Women's and Gender Studies at Michigan State University

Programme overview

An interdisciplinary major covering women and gender from comparative, transnational, historical and global perspectives.

Faculty: College of Arts and Letters | Study mode: full-time | Location: East Lansing, MI, United States

What you will study

Students choose one of four concentrations: Gender, Race, Ethnicity and History; Sexuality and Conflict/Violence; Gender and Arts and Humanities; and Gender Applied: Health, Urban and Public Policy.

Career pathways

Alumni work as health educators, attorneys, early intervention specialists, events coordinators, content writers, crisis and community outreach managers and professors, at employers such as Teach For America and the Human Rights Campaign.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

University-wide first-year admission (all majors): admission is competitive with no minimum requirements and MSU is test optional (SAT/ACT not required). Recommended college-preparatory curriculum: 4 years English, 3 years mathematics (2 algebra, 1 geometry), 3 years social studies, 2 years science, 2 years of a single foreign language. Reviewed on high school performance, curriculum strength, grade trends, class rank, and optional test scores. Fall 2026 enrolled middle 50%: GPA 3.5-4.0, ACT 25-31, SAT 1100-1320. Early action deadline Nov 1 for maximum scholarship consideration. International applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.5 (provisional 6.0), TOEFL iBT 79 with no subscore below 17 for tests taken before Jan 21 2026 (provisional 60-78), or Duolingo English Test 110 (provisional 95-105).

Requirements published at program group level.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Most first-year students enter in the fall semester. Admission to other semesters may be limited or not available at all.

Transfer applicants can apply for fall (August start), spring (January start) and summer (May start) semesters. International transfer students are not eligible for summer admission.

First-year early action deadline is Nov. 1 (non-binding), with an admission decision by Jan. 15 and the acceptance fee due by May 1. Regular admission has a Feb. 1 priority deadline (decision by Mar. 31) and a final application deadline of Apr. 1, with rolling decisions after Feb. 1. MSU is test optional: applicants may apply without an ACT or SAT score.

The first-year application fee is $75 (or an application fee waiver if eligible). First-year applicants can apply through the MSU application or the Coalition application with Scoir. The application for fall 2027 opens in August.

International first-year applicants have the same deadlines: early action Nov. 1, priority Feb. 1, final Apr. 1, acceptance fee by May 1.

Transfer application deadlines: fall April 1, spring open until capacity is reached, summer March 1. International transfer applicants for fall have a March 1 deadline and must pay the acceptance fee by April 1.

Apply through the official page: https://admissions.msu.edu/apply/first-year

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