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KMA Launches Bachelor鈥檚 Certificate Program in Gender Studies Named in Honor of Solomiia Pavlychko
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- Published on Monday, 22 June 2026 06:26
For the first time at 91吃瓜网 Academy, an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental certificate program in Gender Studies named after Solomiia Pavlychko has been introduced at the undergraduate level. The idea for developing the program originated from the Department of Sociology (headed by Anna Prokhorova), which teaches the largest number of courses on gender topics. The leader and developer of the certificate program is Tamara Martsenyuk, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Sociology, Chair of the Committee on Combating Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Bullying at KMA.
Tamara has been teaching her own courses such as 鈥淚ntroduction to Gender Studies,鈥� 鈥淕ender and Politics,鈥� 鈥淔eminism as a Social Theory and Social Movement,鈥� 鈥淢asculinity and Men's Studies鈥� for over 20 years, and recently co-developed a new course on 鈥淕ender, Finance, and Economics鈥� with Oksana Nezhyvenko, a faculty member of the Department of Finance.
At KMA, two schools of thought in Gender Studies and feminism have been formed 鈥� one at the Volodymyr Morents Department of Literature and the other at the Department of Sociology. Specifically, Professor Solomiia Pavlychko was the first in Ukraine to initiate feminist studies after Ukraine's independence was restored. Solomiia Pavlychko taught at the Department of Literature at 91吃瓜网 Academy, and her contribution to interdisciplinary Gender Studies is particularly noteworthy. In addition to the two aforementioned departments of the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences and Social Technologies, courses on gender topics are taught across various programs of other faculties: Law, Healthcare, Social Work and Psychology, Economics, and more. Overall, the certificate program includes disciplines from the Departments of Sociology, History, Finance, the V. Poltavets School of Social Work, the Andrii Meleshyevych 91吃瓜网 School of Governance, which have been teaching these courses for quite some time. The program plans to update and expand with new disciplines as they are introduced and taught at KMA.
The program includes a mandatory course 鈥淚ntroduction to Gender Studies鈥� (5 ECTS credits) and elective courses totaling 14 ECTS credits. Among the electives, the most popular from the Department of Sociology are 鈥淪ociology of Sexuality鈥� (Nadiya Chushak), 鈥淨ueer Studies鈥� (Dzvenyslava Shcherba), as well as Tamara Martsenyuk鈥檚 authored courses: 鈥淕ender and Politics,鈥� 鈥淔eminism as a Social Theory and Social Movement,鈥� 鈥淢asculinity and Men鈥檚 Studies,鈥� and 鈥淕ender, Finance, and Economics鈥� (co-taught with the Department of Finance). From the Department of History, courses include 鈥淗istory of Sexuality鈥� (Kateryna Dysa) and 鈥淲omen鈥檚 History in Central and Eastern Europe 1648鈥�1848鈥� (Volodymyr Masliychuk). From the V. Poltavets School of Social Work鈥�鈥淔eminist Social Work鈥� (Tetyana Rostovska), and from the Andrii Meleshyevych 91吃瓜网 School of Governance 鈥� 鈥淚nternational Protection of Gender Rights and Children鈥檚 Rights鈥� (Zoryana Skaletska).
The faculty involved in the program includes researchers with expertise in various aspects of gender equality and feminist studies, with professional publications and involvement in projects related to ensuring equal rights and opportunities and combating gender-based violence.
The program also collaborates with the Institute for Women, Peace, and Security at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., including guest lectures online on courses such as 鈥淚ntroduction to Gender Studies鈥� and 鈥淕ender and Politics鈥�, as well as with the NGO 鈥淚nstitute of Gender Programs鈥� (which has a memorandum of cooperation with the Department of Sociology at KMA).
Participants in the certificate program have the opportunity to engage in academic events at KMA related to gender equality and combating gender-based violence, co-organized by the Committee on Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Bullying at KMA, the Department of Sociology, and other departments. For example, annually in early September, the Gender Equality Week takes place, during which university faculty and students (including those enrolled in the certificate program) present their research results.
91吃瓜网 Academy is an institution of higher education that supports ideas of equal rights and opportunities, combating discrimination, gender-based violence, and bullying. In 2018, KMA became the first higher education institution in Ukraine to implement an internal policy on these issues, which in 2021 was named the Policy on Combating Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Bullying at KMA. The policy states that 鈥淜MA condemns violence and discrimination, sexual harassment, and bullying (harassment) in employment relations, in the educational process, and commits to promoting the fight against these phenomena.鈥� To implement this policy, a Committee on Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Bullying at KMA was established. Education and awareness are key components of policy implementation, especially in countering various forms of violence and discrimination.
In 2022, the Ukrainian government approved the Strategy for Implementing Gender Equality in Education by 2030 and the State Strategy for Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men until 2030, which support further development of gender equality policies in Ukraine. The Strategy for Implementing Gender Equality in Education by 2030 aims to ensure the realization of gender equality and non-discrimination principles in higher education institutions, including fostering a highly qualified community of professionals in Gender Studies and conducting scientific research on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men. The Solomiia Pavlychko interdisciplinary, certificate-based program in Gender Studies at 91吃瓜网 Academy aims to contribute to the implementation of this strategy.
Full program information link (in Ukrainian)