online phd women's studies

Online Doctorates in Gender Studies

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Ph.D. Program

The Ph.D. program in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Arizona trains scholars and researchers in this dynamic, interdisciplinary field.

Graduates will produce original knowledge in the field from a foundation in diverse theories of gender, critical race theory, feminism and other social movements, history, literature, critical and cultural studies, and the relation of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and transnational economic and political processes.

Through coursework and preparation for individually designed comprehensive exams, students gain understanding and skills in diverse approaches to feminist scholarship that enable them to design and complete their own innovative dissertation project.

The department has particular expertise in Chicana/Latina studies, LGBTQ/Sexuality Studies, transnationalism, and representation and culture and maintains methodologically diverse approaches to scholarship.

Through its affiliation with the Southwest Institute for Research on Women the department also contributes to applied community-based research on women's and adolescent health, substance abuse treatment, women and incarceration, and projects related to border issues.

Contact Information

Admissions Questions

Darcy Roman-Felix Academic Program Coordinator [email protected] (520) 621-5657

Other Inquiries

Dr. Eithne Luibheid [email protected] 520-626-2746

How to Apply

Students applying to The University of Arizona's Ph.D. in Gender and Women's Studies degree program must submit the online Graduate Admissions Application .

Applicants  do not need agreement in advance  from a faculty member who will serve as their Ph.D. supervisor. Instead, applicants’ statement of purpose should clearly explain which Gender and Women’s Studies core faculty member(s) they hope to work with, and how their planned program of study connects with that faculty's expertise. 

Application Deadline

Gender & Women’s Studies accepts Ph.D. students every two years. In Fall 2023, we will begin accepting applications for students to be admitted for Fall 2024. This program does not accept spring admissions.

Application deadline for Fall 2024 admission: January 5, 2024.

Application Requirements

Students applying to The University of Arizona's Ph.D. in Gender and Women's Studies degree program should hold a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent by the date of entry into the program. An undergraduate major or minor in Women's Studies or a strong background in feminist theory within the undergraduate major is strongly recommended. To be competitive for admissions, applicants must achieve a GPA of at least 3.0.

Letters of Recommendation (3)

The Department requires each applicant to have a minimum of 3 letters of recommendation submitted on their behalf.  The letters of recommendation should be written by faculty that can speak about your academic and research ability.

Statement of Purpose

Please provide a statement of up to 1000 words outlining your purpose in undertaking graduate study in Gender & Women’s Studies, and at the UA in particular, including your academic objectives, research interests, and career plans. Include information that documents your preparation for advanced study in this field, such as research projects, internships, or other relevant experiences. If there are particular faculty member with whom you wish to study, please give their names and explain why you want to study with them.  Please include your last name and page number in the header section of each page .

Personal Statement

Please write a statement of no more than 500 words that identifies the distinctive qualities, characteristics, and life experiences that contribute to your decision to pursue graduate education in Gender & Women’s Studies. You may wish to include examples that illustrate your motivation to succeed by setting high standards for accomplishing intellectual and other goals, overcoming obstacles to achievement, and/or your commitment to social transformation.   Please include your last name and page number in the header section of each page .

Writing Sample

This may be a term paper, a published article or essay, or a substantive research report. Your sample should demonstrate your ability to write clearly, develop a reasoned argument, and engage in innovative thinking. Please limit your writing sample to 25 pages.   Please include your last name and page number in the header section of each page .

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Upload your CV.   Please include your last name and page number in the header section of each page .

Your CV should include:

• Education (degrees you have received or anticipate);
• Academic employment (such as teaching or research positions), whether paid or unpaid;
• Non-academic employment (including internships);
• Honors, prizes, awards, scholarships, and memberships in honor societies and professional organizations.
• Published articles, papers presented at professional meetings, screenings or other public presentations of your creative work;
• Any other activities or accomplishments that you feel are relevant to this application (e.g. extra-curricular activities during college or graduate school or substantial engagement with a non-profit or activist organizations not already listed under employment).

All transcripts uploaded into your application are considered unofficial.  If recommended for admission, then sealed, official paper transcripts or official electronic versions sent from your university or clearing house are acceptable.  Degree certificates, diplomas, and transcripts for international documents will require official English translations.

If you are recommended for admission to our program and you accept, the Graduate College Admissions Office will then and only then require you to submit official transcripts. If you fail to submit those official transcripts or if the official transcripts reveal negative information not previously disclosed to us, we reserve the right to revoke the recommendation for admission and any funding that may have been offered.

Official GRE Scores (Recommended)

The GWS department does not require applicants to submit GRE scores in order to be considered for admission. However, we recommend that you complete the GRE (even though it will not be a factor in our consideration of your application) since it required for certain fellowships and grants for which you may be eligible. 

The GRE Institution Code for The University of Arizona is  4832.

