This study assesses the multiple effects of planned exposure to gender and women's issues on graduate student development. Students in a gender-aware Counseling Psychology program (n = 63) were compared to those in two other graduate psychology programs (total n = 38) on five scales that measured exposure to gender issues, social constructivist views, feminist identity development, performance self-esteem, and endorsement of feminist therapy goals and strategies. Results supported the hypotheses that all outcome measures were significantly correlated with the extent of academic experiences related to women and gender. Program of concentration and level of graduate training were differentially related to social construction views and stages of feminist identity development. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for gender-aware education in the development of student identity, attitudes, and professional practice.
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