The Center for Applied Transgender Studies is the leading academic organization dedicated to scholarship on the social, cultural, and political conditions of transgender life.
About the Center
We are an independent nonprofit research organization run by transgender people for transgender people. We believe that dedication to public service and commitment to justice should be at the heart of academic inquiry. We also believe that education should not only occur in classrooms. Guided by those beliefs, we facilitate and promote the empirical study of transgender issues with the ultimate aim of informing policy-making and public discourse in ways that improve quality of life for the transgender community.
We bring together academic rigor and activist passion to identify, analyze, and, ultimately, propose solutions to the greatest issues facing transgender communities across the globe. The Fellows who make up our Center each pursue field-defining research with profound practical implications, and by coming together outside the disciplinary silos that define the academy, we hope to generate new insights and ideas that will better society.
The diversity of our Fellows and the differences of our academic backgrounds, cultural heritages, and life experiences make our work more meaningful. We are committed to ensuring that our work advocates for the needs of all transgender people, and that the research our Center sponsors is made free and available to the publics we serve.
Our achievements have made a difference...
to public discourse.
Our Fellows have written for countless press outlets, made appearances in news media in several countries, and served as journalist sources for stories on subjects ranging from human rights to popular culture.
to public policy.
Our Fellows have provided evidence and expert testimony to local, national, and international governing bodies, as well as helped draft policy and legislation in numerous jurisdictions.
to professional practice.
Our Fellows have contributed to the drafting of standards of care (both from the World Professional Association of Transgender Health and from national health agencies) and ethics guidelines for research with transgender populations.
to public health.
Our Fellows have collaborated with local health authorities to implement programs supporting the health needs of transgender communities.
to workplace inclusivity.
Our Fellows have drafted inclusion and equity guidelines for various professional industries and for academia.
to public knowledge.
Our Fellows have created public curricula and educational tool-kits relating to transgender issues, as well as oral history and archival projects preserving transgender history.
to political advocacy.
Our Fellows have developed research collaborations with local, national, and international transgender advocacy organizations to help identify community needs and lobby governing bodies to meet those needs.