English Proficiency

English Proficiency is one of the conditions for admission for all applicants whose native language is not English. Acceptable English Proficiency credentials: 

• Test of English as a Foreign Language  (TOEFL) - minimum score of 79 iBT (or 60 on the revised PBT with no section score lower than 15).  Individual MyBest scores must also be dated within 2 years of the enrollment term to be considered valid.
• International English Language Testing System  (IELTS) - minimum composite score of 7, with no subject area below a 6
• Pearson PTE Academic  - minimum score of 60
• Graduate  English Language Endorsement  from the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL)
• CEPT Full Academic test  - offered by our Center for English as a Second Language (CESL), minimum Total score of 110.

  Please visit the Graduate College website for more information regarding  English Proficiency .

Program Requirements

Course work for the PhD includes a total minimum of 66 units:

Core Courses

Effective Fall 2023, complete 9 units:

Major Courses

Students must complete 27 additional major units. 

These may be classes in and outside of the department. They should be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor. Students may fulfill up to 10 units by enrolling in the Certificate in College Teaching. For more information see:  http://cct.oia.arizona.edu/ .

Critical Race/Ethnic Studies Course Requirement: Our faculty are committed to critical race and ethnic studies for feminist training and research. Doctoral students must complete one 3-unit course in critical race or ethnic studies, as part of the major or minor. GWS 539A, 639, and 684 may not be used to fulfill this requirement. Consult with your adviser or the DGS to select a course that meets this requirement.

Minor Requirements

At least one supporting minor of nine or more units is required for the PhD. If a doctoral student chooses two supporting minor subjects, each minor must have at least six units of coursework. Although the minor subjects are usually taken outside the major department, minors within the major department may be permitted with the approval of the student's major professor and must be included in your plan of study.

Dissertation Requirements

Students complete 18 units of dissertation units.

The dissertation is a substantial piece of original research in Gender and Women’s Studies. Great care should be taken with your dissertation.  For those students who go on to become professors, the dissertation will be a key component in job interviews. Hiring committees will want to see that the dissertation topic, research, and writing indicate that the dissertation can be revised into a publishable book in a timely fashion.

Other Program Requirements

Transfer coursework.

Graduate credit earned at approved institutions, if accepted by the Gender and Women’s Studies Department and the Graduate College, may be counted toward the requirements.  Click here to view complete details . 

For students  with  an MA in gender and women’s studies or a related field, a total of  fifteen  units may be fulfilled through approved transferred credit.

For students without an MA in gender and women’s studies or a related field, a total of  twelve  units may be fulfilled through approved transferred credit.

Qualifying Process (QP)

All students entering the Ph.D. program are required to complete a Qualifying Process.

Comprehensive Examination for Doctoral Candidacy

This Examination is intended to test the student’s comprehensive knowledge of the major and minor subjects of study, both in breadth across the general field of study, and in depth within the area of specialization.  There are two portions to the Comprehensive Examination:  the written exam and the oral exam.  They must be taken sequentially.  Students should normally take the Comprehensive Exams upon or near completion of their coursework.

Dissertation Proposal and Defense

The proposal must describe original, substantive research in Gender and Women’s Studies.  It should explain how the dissertation will contribute new knowledge to the field(s) and it should display fluency with existing scholarship related to the topic.  All members of the Dissertation Committee must approve the Dissertation Proposal at a Proposal Defense.

Dissertation

The dissertation is a substantial piece of original research in Gender and Women’s Studies.  Great care should be taken with your dissertation.  For those students who go on to become professors, the dissertation will be a key component in job interviews.  Hiring committees will want to see that the dissertation topic, research, and writing indicate that the dissertation can be revised into a publishable book in a timely fashion.

Language Competencies

The Gender & Women’s Studies Ph.D. does not require the demonstration of second-language competency, but pursuing fluency in languages other than English is strongly encouraged as part of our commitment to U.S. ethnic studies, and international and transnational scholarship, teaching, and activism.

Students undertaking dissertation research in a language other than English and in which they are not native speakers will be expected to demonstrate proficiency to their Dissertation Committee.  Proficiency is achieved when the student acquires the expertise to read widely in secondary literature and undertake original research in another language.  Students who expect that they will undertake dissertation research in a non-native language should discuss this with their Major Advisor early in their doctoral program and work with their Advisor to develop a plan to achieve language proficiency.  These students will be expected to demonstrate language proficiency as part of their Dissertation Prospectus defense.

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Feminist Studies Doctoral Program

The Graduate Program in Feminist Studies has a strong interdisciplinary orientation. Intersectional, Decolonial, Indigenous, Queer and Transnational feminisms foreground our studies of gender, sex, and sexuality in the US and elsewhere. Our core faculty specializes in research informed by Black Studies, Latina/o Studies, Asian American Studies, Latin America, East Asia and South Asia Studies and the disciplines including Anthropology, Cultural Studies, History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. In addition to our core faculty, nearly 100 adjunct and affiliate faculty from departments across the university offer courses and expertise to our students.

