degree program; however, there are course substitutions and logistics to be worked out with the liaisons.

Students are encouraged to contact the liaisons from both schools at the time of admission. Although it is possible for a student to obtain both degrees in two years, the program can be extended as needed to three or four years, depending on a student's personal situation and special interests.