The Queer Research Cluster (QRC), was founded in Fall 2004 as an interdisciplinary project funding by the Davis Humanities Institute and devoted itself to interrogating structures of gender, sexuality, desire, affect, and embodiment in the contexts of political institutions, economic processes, and theoretical discourses. Events sponsored by the QRC included faculty and student-led reading groups, workshops for both faculty and graduate student scholarship in process, invited speakers and film screenings, professionalization workshops, and co-sponsorship of the Queer Symposium in Spring quarter.

In 2010 the QRC became the QFT (Queer, Feminist, and Transgender Studies Research Cluster.

QFT has historically hosted the annual Queer Studies Symposium.

In the current 2017-2018 version of QFT, the annual conference hosted by the cluster will be revived. On May 3-4th, 2018, QFT will host the “Queering Care and Cure” conference, with keynote Dean Spade.