See Faculty for additional information about our doctoral program faculty and their research interests.

Our History

The Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020. We started as a program in Women Studies in 1970 and became a department, with our own tenure lines in 1996. Our doctoral program, which began in 1998, awarded its first PhDs in 2006. Since then 29 students have successfully completed their PhDs in Feminist Studies. In 2011, we changed our name to Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies to better describe the scope and direction of the program.

Applying to the Program

Students applying to this program must have a strong academic background in Women, Feminist, Sexuality or Gender Studies.  Applicants may have a bachelors or masters degree in any interdiscipline or discipline but should have a record of academic coursework or activism that includes study of such subjects as feminist theory and/or empirical and/or theoretical analysis of race, class, sexuality, and gender.

Program Requirements

Students pursuing the Ph.D. must complete at least 60 credits of course work, which include 20 credits of core seminars: GWSS 501: History of Feminism; GWSS 502: Cross Disciplinary Feminist Theory; and GWSS 503: Feminist Research and Methods of Inquiry, taken sequentially; GWSS 504: Philosophies and Techniques of Teaching, and 40 credits of coursework in research methods and the student's areas of concentration.

Ph.D. students take a written and oral General Examination at the end of course work, usually in the third year of study. Within four weeks of the exam students are expected to submit a dissertation proposal and present it to their committee for discussion and approval. On successful completion of the exam and proposal defense, students are admitted to candidacy for the PhD. This marks the beginning of more intensive dissertation research.

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits of dissertation research culminating in a publishable dissertation.

Preparing for Your Future

Our Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students for scholarly careers in feminist research and teaching interdisciplinary gender, women, and sexuality studies and/or related disciplines at the university/college level. Graduates of our Ph.D. program may also find employment with governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies (NGO's) and non-profit organizations working on social issues.

In recent years, our graduates have taken tenure-track positions at major universities, postdoctoral fellowships, research positions, directorships of Women’s Centers, and leadership positions in international organizations. 

Our Departmental Expertise

The UW department of Gender, Women and Sexuality  is reputed for scholarly expertise in women of color and transnational feminisms. We have growing foci in digital humanities, where we are well-known for innovative experimental exchanges with communities through music, dance, and visual cultures, and in queer studies, especially queer of color and transnational queer scholarship.

Funding Your Graduate Studies

Incoming students, domestic and international, are typically offered at least a twelve-quarter funding package comprised of a combination of department-based research and teaching assistantships and University-wide fellowship funding secured through the department, subject to satisfactory performance (which is reviewed annually). Because of our desire to work intensively with each of our doctoral students and to fund our students through the majority of their graduate training, admission to the graduate program is highly competitive. We typically admit about two to four new students each year. Students with disabilities, as confirmed by Disabilities Resource Services, may qualify for additional funding.

Feminist Studies Doctoral Program Pamphlet (PDF)

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• Gender and Women's Studies, Ph.D.

The PhD in Gender and Women's Studies provides advanced training in feminist gender analysis for students from a variety of academic backgrounds and career plans. The degree engages the multidisciplinary perspectives associated with gender studies and women's studies: queer studies, transgender studies, sexuality studies, race and ethnicity studies, disability studies, area and global studies, cultural studies, and postcolonial and transnational studies. This interdisciplinary program is supported by the active engagement of 20 faculty members (and another dozen faculty affiliates). The program of study connects to "traditional" disciplinary study, and encourage students to:

• engage with wide-ranging and multi-disciplinary feminist theory and research;
• explore research on gender around the globe and how gender intersects with local and national identities, as well as how gender intersects with other social categories such as race/ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, class, caste, and religion;
• develop expertise in a disciplinary or interdisciplinary concentration outside Gender and Women’s Studies; and
• engage with a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary methods including, for example, fieldwork, ethnography, critical analysis, and archival, statistical, experimental, and meta-analytic methods.

The PhD curriculum in Gender and Women's Studies draws from the strengths of course offerings in the department, as well as from methods and course offerings in other fields and departments. Some courses investigate these topics at the global level whereas others focus on the local, regional or national levels. The curriculum ensures an overarching transnational and cross-cultural framework.

Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online .

The following materials are required to be submitted:

• One (1) copy of official transcripts or academic records from each institution attended. International academic records must be in the original language and accompanied by an official English translation. An unofficial transcript is acceptable for the application process; an official transcript is required if the student is accepted.
• TOEFL or IELTS score for international students whose first language is not English or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English.
• Three (3) letters of recommendation. At least two of the letters should come from academic sources. These letters may be submitted online. Please see the Graduate School’s web link for instructions.
• Statement of reasons why you wish to pursue the PhD Degree in Gender and Women’s Studies (2–3 pages). In their personal statements, applicants should explicitly articulate their academic interests and goals, describe how a PhD in Gender and Women's Studies complements those intellectual goals, and explain how the faculty and the program at UW–Madison are especially well matched with the applicant's interests.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Writing sample (10-20 pages, no more than 25 pages).

Graduate School Resources

Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid.  Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Major requirements.

Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements , in addition to the program requirements listed below.

Mode of Instruction

 mode of instruction definitions.

Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.

Evening/Weekend: ​Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules.  Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.

Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.

Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats.  Contact the program for more specific information.

Online: These programs are offered 100% online.  Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.

Curricular Requirements

Required courses, graduate school policies.

The  Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures  provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.

Major-Specific Policies

Prior coursework, graduate work from other institutions.

This program follows the Graduate School's policy for Satisfying Requirements with Prior Graduate Coursework from Other Institutions.

UW-Madison Undergraduate

This program follows the Graduate School's policy for Satisfying Requirements with Coursework from Undergraduate Career at UW–Madison .

UW-Madison University Special

This program follows the Graduate School's policy for Transfer from UW–Madison University Special Student Career at UW–Madison.  

This program follows the Graduate School's Probation policy .

Advisor/Committee

The student will be paired with a faculty advisor when they enter the program, based on the area of interest they indicate in their application for admission. The student may later change their advisor. By the beginning of the second semester of their first year, the student must form a three-person faculty advisory committee consisting of the advisor and two other faculty members.

Credits Per Term Allowed

Time limits.

This program follows the Graduate School's Time Limits policy .

Grievances and Appeals

These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:

• Bias or Hate Reporting  
• Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
• Office of the Provost for Faculty and Staff Affairs
• Dean of Students Office (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
• Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
• Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
• Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
• Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
• Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
• Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)

Students should contact the department chair or program director with questions about grievances. They may also contact the L&S Academic Divisional Associate Deans, the L&S Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Administration, or the L&S Director of Human Resources.

Take advantage of the Graduate School's  professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career. 

• Demonstrate a broad understanding of major theories, methods, and scholarship in gender and women’s studies.
• Develop significant research questions that will advance the contributions of GWS scholarship to society; create individualized research programs that match their specific interests and goals, and that harness the tools from their concentration.
• Acquire the analytical tools to apply gender and women’s studies in a range of academic and non-academic careers.
• Demonstrate ethical and professional conduct in research and teaching and with colleagues.

GWS Faculty

• Requirements
• Professional Development
• Learning Outcomes

Contact Information

Doctor of Philosophy in Gender & Women's Studies College of Letters & Science Gender & Women's Studies gws.wisc.edu

Gender & Women's Studies, Ph.D. Program Website

Graduate Coordinator [email protected] 475 N. Charter, 3321 Sterling Hall Madison, WI 53706

Pernille Ipsen, Ph.D., Director of Graduate Studies [email protected] (608) 770-9843 3307 Sterling Hall

Judith Houck, Ph.D., Chair & Faculty Diversity Liaison [email protected] (608) 890-3890 3327 Sterling Hall

Graduate School grad.wisc.edu

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Ph.D. Program in Gender and Women’s Studies

Prospective students.

• Application Process More
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Current Students

• PhD Program Handbook More
• Advising More
• Courses More
• Syllabus Library More
• Funding Opportunities More

Our Program

The PhD degree in Gender and Women’s Studies provides advanced feminist training for students with a variety of academic backgrounds and career plans. The degree engages the multidisciplinary perspectives associated with gender studies, including queer studies, transgender studies, sexuality studies, race and ethnicity studies, postcolonial and settler-colonial studies, disability studies, area and global studies, cultural studies, and art, visual culture, and performance studies.

Faculty and students in our program, often working within other departments as well, develop scholarly expertise in areas such as: Gender and Health; LGBTQ2SIA+ Studies; Visual Culture, Art, and Performance Studies; Disability Studies; Gender and Sexuality in History; Gender and Politics; Psychology, Gender, and Sexuality; Transnational, Postcolonial, and Settler Colonial Studies; Care Work, Community Action, and Social Movements.

A unique feature of the Wisconsin PhD program in GWS is that all students complete a 15-credit concentration (mostly) outside GWS. The concentration may be in a traditional discipline (e.g., History or Political Science) or an interdisciplinary area (e.g., Gender and Health, or LGBTQ+ Studies). With the concentration, students will have expanded options on the academic and non-academic job markets, and they will learn research methods and content that will be useful for their dissertation and research beyond that. For more information, see the Concentration tab.

The Department benefits from numerous campus resources including a dedicated Office and Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian, the McBurney Disability Resource Center, the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, and other vital resources that may be found under the Campus Resources tab.

Frequently Asked Questions

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Can students take courses outside of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies?

Absolutely! An integral part of the PhD program is the Concentration, which can be in a discipline (e.g., Political Science) or an interdisciplinary area (e.g., Health, or LGBTQ+ Studies). An Individualized Concentration is also possible. The concentrations are structured around courses outside the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies.

Is funding available for students?

Each student accepted into the PhD program in Gender & Women’s Studies will be given 5 years of guaranteed funding (salary at the 50% level, plus tuition remission), conditional on the student remaining in good standing. This guarantee refers to the 9 months of the academic year. The Department, in addition, will do its best to provide support in the summer.

This funding may come in any combination of internal fellowships (e.g., University Fellowship, Graduate Research Scholars Fellowship), Teaching Assistantships, Project Assistantships, Research Assistantships, and external fellowships for which you apply (e.g., National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, AAUW Dissertation Fellowship).

How do I apply for funding?

We consider all applicants for funding, and you do not need to submit any additional materials to be considered for funding.

What GRE tests should I take, and when?

The Department of Gender & Women’s Studies does NOT require GRE scores.

Is an undergraduate major in Gender & Women’s Studies required?

No.  Although many of our graduate students will have majored in gender & women’s studies as undergraduates, we are interdisciplinary, and others will have completed majors in an array of disciplines—e.g., anthropology, history, English, political science, psychology, sociology – or interdisciplinary fields.  Regardless of your undergraduate major, it is important that you have taken at least some gender & women’s studies courses and have some familiarity with the field.

Is it acceptable for me to contact a professor directly?

Yes! In fact, we encourage you to contact faculty with whom you would be interested in working prior to preparing your application. On the application website, you will be asked to list up to three faculty members with whom you would like to work.

How do I apply for an application fee waiver?

The Department of Gender and Women’s Studies has closed its  fee waiver application for international applicants for the fall 2024 admissions cycle. If you have already submitted a fee waiver application, Graduate Program staff will be in contact in early November with the Graduate Committee’s decision. Domestic applicants can apply for an application fee waiver through the Graduate School.

Please note: international students will be required to pay a $6 processing fee even if granted an application fee waiver.

Am I required to take the TOEFL exam?

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. 

What should I include in the Statement of Purpose?

The Graduate School has developed these useful guidelines for the Statement of Purpose along with a number of resources for applicants.

When will I be notified if I am accepted?

Admitted students will be contacted by email, no later than February 15 .

When do you need to know whether or not I will attend?

We must have your response by April 15 , which is the deadline that all U.S. graduate schools have agreed to.  If you have chosen another program or school before that date, we would be grateful if you let us know as soon as you decide.

As you are making a decision, here is more information about UW-Madison and tips for negotiating competing offers from different programs.

Land Acknowledgement

From Land Acknowledgement to Action – a Bibliography from the Office of the Gender & Women’s Studies Librarian

Diversity Statement

Gender Studies, PHD

On this page:, at a glance: program details.

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

The Gender Studies doctoral program accepts applications for incoming cohorts in odd years only. The next admit term is Fall 2025 (applications due in December 2024). Please contact [email protected] with questions.

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Gender Studies

The PhD program in gender studies is housed in the nation's first School of Social Transformation. The inclusive gender studies doctoral program empowers tomorrow's scholars and community leaders by immersing students in:

• creative and critical knowledge production
• deep fluency in feminist theory, methodology and praxis
• publicly engaged academic research

Courses in the gender studies program examine key topics related to gender. These include gendered dimensions of social structures, institutions and organizations; the ways in which policies and laws affect gender relations; the intersections of race, gender, sexualities and citizenship in a transnational world; historical and contemporary representations of gender across genres (e.g., popular culture; social media; scientific, medical, historical and legal discourse); and processes of social change, social movements and community development.

Students can choose to specialize in a wide variety of topic areas:

• activism and social movements
• BIPOC feminisms
• critical globalization and development studies
• critical refugee studies
• feminist social reproduction theory
• immigration and migration
• popular culture studies
• queer of color critique
• reproductive justice
• transnational feminisms

Degree Requirements

84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (12 credit hours) WST 601 Critical Concepts of Gender (3) WST 602 Mapping the Intersections of Gender (3) WST 603 Engendering Methodology (3) WST 701 Research Design and Proposal Development in Gender Studies (3)

Elective Coursework in Methodology (6 credit hours)

Elective Coursework in Specialization (12 credit hours)

General Electives (30 credit hours)

Research (12 credit hours)

Dissertation (12 credit hours) WST 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used for this degree. If students do not have a previously awarded master's degree, they select 30 hours of elective coursework with academic unit approval to reach the required 84 credit hours.

Students should see the academic unit for a complete list of approved electives.

Students must maintain an average GPA of 3.50 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in their courses.

The gender studies doctoral program is designed to provide students with the transdisciplinary training in theory and methods needed to conduct original research and scholarship about gender. Thus, students also take two research methods courses relevant to their dissertation, chosen in consultation with their faculty advisor.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The gender studies program welcomes applications from qualified students without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex or national origin. Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts
• resume or curriculum vitae
• statement of purpose
• three letters of reference, preferably from faculty or other researchers
• writing sample (10 to 15 pages)
• proof of English language proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

Students should see the ASU Admission Services website for mailing addresses and further admission information.

For additional financial information, students should consult the tuition and aid website.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, learning outcomes.

• Integrate and apply the core theories of gender in the field of Women and Gender Studies.
• Evaluate and apply core methodologies in the field of Women and Gender Studies.
• Examine and apply intersectionality as a foundational framework in the field of Women and Gender Studies.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program have gone on to careers at universities, research and policy institutes, government organizations and nonprofit organizations.

Global Opportunities

Global experience.

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-7682

Quick Links

What are you looking for, suggested searches.

• Academic Programs
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Department of Women's Spirituality

Exploring the convergence of philosophy, gender studies and social justice

In this Section

Our Women Spirituality programs at CIIS are rooted in deep exploration as a means to create extraordinary change.  CIIS’ Women's Spirituality department envisions a new kind of scholarship, one that puts our interconnectedness at the center of all that we know and do. We offer a transdisciplinary, multicultural, and socially-engaged approach to the study of gender and spirituality.  

Women's Spirituality Curriculum Areas

Our curriculum incorporates scholarship from women and gender studies, ethnic studies, religious studies, philosophy, and other related fields. Deepen your academic and personal inquiry in these areas of study.

Women and World Religions

Feminist and Ecofeminist Philosophy & Activism

Women's Mysteries, Sacred Arts & Healing

We affirm all women – including poor and working-class women, trans women, disabled women, undocumented women, and women of all colors and nationalities, particularly those who are often overlooked in mainstream discourse. We recognize not only women’s economic and political struggles, but also our agency, resilience, and connection to the sacred spark within.

We do not espouse a singular spiritual framework or approach to feminism. Instead, we support students in undertaking their own rigorous inquiry into and across any traditional academic field, including ecology, philosophy, history, and others. We also invite students to articulate their spiritual growth and transformation, integrating personal spiritual values with commitment to social transformation.

Our Programs

We offer two degree programs to help you undertake your inquiry into the intersection of feminism and various spiritual frameworks – and beyond.

M.A. in Women, Gender, Spirituality, and Social Justice - Where activism is a form of sacred practice. 

• Discover this Journey

Ph.D. in Women’s Spirituality - Explore transpersonal and embodied ways of knowing with womanist, feminist, Indigenous and decolonial lenses.

• Explore the Possibility

Faculty Research and Scholarship

Our faculty are an accomplished and enriched group of instructors who offer different lenses and showcase multiple ways of knowing, teaching, and learning. Enjoy a glimpse into some of their work. 

Spiritual Healing from Sexual Violence: An Intersectional Guide

Professor Annette Williams has written the incisive “Deconstruction and Reclamation: A Black Woman’s Healing Journey” for this collection of intersectional essays for individual healing and societal reform. Spiritual Healing from Sexual Violence: An Intersectional Guide offers intersectional options for adults to establish pathways for recovery.

Sensitive is the New Strong

Professor May Elawar talks with author, international speaker, and cancer survivor Anita Moorjan about her latest book, Sensitive Is the New Strong , as well as her life and work teaching others to harness and foster their empathic gifts in today’s difficult, fear-based world.

Learning the Yantras with Dr. Sundari Johansen Hurwitt

In this short, interactive class Professor Dr. Sundari Johansesn Hurwitt creates a playful space to explore the concept of Yantras. 

The time it takes to complete the Ph.D. varies greatly depending on whether you enroll part-time or full-time and the time it takes you to conceptualize and develop an original dissertation project. The average time that our Ph.D. students take is between four and seven years.

See below for a short list of some of our esteemed graduates and their professional titles:

• Cecilia Naomi Lipp, Executive Director, International Action Network for Gender Equity & Law
• Lorin Jackson, Public Services Librarian, Scholar and Activist, AIDS Library
• Anna Joyce, Psychotherapist
• Marisa Manriquez, Healer, Yoga Instructor, Artist, Life Coach, Soul Witness
• Nadirah Adeye, Faculty Relations Manager, Shift Network
• Leilani Birely, Priestess and Founder, Daughters of the Goddess
• Chandra Alexandre, Founder and Executive Director, SHARANYA: A Devi Mandir Goddess Temple
• Cristina Rose Smith, Professor, Gender and Ethnic Studies, California State University, Dominquez Hills, CA
• Eahr Joan, Reference Librarian, CIIS
• Marcelle Williams, Co-Chair, The Women's Caucus at the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature
• Marion Dumont, Editor, Myths Shattered and Restored
• Deborah Santana, Author and CEO Founder, Do A Little Foundation
• Tricia Grame, Visual Artist
• Sandy Miranda Radio Producer, KPFA

You are not required to take the GREs for admission into the program.

CIIS is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges-Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).

Our graduates fill a number of roles and leadership positions in various fields—academia, research, policy making, education, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, creative arts, restorative justice, and many more. Our program has a strong emphasis on social justice and seeks to make an impact on the world at large by providing students with the tools to think deeply and critically about local and transnational issues, and to affect change through an integrative approach to education that values the spiritual dimensions of our human experience.

We recognize that there is no clearly paved career trajectory for someone with a degree in women's spirituality; much depends on a student's objective, self-motivation, and entrepreneurship. Students tailor their studies to their specific areas of interest, and our graduates have diverse careers. Our curriculum includes a course on vocation design to give students tools for career creation.

The Women's Spirituality program is interdisciplinary, so dissertations may cover a wide range of topics.

Yes! Like us on Facebook .

"I realize that I am capable because of the program. This power helps me set my priorities and goals in a way that puts me first in my professional life. Too often our needs are neglected as women, and more specifically as women of color. I had practice in the program to respectfully disagree and assert my personal values in an academic way that helps me continue to shape my professional identity and energy." —Lorin Jackson

"This degree resulted in enormous changes in the way I felt about my work. Through spending time with the curanderas, the way I worked began to evolve as well.... The fact that all life and growth take place within a spiritual journey was more prominent in my assessment of and solutions to client challenges. I began to view my work as a true healing art." —Anna Joyce

"All I have learned from the classes, my teachers and ancestor spur me forth to share the forgotten and lost knowledge that is so powerful and that can become a vehicle for womyn to move together in sisterhood. Our foremothers left legacies for us to inherit. It is our right and blessing to join together to reclaim, preserve and perpetuate the traditions and ceremonies of our ancestors." —Leilani Birely

"My five years in the program deepened my engagement with caring and abundant epistemologies and ontologies. With mentors and teachers at and connected to CIIS, I was nurtured and encouraged to seek out the gifts of my motherline-women of color who survived and thrived because of their intuitive strength. The ‘mothering' I received at CIIS helped to develop my goals in my own classrooms. I see myself as part of the lineage of women who have come through the program and I am now passing on my own intuitive strength to my students, most of whom are women of color. The knowledge and wisdom of matriarchal and indigenous and POC perspectives is what I share, and it is my responsibility and honor." —Cristina Rose Smith

"I had always had a passion for seeking out the unheard voice and the program gave me the tools and structure to continue the last segment of my graduate career on a path that was not only familiar, but was lacking in my higher ed career. The PhD has supported my exploration of women's voices, but it has also given me the ability to network and find a group of women who support women's words and voices within the academy through the Women's Caucus at AAR/SBL." —Marcelle Williams

"My life has always been about spirituality and social justice. I returned to CIIS to earn my MA to better understand the disparities in the world for women and to be able to articulate women's voices and leadership in my work, which I call spiritual activism." —Deborah Santana

On Being an Ethical Psychic with Jennifer Lisa Vest and Annette Williams

Associate Professor and Chair of the Women’s Spirituality program Annette Williams talks with Afro-Indigenous intuitive healer and scholar Dr. Jennifer Vest in this illuminating conversation exploring how psychics and energy workers can build an authentic, equitable, and culturally sensitive healing practice.

Our Upcoming Events

Admissions Office Hour

Online with Jessica Johnson

Women's Spirituality: Online Info Session

A Free Online Info Session with Alka Arora and Norah Chen

Our Department in Action

Faculty Author Shines With Bright Parallel

An interview with CIIS Professor Monica Mody about her new book of poetry Bright Parallel, detailing her inspirations as well as her writing and teaching process

In Memoriam: Dr. Mara Lynn Keller

Dr. Keller crossed over on the morning following the Winter Solstice as the light and lengthening of days returned to the northern hemisphere.

Honoring Women’s History Month with Women’s Spirituality

Exploring the Department of Women's Spirituality and celebrating with two events

Ph.D. Program

The department enjoys a global reputation for new methodologies and exciting new research. Our students and alumni are building new fields of study and reimagining the future of feminist thought, within and beyond academia.

Important Links

• Ph.D. Admissions
• Department  Faculty  and Staff
• Current Ph.D. Students

Students in the program explore feminist and queer theories, methodologies and genealogies through coursework within the department and then draw upon resources across UMD and the D.C. area to build an individualized course of study as they ready themselves for dissertation research.

With the guidance of faculty, students work through our series of benchmarks in order to gain a strong grounding in the field and then develop their specific trajectory, pursuing the classes, networks and training necessary for the projects they are building.

