Gender and Sexuality Center

In partnership with the Brandeis Counseling Center, the Gender and Sexuality Center promotes healing and wellness through free, confidential mental health services provided by BCC staff therapists. All concerns are addressed with sensitivity to and respect for diversity and individuality. Reach out to gsc@brandeis.edu to learn when therapy services are being provided in the GSC.

The Gender and Sexuality Center has a clothing closet and dressing room located within the center. Folks are welcome to drop off clean and gently used or new clothing to a GSC staff member. Note - We will not accept clothing that has stains, rips, or tears. 

Anyone may take items from the clothing closet during our normal business hours.

The GSC has a number of queer-centric books that Brandeis community members may borrow. We have both fiction and non-fiction selections.

The Prevention, Advocacy, and Resource Center (PARC) will be hosting a Queer Survivorship support group in the Gender and Sexuality Center on Thursdays from 6pm to 7:30pm for the Fall 2024 Semester. No registration required, walk-ins welcome!

If you have any questions, please email Becca (They/He/She) - rvanspall@brandeis.edu

The Brandeis Counseling Center will be overseeing a support group for gender diverse students (transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, gender fluid, etc). To sign up, please email lealcarter@brandeis.edu or awyman@brandeis.edu.

The stupport group will start in October 2024!

This is a support group that is hosted by the Center of Spiritual Life and the Gender and Sexuality Center. Participants are welcome to discuss how these three areas affect their lives and explore their intersections. 

The Brandeis Intercultural Center is committed to providing a nurturing and inclusive haven where racially minoritized and Indigenous groups can come together to connect, build coalitions and cultivate mutual understanding. Our goal is to foster a sense of belonging and engagement within the Brandeis community on matters of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Education and Learning Initiatives serves as the leader for DEI learning at Brandeis University. It is dedicated to creating a haven of respect, education and celebration that aims to develop critical consciousness and awareness of the myriad cultures at Brandeis University.

Some types of DEI training include:

• Unconscious bias education: The goal of unconscious bias education is to help individuals understand and recognize their own unconscious and implicit biases and suggest behaviors to mitigate those preconceptions.

• Nurturing allyship: Allyship is when someone from a group that has privilege, power, or access supports or amplifies someone from an underrepresented or historically marginalized group. Allyship training helps provide people with the knowledge and skills to be effective allies.

• Bystander intervention coaching: Bystander coaching teaches people how to speak up and intervene if they witness harassing or discriminatory behavior, even when they aren't the person being harassed or discriminated against.

• Hiring without bias: There are DEI learning opportunities specifically for hiring managers and employees in Human Resources. The goal of this type of DEI training is to ensure individuals understand how their biases may affect how they view and assess candidates, helping them make more inclusive hiring decisions.

University Ombuds are available both in-person and virtually as a confidential, independent, impartial, and informal resource for all members of the Brandeis community including undergraduates and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni. 

In our role as ombuds, we support the dignity, well-being, and safety of each person who visits us by providing a safe space to talk confidentially and off the record about difficult situations and offering conflict resolution support.

We are an outlet to process any type of challenging situation and a bridge to navigate campus resources. We serve as a coach to help, support, and empower you.

The Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) is responsible for addressing all issues of discrimination, harassment and sexual violence within the Brandeis community.

Brandeis University is committed to providing its students, staff and faculty with an environment conducive to learning, and working, and where all people are treated with respect and dignity. OEO helps the University comply with laws regarding discrimination, harassment and sexual violence, including Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, ADA, and the Rehabilitation Act Section 504.

The Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) provides counseling for graduate and undergraduate students. Treatment is available in English, Farsi, Hebrew, Mandarin and Spanish. All concerns are addressed with sensitivity to and respect for diversity and individuality. We maintain the strictest standards of privacy and confidentiality and serve as a resource to the entire Brandeis community.

Many counselors at the BCC are familiar with the process of writing support letter for Gender Affirming Care. 

Welcome to the Student Health Center! Our dedicated team of health care professionals are committed to delivering exceptional care that improves the health and wellness of our students. Our mission is to promote wellness, preserve health, and enable academic achievement for the students of Brandeis University by:

• Providing high-quality integrated clinical services

• Providing care that is patient-centered and patient-focused

The Student Health Center has clinicians who are trained and able to prescribe Hormone Replacement Therapy and provide other Gender Affirming Care services.

The Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC) is a confidential, student-centered resource serving members of the Brandeis community who have been impacted by violence and those who want to contribute to the anti-violence movement.

The Center for Spiritual Life offers a safe space for students to explore their spirituality and find their place in the world, on their terms. Whether students are rooted in a particular faith tradition or searching for answers to fundamental human questions, we are here. We have staff chaplains trained in different faith traditions who help students find a supportive community, access a non-judgmental spiritual mentor, and find opportunities to serve others.

The Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGS) is a community of undergraduate, graduate students, faculty, staff and board members from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. Together, we ask questions about the intersectional aspects of women, gender and sexuality in classes, lectures and a range of public events.

We offer an undergraduate major and minor in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and help to support the undergraduate minor in Sexuality and Queer Studies (SQS). We also offer a stand-alone master's degree in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and 10 joint master's programs in which graduate students focus on WGS and another discipline. We collaborate with a range of organizations on campus and are generously supported by our National Board.

The Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University is a hub of interdisciplinary exchange between scholars and artists, faculty and students, who conduct innovative research and create art with a focus on gender issues and women’s lives. Unique in its breadth of projects, the WSRC is part of an established national network of university-affiliated gender research institutes. As a convening space on campus, the center supports interdisciplinary dialogue, research and art, and shares insights and discoveries with the university and the larger public.

The Brandeis Emergency Fund is available to currently active undergraduate and graduate students experiencing some kind of unexpected financial emergency, typically affecting their ability to complete their studies, when other resources are not available.

The Dean of Students Office's mission is to serve as a centralized resource to advocate for and connect students to both University & community programs, offices, and individuals. The Dean of Students Office and its affiliates focus on cultivating a community of care where students feel a sense of belonging, think
critically, embrace social justice, and encourage participation in constructive dialogues as global citizens.

Community Living cultivates an inclusive, diverse and symbiotic living and learning environment in all of our residence halls. We empower our community members to respectfully challenge each other and engage in opportunities of holistic enrichment through critical thinking, constructive dialogue and leadership development. At Brandeis, you will reside with diverse people who share your interests, some of whom will introduce you to new experiences, and several you will call friends for the rest of your life.

Community Living offers a Gender-Inclusive Housing option as a way to promote LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the residence halls. You can also contact Community Living to find out which residence halls have gender-inclusive restrooms. 

The Academic Services Office coordinates a cohesive network of student leaders, staff, and faculty who provide academic advising and support services for undergraduate students. We work with students to help them identify purpose and develop their academic path throughout their time at Brandeis. Each student has their own, independent academic path, and no two paths will be exactly the same.

The Brandeis Library houses more than 2 million volumes (both electronic and physical), 45,000 journals (both electronic and physical) and 4,000 films, with a growing collection in the sciences, creative arts, humanities, government documents, Judaica and social sciences—including rare and unique collections.

We empower our community to become scholars, creators, and innovators. As a 21st-century Library, our services don’t stop at resources and citation help. We aim to improve literacies ranging from oral communication to digital to information. Librarians and specialists offer consultation sessions, embed themselves in classroom teaching, and host workshops to support research and teaching endeavors throughout campus. Topics include emerging trends in technologies such as machine learning, emerging trends in research such as data visualization, and emerging trends in scholarship such as open access. Service points—including the Research Help Desk, Archives & Special Collections, Sound & Image Media Studios, MakerLab, Automation Lab, and Digital Scholarship Lab—give students, faculty, and staff access to tools and opportunities to learn skills needed to achieve their academic success.

The Department of Public Safety is responsible for the protection of life and property at Brandeis University. Brandeis University is committed to providing a safe living and learning environment, including open and ongoing efforts to inform the campus about safety issues. If and when an incident occurs, we will work tirelessly to secure the campus, investigate the event, take appropriate action and assist victims with any support needed.

With a focus on gender-affirming care, the Massachusetts General Hospital Transgender Health Program offers comprehensive primary care, endocrine/hormone management, case management and links to behavioral health and surgical services.

