The major tends to attract students from fields like psychology, sociology, anthropology, and journalism, says Judith Allen, chair of the gender studies department. There is also a focus on sexuality issues like AIDS, birth control, new technologies and pharmacologies, the differential longevities for men and women, and how these vary by race. Students in the program, she adds, tend to have higher GPAs than the norm, and a high percentage have parents with college degrees. Allen is struck by the number of students who have double majors with journalism. In addition to journalism, many gender studies students are planning postgraduate study in areas like medicine, advertising, or fine arts.
Students can pursue either the bachelor of arts degree or a minor.
To date the program has produced 29 B.A. graduates, with 32 students currently pursuing that degree. There are also 37 undergraduate minors and 17 doctoral students with minors in gender studies. The program enjoyed a boost in visibility with the establishment of the Peg Zeglin Brand chair, named for the wife of IU President Myles Brand. She is a leading researcher in philosophical aesthetics and the study of gender in art. It was created as a continuation of an older associate of arts degree in sign language studies taught by Vincennes University at the Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis.