As an MSU Denver Online student, you receive all benefits of in-person students, including 24/7 tutoring and mental health support, plus dedicated Success Coaches for your online journey.
Declare a fully online major and you can get up to $1000 per semester in scholarships that are not need based.
The Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies program uses no-cost readings for most required courses, so you save on textbooks every semester.
The online Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies B.A. teaches you to analyze how systems of power shape people’s lives and to act on what you learn. You’ll build skills in critical analysis, research, writing, policy analysis, and ethical reasoning that translate directly into work across nonprofits, public agencies, education, healthcare, and advocacy.
The curriculum is grounded in intersectional, transnational, and decolonial scholarship. You’ll examine how gender, race, sexuality, class, ability, and global power structures intersect in contemporary issues like healthcare access, reproductive justice, immigration, climate change, education policy, and movements for abolition. Every major completes an internship, on-site or fully remote, that puts theory into practice and builds a professional network before graduation.
At many universities, gender studies courses are taught by faculty borrowed from other departments. At MSU Denver, the majority of your lower- and upper-division courses are taught by faculty who specialize in gender, women, and sexualities studies. They publish in the field, design the curriculum, and are prepared to mentor majors from your first introductory course through your senior experience.
Their expertise spans transnational sexualities and queer Latin American studies, queer and trans of color critique, decolonial and critical race feminisms, Black feminism and African Diaspora literature, feminist interventions in global politics, and the intersections of gender, religion, and law. Faculty are accessible. Students in the program consistently say they’re treated as collaborators and that faculty work alongside them.
The Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy (GITA) sponsors nine scholarships specifically for students in the Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies program. Awards support students with a range of backgrounds and goals, including activism, financial need, migrant family experience, survivors of violence, and degree completion. At MSU Denver four scholarships are specifically for students with a declared major in Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies
GITA also offers scholarship tutoring, where staff help you identify and apply for awards inside the department, andacross the university and externally.
Foundations of the Field. Build a working vocabulary in feminist, queer, and trans studies and learn how the field developed across activist, academic, and global movements.
Power, Privilege, and Intersectionality. Examine how gender, race, sexuality, class, ability, and citizenship interact to shape access, opportunity, and lived experience.
Feminist and Queer Theory. Engage the major theoretical traditions that drive contemporary scholarship and activism, from foundational feminist thought to queer theory and decolonial critique.
Research Methods for Social Change. Learn feminist and queer research methods and apply them to questions you care about in communities, institutions, and policy.
Bodies, Health, and Reproductive Justice. Study how gender and sexuality shape healthcare access, embodiment, and movements for reproductive autonomy.
Transnational and Decolonial Perspectives. Look beyond U.S. borders to understand how gender and sexuality operate in global contexts, migration, and movements for decolonization.
Social Justice, Activism, and Advocacy. Examine the histories and strategies of feminist and queer organizing and develop your own capacity for advocacy and leadership.
Gender, Sexuality, and Law. Study how legal systems shape gendered violence, victim advocacy, human rights, and structural inequality, and how feminist legal frameworks push for change.
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Request InformationHere are examples of annual median salaries for related professions nationally.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook.
(National data, May 2024)
A Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies degree opens doors across nonprofit, public, education, healthcare, and corporate sectors. Graduates work where critical thinking about power, gender, and equity matters, which means almost everywhere.
Nonprofit and advocacy: community organizer, program coordinator, nonprofit program director, victim advocate
Public sector and policy: policy analyst, legislative aide, government program specialist
Education and communications: sex educator, training and development specialist, content strategist, communications coordinator
Health and human services: patient advocate, reproductive health educator, case manager, LGBTQI services coordinator
Going on to graduate school? Many GWS graduates pursue advanced degrees in social work, law, public health, counseling, and gender studies, applying their analytical foundation to research or professional practice.
You get the same faculty, the same degree, and the same student services that on-campus students receive.
Online does not mean alone at MSU Denver. We’re here for you.
Low in-state tuition, reduced tuition for western states, scholarships exclusive to online majors, and GI Bill benefits for eligible veterans all make MSU Denver an affordable path to your FERA degree.
As low as $315.20 /credit*
Example: 12 credits — $4,703.36 total including tuition & fees.
*Colorado Opportunity Fund (COF) reduces per-credit costs for eligible Colorado residents.
As low as $646.80 /credit
Example: 12 credits — $7,761.84 total including tuition & fees.
Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) and Roadrunner Interstate Tuition (RIT) reduce nonresident costs for certain states.
Declare a fully online major and you may qualify for up to $1,000 per semester (fall/spring). No separate scholarship application is required. Learn more about eligibility and how it works.
MSU Denver is approved for VA education benefits. Learn more about veteran and military student services.
Exclusively online students save over $100 per semester in fees compared to on-campus students.
See detailed tuition and fee information: Undergraduate Tuition & Fees.
Figures shown are example 2025–26 rates.
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You can totally finish your entire Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies (GWS) online and on your own schedule. The program is part of our Gender Institute for Teaching and Advocacy (GITA) and gives you the same empowering, high‑quality classes as the on‑campus version. If you declare the fully online major, you can get up to $1,000 per semester in online‑student scholarships, and most required courses use zero‑cost digital readings.
Your timeline is super flexible and really depends on how many classes you take each term and whether you’re bringing in any transfer credits. Full‑time students starting fresh usually finish in about four years, while part‑time students can stretch things out however they need to fit their lives. And the whole way through, you’ll have a dedicated online success coach making sure your pace feels doable and sustainable.
We’re super transfer‑friendly and really want your previous coursework to give you a solid head start. We can quickly check how your past classes line up with MSU Denver’s gen‑ed and major requirements. And once you’re ready, our transfer advisors will work with you one‑on‑one to make the most of your credits so you can dive straight into your core social justice and theory classes
Because this program builds your skills in critical thinking, research, and ethical reasoning, you’ll graduate ready to lead meaningful change in all kinds of fields. Our grads go on to fulfilling careers as victim advocates, community organizers, human resources JEDI specialists, public policy analysts, and non‑profit leaders. It also gives you a rock‑solid foundation if you’re planning on grad school or professional programs in law, social work, counseling, or public health.
You’ll learn to look at the world through a sharp, critical lens, building advanced skills in intersectional, transnational, and decolonial research methods. The curriculum helps you dig into how gender, race, sexuality, class, and global power structures shape real‑world issues like healthcare access, reproductive justice, and climate change. And the best part is that every major completes a built‑in internship on‑site or fully remote, so you graduate with hands‑on experience and a professional network already forming around you.
