15 CHEAPEST BACHELOR’S DEGREES IN GENDER AND WOMEN’S STUDIES

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Women's and Gender Studies Major introduces students to the interdisciplinary study of feminist work, as well as concepts and research of gender, sexuality, race, class, and other areas, as well as feminist history in the United States, and beyond. Apart from UNC's general education requirements, majors must complete 24 credits, including a senior seminar or honor's course, as well as courses are chosen from at least two of four interdisciplinary perspectives areas. These areas include Minority/Third World/Non-Western Women or Gender; Historical Studies; Humanities and Fine Arts; and Social Sciences. Many courses are cross-listed in other programs within the university, affording students dozens of options with which to fulfill their major requirements.

UNC-Chapel Hill awarded the second largest number of degrees in Cultural & Gender Studies in 2016, according to Data USA. Earning a coveted spot at No. 30 for U.S. News & World Report's National Universities ranking, UNC's in-state tuition costs less than $9,000 a year, and 75 percent of students report their college financial needs are fully met. Undergraduate enrollment is close to 19,000, and about 20 percent of students participate in Greek life. The North Carolina Tar Heels, known best for their men's basketball team, participate in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Guardian ranked Chapel Hill as one of its "Best towns and small cities in the US," partly for its diversity of ideology, beauty, and cultural landmarks.

San Diego State University's Department of Women's Studies in the College of Arts and Letters takes an action-based approach to challenge inequality. The department's goals are not just to recognize and analyze forms of oppression in the world, but to combine theory and action and imagine a society without privilege based on identity politics. As with many women's and gender studies programs, SDSU takes an interdisciplinary approach to its curriculum. The major requires two introductory courses along with nine upper-division courses. All majors must complete a three-credit internship or approved study abroad program to graduate. Typical internship placements are in the law, social service, public service, and health fields.

As expensive as living in Southern California can be, SDSU offers significant financial aid for students. In-state tuition comes to about $7500 a year, and out-of-state tuition is still a bargain at under $19,000. Additionally, in Spring 2020, the university will offer a state-of-the-art scholarship matching program to ease the process for students looking for more scholarship opportunities. SDSU receives significant research funding as it is classified as a high-research university, and many undergraduates can participate in research with a mentor. SDSU is also a very diverse campus, with more than half of its 36,000 students identifying as people of color. U.S. News & World Report ranks SDSU as number 127 in National Universities, with a 35 percent acceptance rate and 89 percent freshman retention rate.

Iowa State University's Women's and Gender Studies program aims to improve students' critical thinking and communication skills to question common assumptions about gender, power structures, and other aspects of culture that produce inequality. The program strongly emphasizes social justice and inclusion so that students' voices and experiences feel heard. Students must complete 34 core and cross-listed credits, 18 of which must come from an area of concentration, along with a Communication Proficiency Grade Requirement. Areas of concentration are Communication and Cultural Representation, Identities and Sexualities, Leadership and Social Justice, and General Women's and Gender Studies. Students can choose a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science track. During their senior year, students choose either a three-credit internship or thesis course.

Iowa State students live large in the small community of Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones compete in the NCAA Division I Big 12 Conference against fierce rival University of Iowa Hawkeyes, and the university offers more than 850 student clubs and organizations, as well as an active Greek life with over 60 fraternities and sororities. Through the Soar in 4: Four-Year Graduation Guarantee initiative, students can develop a careful plan with academic advisers to complete their bachelor's degree in four years, saving themselves both time and money. With a rolling application deadline and 89% acceptance rate, Iowa State can be a great option for students wanting to get right into a four-year degree track.

The Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz centers its program around envisioning a more just and positive future—by improving the position of women locally and beyond and by thinking critically about violence and injustice to envision a better world. Students are required to take a practicum course, which gives them experience working with local organizations that empower women, and in their senior year, they can pursue independent research. Along with 39 required core credits, students must complete an additional history requirement apart from the elective requirement.

SUNY New Paltz is a small public university made up of just under 7,000 undergraduates. The 257-acre campus is 90 miles north of New York City and set in the beautiful Hudson River Valley. The small school has an average 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio. SUNY New Paltz strongly promotes diversity and inclusion on campus: the university has policies protecting undocumented students, including allowing qualified undocumented students to pay resident tuition, and in May 2019 the university hosted its inaugural Lavender Celebration honoring the successes of LGBTQ+ identifying members of the class of 2019. Honorees accepted lavender graduation cords to wear to their commencement.

The Gender Studies department at the University of California-Los Angeles College of Social Sciences combines feminist thought with UCLA professors' own research to analyze concepts like gender and the body, gender and power, and gender and knowledge across many aspects of modern culture. No prerequisites are required to declare the major, aside from an introductory course in gender studies. Research is a strong emphasis in the program: each student is required to complete a four-unit capstone research seminar prior to graduation. The department also offers awards for conference attendance, excellence in research, and community engagement.

UCLA is popular not only for its sunny location but also for its excellence in both academic and athletic fields. Bruins hold 116 NCAA national championships and a Heisman Trophy, and alumni have gone on to win 261 Olympic medals. Professors hold Nobel prizes, Guggenheim fellowships, Medals of Science and more. Students can enjoy the rigor of a highly-selective school (the 2017 acceptance rate was 16 percent), but also the financial benefits of in-state tuition of just over $13,000 a year, financial aid, and a return on investment that made UCLA Forbes' number four Best Value University in 2019. Prominent UCLA alumni include basketball superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, astronaut and first mother in space Anna Lee Fisher and actor and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik.

