Undergraduate program

WGSS undergraduate update

With a commitment to analyzing relationships of power, challenging forms of oppression, and building knowledge that liberates, the Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Major and Minor degree programs give students at Ohio State the most in-demand job skills and tools to become future community leaders and feminist trailblazers. WGSS students become innovative thinkers and engaged citizens who understand the increasingly diverse world in which they live. They are prepared to make an impact in their communities and pursue a diverse array of career paths. In the wake of AI, many technical skills and tasks are being replaced. What can never be replaced is our humanity! Job recruiters in engineering, education, health care professions, law and more are searching for recent graduates with double majors in the Humanities who stand out among the pack for their critical thinking, effective communication, compassionate collaboration, research, and ethical leadership skills.

Triota - WGSS student group

The undergraduate student organization, Triota, serves as a safe space for all students in WGSS to come together, and we would be lucky to have you as a member! Triota was created to honor and celebrate the academic achievements of students in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Founded upon the feminist values of egalitarianism, inclusivity, and celebration of diverse experiences, Triota encourages Ohio State students to put feminist theory intopraxis beyond the classroom.

With Bhada Han's leadership as president, Sophie Chu's budget management as treasurer, and Isa Vigil's work as a communications officer during the 2025-2026 academic year, Triota organized a myriad of engaging projects. All Spring, Triota hosted monthly film screenings accompanied by critical talk-backs with WGSS students to analyze each movie from a feminist media perspective. Within our learning community, Triota hosted a screening for the LGBTQ+ rom-com, Bottoms (2023); Jordan Peele's blockbuster horror flick, Get Out (2017); the very timely documentary series addressing the crisis of sexual violence on college campuses, Surviving Ohio State (2025); and the biographical comedy, Kneecap (2024), about an anti-authoritarian Irish Hip-Hop musical group. Free pizza was not the only thing to chew on at each screening!

In addition, Triota members collaborated on an annual zine project, entitled "Controversial Topics." The collection features student created poetry, graphic designs, essays, photography, collages, and more! To stay up-to-date regarding Triota programming, considerfollowing them on Instagram @osutriota.

Spotlighting our alumni: Q&A

Mace Hickman, BA, '20

Q: What is your current field of work?

A: For nearly a decade, I’ve led digital marketing and communications at Planned Parenthood affiliates and the national office, focusing on advancing advocacy to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights and helping patients navigate the ever-changing abortion landscape. Alongside my professional work, I serve as Board President of Blue Ridge Abortion Fund, where we provide $20,000 in abortion funding each week to people who need it.

Over the past two years, I’ve been recognized with a Reed Award from Campaigns & Elections and multiple Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) for political advertisements I created during North Carolina’s 2024 gubernatorial race. My work has beenfeatured in or reported on in major outlets including Vogue, Bustle, BuzzFeed, and HuffPost. 

Q: What was it like supervising the WGSS social media internship?

A: Serving as a co-supervisor for the social media internship through the WGSS department has been deeply rewarding. My hope was to demonstrate that digital communications is a viable career path with a women’s studies degree – especially at a time when humanities degrees are stigmatized and under political attack. Working with Isa has been both inspiring and a mindful learning experience, as we explore how digital strategies must continue evolving to engage and resonate with young people. Ultimately, my goal for the internship was to offer a resource I wish I’d had as a student and to help bring visibility to the value of a WGSS degree. 

WGSS social media spotlight

It was such a personal honor to get the opportunity to meet and collaborate with Mace & Isa this past year. Together, we creatively developed educational content relevant to our Ohio State community. Isa's collage skills and mastery of social media humor enlivened the WGSS TikTok. Our gender-neutral bathroom investigation series stirred enough buzz to be featured in a recent Lantern article! Mace's professional expertise in social media marketing was paramount to our successes, as they graciously helped us develop a content calendar and researched weekly trends that we could capitalize on to innovate our outreach strategies. I cannot wait to continue connecting undergraduates with our fabulous alum to foster professional development opportunities beyond the classroom.
- Ali Alkhalifa

Social media internship Q&A

Isa Vigil, BA, '26

Q: How was the WGSS Social media internship meaningful to you?

A: I loved getting to work with Mace and Ali because they are both very lovely people, and they were both there to support me in whatever way I needed. I also greatly appreciated that they were always open to my ideas and let me develop my own voice through the content I created (I love sarcasm, I love satire, and they let me run with it). In addition, it meant a lot to me that I was able to form deeper connections with other students in the department as well as the faculty because of this position. I loved when professors were willing to get involved, not only because it was fun for me (and hopefully them), but also because I think the world deserves to see that we have amazing people teaching us and that they actually care enough about their students to get to know them as well as be real with us. 

Q: How were you able to apply WGSS ideas in the work you completed throughout your internship?

A: Most of what I made for the WGSS socials was done by drawing on what I had learned in my WGSS classes. For the holidays that we highlighted, such as World Doula Week and Earth Day, we connected them to feminist ideas of reproductive justice and intersectionality. For our Trans Day of Visibility post, we also pointed to WGSS’s Trans Studies class as well as the LGBTQ+ Studies minor.
If your organization would be interested in hosting a WGSS student for an internship experience, reach out toalkhalifa.2@osu.edu.