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Welcome to Disability Studies

Disability Studies gives students tools to analyze how societies and individuals grapple with physical and mental differences and explores how disability is embedded in culture and shaped by stigma and social power. (image credit)

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A deeper understanding of disability

Students increasingly recognize that gaining a deeper understanding of disability experience is a critical element in their education and one that will help prepare them for a growing number of careers. Drawing from rich offerings in disciplines as varied as anthropology, bioethics, English, health systems administration, nursing, philosophy, psychology, theater and performance studies, theology, and women’s and gender studies, the minor in disability studies will enable students to explore this critical facet of human diversity in an in-depth fashion as it relates to their major field of study and to their professional aspirations.

Want to become a Disability Studies Major or Minor?

Disability Studies is a rapidly growing field with enormous practical import and a rich intellectual and scholarly discourse. If you have questions, please email the Disability Studies Program at disabilitystudies@georgetown.edu.

About the Major About the Minor

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Announcements

Starting Fall 2025, College of Arts & Sciences Students Can Major in Disability Studies

This fall, students in the College of Arts & Sciences will be able to declare disability studies as a major and join one of the first programs of its kind in the…

June 19, 2025

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News

Georgetown becomes second top 25 university to offer a disability studies major

After years of advocacy from those involved in Georgetown’s Disability Studies Program, the university will now offer a disability studies major, according to an April 15 announcement. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences can declare the major starting fall 2025.

April 27, 2025

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News

Disability Studies Program Launches Major

The major will build on the program’s existing disability studies minor and graduate certificate and will offer students tools to critically examine disability through lenses such as art, philosophy, education and public policy. The major will draw from classes across academic programs to demonstrate the intersection of disability studies with other disciplines.

April 26, 2025