The Gender and Women's Studies, B.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison teaches students to analyze gender and other aspects of inequality through literature and culture both in the United States and abroad. The curriculum stresses an interdisciplinary approach to the subject matter, allowing students with any additional degree focus' an opportunity to study gender and women. The major is a 30-credit program, with a B or better in an introductory course as a prerequisite. Seniors must also complete a capstone seminar or thesis. Some classes are offered online or in study abroad programs.

Grads from UW-Madison have gone on to get jobs in health policy, immigration law, medicine, media production, and more. UW-Madison is well-known for its research, maintaining its spot as number six in the nation for volume of work according to a 2016 Higher Education Research and Development Survey. The 936-acre campus with over 32,000 students boasts both an active Greek life community, as well as a fierce athletics culture, with The Wisconsin Badgers competing in 20 NCAA Division 1 sports. UW-Madison ties for number 49 in the National Universities ranking from U.S. News & World Report and had a 54% acceptance rate as of Fall 2017. In-state tuition comes to less than $11,000 a year.

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor's Women's Studies program aims to teach students how to apply interdisciplinary methods to their study of women, sexuality, and gender. The program also encourages both a practical and theoretical approach to feminist studies and trains students in critical thinking and communication skills. Students pursuing the major must pass an Introduction to Women's Studies class and complete 33 credits within the major, including two upper-level courses, or cognates, unrelated to women's studies but offering complementing skills to students' work in the major. The university offers an honors track for students with an overall GPA of 3.4 and at least a 3.5 in the Women's Studies major.

According to Data USA, U-M-Ann Arbor awarded the most Women's Studies degrees in the nation in 2016. U-M's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) prides itself on its 95% first-year retention rate, and on the fact that 96% of students are either employed or in graduate school following graduation. LSA also offers many undergraduate research and study abroad opportunities, as well as internships. Ann Arbor is the largest of U-M's three campuses, which also include Dearborn and Flint. Over 29,000 students were enrolled as of 2019, more than half of whom took advantage of in-state tuition of about $15,000 per year. Money.com ranks Ann Arbor among its "Best Places to Live in 2018" for its cultural diversity and employment opportunities.

Stanford University's Bachelor program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (FEMGEN or FGSS) prepares students to understand the roles of gender and sexuality in all aspects of life. FEMGEN examines gender roles, relationships, and identities in different societies and how they interact with power structures such as race, class, ability, age, etc. The program also aims to prepare students for graduate study in humanities and professional schools. The major requires 12 approved courses for a total of at least 63 units, culminating in a practicum involving field research, internships or relevant community service. Students may choose to declare a subplan in approved areas including Arts & Culture, Health, Global Studies and more, or to develop an individualized thematic focus.

Stanford is an elite university known best for its research, networking, and diverse graduate programs. Additionally, Stanford sits right in the middle of a region that is booming with job opportunities: during the first two months of 2019, the Bay Area accounted for 81% of all job growth in California. Over 7,000 students make up the undergraduate student population, almost half of which qualify for financial aid. And the financial assistance can be significant: students who come from households making less than $125,000 a year qualify for free tuition, and students coming from households making less than $65,000 a year have tuition, room, and board covered. Prominent Stanford grads include Elon Musk, Sandra Day O'Connor and John F. Kennedy.

Harvard University's Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality undergraduate major combines studies from multiple disciplines, including history, literature, social sciences, LGBT studies, etc. to analyze the way gender and sexuality have shaped public policy, the media and other aspects of culture. About half of WGS students pursue a joint concentration outside the major, and many are eligible to study abroad or write a senior thesis. Harvard offers over two dozen core courses in the WGS major, as well as over 50 more classes on gender and sexuality taught by faculty in other departments. Five required courses and a choice of seven additional WGS courses are required for graduation with the major.

Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest university on this list. Over 20k degree candidates pursuing Bachelor's and advanced degrees make up the total student population. Students also study in 12 different degree-granting schools, along with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, all within the Ivy League University. Harvard ranks at number two for both National Universities and Best Value Schools according to U.S. News & World Report. Aside from the five percent acceptance rate and tuition totaling over $50,000 per year, Harvard awards more than $160 million in financial aid to 60 percent of undergrads. Harvard's stellar academic and professional reputation--along with the financial support it offers students--gives the school a perfect 100.0 score in our rankings.

An undergraduate major in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) from The Ohio State University emphasizes an "intersectional lens" to understand and critique societal structures that produce inequality. The department aims to train students to enact social change in their professional and personal lives. The major requires one prerequisite course, "Gender, Sex and Power," as well as five required major courses and a choice of four concentration areas. The department offers an honors track, as well the Mildred Munday Scholarship in honor of one of WGSS' founding members, which provides students in excellent academic standing with $3,000 toward tuition and fees. WGSS encourages students to participate in undergraduate research, either as research assistants or by pursuing independent study or an undergraduate thesis.

WGSS also provides small travel grants for students wanting to participate in conferences, colloquia, and workshops, as well as research for a thesis, outside OSU. Some students can also qualify for The Dana Greenblatt Feminist Media Award, up to $3,000 for undergraduate or graduate research. Combined with an in-state tuition of less than $11,000 per year and OSU's commitment to providing accessible financial aid, the WGSS major can be a great option for students looking for affordability and research and travel opportunities outside their immediate program. Additionally, Columbus was ranked as the number one city for recent college grads in a 2018 study based on data about affordability, job opportunity, and local entertainment.