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The Women, Peace, and Security Concentration

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Learn More: Women, Peace, & Security Symposiums

Women, Peace, and Security

The concentration in Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) investigates how the situation, status, and security of women, on the one hand, affects the security, stability, and resilience of nation-states on the other. No national security realist would ignore the knowledge, skills, and perspectives of half of the population, and students learn how including what women know sharpens situational awareness, broadens the concept of the national interest, and informs threat response.  Women, Peace, and Security is the framework established by the United Nations in UNSCR 1325, which led directly to the WPS Act of 2017 in the United States, still in force today. Seeing the linkages between the lives of women and the national security of states is the focus of the concentration.  In addition to Bush School courses, students may also take related courses from other departments with permission of the professor. There is also a WPS Student Organization, which sponsors events for students throughout the academic year.

WPS Symposiums

Program on Women, Peace, and Security Curriculum

Courses
  • INTA 625: International Trade Policy (Robertson)
  • INTA 644 Post-Conflict Recovery and Development (Hamie)
  • INTA 645 Women and Nations – REQUIRED CORE COURSE (taught every Fall – Hudson)
  • INTA 659 Transnational Security (Huang)
  • INTA 670 Capstone for WPS Students (usually taught in Spring; prerequisite INTA 645 (Hudson); room for 6-8 students)
  • INTA 689 Special Topics in Women, Peace, and Security
  • INTA 689: Women and Armed Conflict (Lee; once a year)
  • INTA 680: Classic Readings in Feminist International Relations (Hudson; occasionally taught)
  • INTA 701 Women, International Development and Environmental Conflict (Ruyle)
  • INTA 720 Human Trafficking and Forced Labor (Hamie) 
  • NOTE: Instructors of the following courses* may require you to obtain their permission to enroll in these courses—ask before registering for these!:
    • COMM 634 Communication and Gender (COMM faculty)
    • EHRD 634/WGST 634 Gender and Education (EHRD faculty)
    • EHRD 649/WGST 649 Feminist Pedagogy (EHRD faculty)
    • ENGL/WGST 680 Theories of Gender (ENGL faculty)
    • HLTH 634 Women’s Health (HLTH faculty)
    • LAW 7636 Gender and the Law (LAW faculty)
    • POLS 673 Seminar in Gender and Politics in Comparative Perspective (POLS faculty)
    • SOCI 661/WGST 661 Sociology of Gender (SOCI faculty)
    • SOCI 610/WGST 610 Reproduction, Birth, and Power (Morris, SOCI)
    • WGST 650 Gender and International Education (EHRD faculty)
    • *Other courses not listed here may be approved by petition to the faculty coordinator of the concentration.

Affiliated Faculty

Valerie Hudson

University Distinguished Professor and George H.W. Bush Chair, Professor of International Affairs ALLN 1079
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Sumin Lee

Assistant Professor

suminlee@tamu.edu

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Silva Hamie

Instructional Associate Professor ALLN 1036
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Reyko Huang

Associate Professor ALLN 1100
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Leslie Ruyle headshot

Leslie E. Ruyle

Research Scientist

ruyle@tamu.edu

RESEARCH: The WomanStats Project

The WomanStats Project is the research arm of the WPS Program, and a very active arm it is. From 2014-2018, the database component of the Project was funded through the Minerva Initiative of the US Department of Defense. In that particular project, which culminated in the book The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide (Columbia University Press, 2020), the linkages among marriage patterns, marriage market obstruction, and national security were comprehensively investigated. This specific project is part of the larger research agenda of The WomanStats Project investigating the relationship between the security, situation, and status of women and the security of the states in which they live. The WomanStats Database is a key go-to source for information, with data on over 350 variables for 176 countries (all those with a population of at least 300,000). Reference Reviews says about the database, “If I could only introduce gender and women’s studies students to one international source, this would be it.” Researchers on the Project include outstanding scholars from the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Turkey, and Colombia who are publishing in the top academic journals and presses in their fields. At any one time, 4-6 Bush School students work on the project as coders, and we also have some great Bush School student volunteers who help out with the project. Want to get involved? Contact Professor Hudson.

CAPSTONES for the WPS Concentration

Every year the WPS Program sponsors a capstone research project for Bush School students. From 2018 to 2025, our client was the State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues.  From 2026 onward, our client has been NORTHCOM/USAFA. The various capstone research papers are available below.

2026 Capstone

A Proposed Simulation-Based Learning Exercise for Identifying and Repelling Human Trafficking

  • Capstone Policy Brief
  • Team Members: Claire Campbell, Allison Bendersky, Jake Brien, Nate Cimral, Lauren Delaunay, Lilliana Naylor, Nathaniel Wante
  • Client: USNORTHCOM

2025 Capstone

From 2000 to 2025 and Beyond: Assessing the Impact, Evolution, and Future of the WPS Framework

  • Capstone Policy Brief
  • Team Members: Maria Cecilia Pelayo, Emma Viquez, Zoe Erickson, Chelsey Goines, and Delia Cheney
  • Client: State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues

2023 Capstone

Shadow Cedaw Report for the United States

  • Team Members: Leda Amrullah, Rylee Matousek, Oluchukwu Nkenke, Tatiana Rocabado, and Dawa Sherpa
  • Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department

2022 Capstone

Technological Threats: How Online Harassment of Female Political Figures Undermines Democracy

  • Team Members: Madeleine Songy, Madeleine Pelton, Olivia Cretella, Areala Mendoza, Kathryn Hopp, Olivia Jackson, and Ailyah Banks
  • Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department

Fall 2020 Capstone

Increasing Women’s Participation in Uniformed Law Enforcement

  • Team Members: Anita Mitic, Ashley Justynski, HyuonJung Noh, Nereyda Ortiz, Mary Bowman, Sydney Harkrider, Taryn Williames, Vesa Bashota
  • Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department

Fall 2019 Capstone

Is Investing in Women’s Economic Empowerment an Investment in National Security and Stability?

  • Team Members: Gabriela Hernandez, Emily Jensen, Kelli Meyer, Hope Valle, Lindsey Wilkerson, and Rachel Xiao
  • Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department

Fall 2018 Capstone

Gender, Terrorism, and Foreign Fighters

  • Team Members: Kayla McGill, Ashley Lovell, Sarah Ascol, Wiam Ayachi, Emily Pagrabs, and Ryan Yandell
  • Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US State Department

Contact Us

Valerie Hudson

Professor, International Affairs

vhudson@tamu.edu

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