The Department of Women’s Studies established on 1st October 2005. Vision and Mission of the Department is to encourage academic and field interventions in the field of women’s studies/gender studies in Kerala, focussing the Malabar region. This is the only teaching department of Women’s Studies in the entire state of Kerala. The Centre has implemented more than 100 programmes, including seminars, workshops and training programmes to fulfil its objectives. The MA Women’s Studies programme is successfully run with good number of applicants. M Phil and Ph D courses were started in the year 2012. The alumni of the Centre are placed as Assistant Professors in Women’s Studies Centres, Kudumbasree Mission and certain leading NGOs. Several others pursuing their Doctoral programmes in IIT’s, Central Universities, other state Universities and universities abroad with Full Bright Scholarship.
As part of extension activities, the Dept is regularly involved with organising awareness classes for various target groups. This is a nodal agency to coordinate the activities of Women Development Cells as a forum for self empowerment of girls in all the 370 affiliated colleges of the University. The community services taken up by the Department is benefitting large masses of girls and women at different levels, especially belonging to the Malabar region. After performance appraisal, UGC has promoted the Department to Phase II in 2008. The major focus of the Department at present is on research and publications.