The Trans Health Program at Fenway Health supports members of trans and gender diverse communities, their families, and the providers who serve them. We provide patient-centered, evidence-based care to ensure trans and gender diverse people are informed and affirmed in their gender and healthcare needs.

PFLAG is an organization of LGBTQ+ people, parents, families, and allies who work together to create an equitable and inclusive world. We are hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of chapters from coast to coast who are leading with love to support families, educate allies, and advocate for just, equitable, and inclusive legislation and policies. Since our founding in 1973, PFLAG works every day to ensure LGBTQ+ people everywhere are safe, celebrated, empowered and loved.

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center provides free, confidential support and services to survivors of sexual violence ages 12 and up and their families and friends. We work with survivors of all genders, and our goal is to empower survivors to heal and seek justice in ways that are meaningful to them. We meet the needs of survivors in crisis and long after, and we also assist them as they navigate the health-care, criminal legal, social service, and school systems.

Since 1972, SpeakOUT Boston has conducted peer-led training programs to prepare LGBTQ+* community members to effectively tell their personal stories to create positive social change. Our clients are seeking ways to create safer and more rewarding spaces for LGBTQ+ people through education and dialogue.

Since 2007, the Campus Pride Index has been the premier LGBTQ national benchmarking tool for colleges and universities to create safer, more inclusive campus communities. The free online tool allows prospective students, families/parents and those interested in higher education to search a database of LGBTQ-friendly campuses who have come out to improve the academic experience and quality of campus life. 

Trans Student Educational Resources is a youth-led organization dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender non-conforming students through advocacy and empowerment. Founded in 2011, it is the only national organization led by trans youth.

In addition to our focus on creating a more trans-friendly education system, our mission is to educate the public and teach trans activists how to be effective organizers. We believe that justice for trans and gender nonconforming youth is contingent on an intersectional framework of activism. Ending oppression is a long-term process that can only be achieved through collaborative action.

We speak at conferences, train teachers, collaborate with other advocacy organizations, organize the only national Trans Youth Leadership Summit, support trans-related events, provide leadership training for trans youth, host scholarships for trans students, publish materials about trans education, help create transgender-supportive policies, and promote trans representation in media.

The Paths (Re)Membered Project centers the Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ community–its strengths, resiliencies, and histories—in our movement toward health equity. Through community engagement, research, and advocacy, we work toward a liberated 2SLGBTQ+ future, which includes the memories of Two Spirit ancestors, the wisdom of our elders, and the creativity of our young people.

Forward Together is a national reproductive justice organization that centers peoples, families, and communities who experience reproductive oppression. We prioritize queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and other peoples of color. We utilize a cultural strategy to shift the ways we think about family and to build power and movements, grounded in our lived experiences, histories, theories and struggles for reproductive justice.

The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. We provide information & support to LGBTQ+ 
young people 24/7, all year round.

GLAAD is a non-profit organization focused on LGBTQ advocacy and cultural change. GLAAD works to ensure fair, accurate, and inclusive representation and creates national and local programs that advance LGBTQ acceptance. Serving as a storyteller, media force, resource, and advocate, GLAAD tackles tough issues and provokes dialogue so that authentic LGBTQ stories are seen, heard, and actualized. GLAAD strives to protect all that has been accomplished and helps create a world where everyone can live the life they love.

Transgender Law Center is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Since 2002 we’ve been organizing, assisting, informing and empowering thousands of individual community members towards a long-term, national, trans-led movement for liberation.

For more than one hundred years, ACLU lawyers have been at the center of one history-making court case after another, participating in more Supreme Court cases than any other private organization. With attorneys nationwide, we handle thousands of cases each year on behalf of clients whose rights have been violated.

By inspiring and engaging individuals and communities, the Human Rights Campaign strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. HRC envisions a world where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people plus community members who use different language to describe identity are ensured equality and embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

GLSEN believes that every student has the right to a safe, supportive, and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education. We are a national network of educators, students, and local GLSEN Chapters working to make this right a reality.

Our research and experience has shown that there are four major ways that schools can cultivate a safe and supportive environment for all of their students, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.