Our program and campus have particular strengths in the following areas:

• Race and racialization, ethnic and diasporic studies, Black feminist thought and intersectionality
• Arts, technology, media, cultural studies and digital humanities
• Sexual cultures, queer and trans studies and queer of color critique
• Social justice and political movements
• Transnational feminisms and global gender justice

The doctoral program trains students in scholarly research, which our graduates have successfully applied within a wide range of professional arenas. Graduates of our program are working not only in women, gender, and sexuality academic studies but also in traditional disciplinary departments, non-teaching academic positions, nonprofits, publishing, museums and beyond.

Since the program began in 1999, the department has granted 36 Ph.Ds. These scholars have gone on to successful careers in a variety of fields. 70% work in higher education in a combination of tenure track, non-tenure track and community college positions, as well as post-doctoral and university administration positions. 11% work in nonprofits, 5% in secondary education and 5% in creative positions. Learn more about our current doctoral students and our Ph.D. alumni .

Overview of PhD Requirements

A students' primary advisor is the faculty member who works with them as they progress through their degree, from initial coursework through dissertation research and preparation for their career after graduation. Applicants do not enter the program with an assigned advisor. The Director of Graduate Studies advises all graduate students from admission until a permanent advisor is decided (generally in year 2). Students may ask a faculty member to be their advisor at any time, but they must select a permanent advisor by the spring of their second year.

Most students have one advisor, though a co-advising relationship with two faculty members is also possible. Students must have one advisor within the department until they receive ABD status, at which point they are no longer required to have an advisor within the WGSS core faculty.  Advisor(s) must be a full member of the UMD Graduate Faculty .

Required Coursework

• 12 credits of core courses (WGSS 601, 602, 618, 708) which must be taken in sequence
• 12 credits (4 courses) taken with WGSS core faculty (WGSS698 or others which may be cross-listed)
• 6 credits (2 courses) taken with faculty outside of the department 9 credits from electives (chosen in consultation with advisor)
• 6 credits of WGSS628: Colloquium in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (a 1 credit course, 2 credits taken in year 1)
• 19 credits (minimum) of research credits taken once required classes have been completed

Research Credits

UMD requires that students be continually registered for classes while pursuing doctoral study. Prior to advancement to candidacy and after completion of required coursework, students should be registered for WGSS 709: Major Fields Research or WGSS 898: Pre-candidacy Research. After advancement to candidacy, the registrar’s office will register students in good standing for 6 credits of WGSS 899 Dissertation Research each Fall and Spring until program completion.

Course Descriptions

Core courses.

WGSS 601: Theoretical Foundations in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies First semester ;  3 credits

A foundational theory seminar which examines fundamental concepts in the interdisciplinary field of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The course engages intersectionality as a critical analytic and set of responses to structural power and domination. It provides students with a theoretical foundation for understanding gender, race, and sexuality as analytic categories operating in transnational and global contexts and intersecting with other categories of difference. 

WGSS 602: Methodologies and Epistemologies in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Second semester; 3 credits

This seminar examines the politics and practice of knowledge production in the interdisciplinary field of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, setting the foundation for students’ emergence as producers of knowledge. It explores how theory is connected to the formation of raced/gendered/sexed bodies, subjectivities, and existences that unsettle Eurocentric genealogies of disciplinary knowledge formation. The course introduces students to methodological and epistemological frameworks for attending to the impact of relations of power and domination on how research and scholarship are created and defined within and across disciplinary boundaries, cultures, and paradigms.

WGSS 618: Feminist Pedagogy Required in first semester of teaching (usually third semester); 3 credits

Whether or not you enter the program with prior teaching experience, this seminar is required the first time a student has a teaching assistantship. Students work in direct collaboration with their faculty instructor, who is also the instructor for the undergraduate lecture in which students are serving as TA. WGSS 618 explores principles and frameworks of feminist pedagogy and discusses how they can be implemented into teaching practice. As a graduate teaching assistant in WGSS 618 you may be asked, among other things, to clarify and supplement the materials discussed in the large lecture session, take responsibility for sessions within the large lecture, monitor class attendance and participation, proctor exams, and grade papers. Your time commitments will therefore vary from week to week as you prepare for your individual sections and course expectations.

Following the first semester of teaching, students will take the 1 credit course WGSS619: Teaching Practicum in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

WGSS 708: Research Seminar in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Fourth Semester, 3 credits

This course strengthens students' understanding of research as a process, providing an opportunity to work on an independent project within the structure of a graduate seminar. Using the accountability and collaboration of a seminar and the one-on-one support of a faculty mentor, students will build their research knowledge and apply these research skills as they develop their individual projects. Students will construct a research proposal, engage in substantial research and reading, and produce an original research essay or creative project.

WGSS 628: Colloquium in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies  1 credit, required by all students for a minimum of 6 credits total

Two of these credits must be taken in the first year. You may complete your 628 credits after reaching ABD status if necessary. If you register for WGSS 628 but do not complete the requirements, the semester will not count toward your 6 required credits in the class.

Typically taught by the Department Chair or Director of Graduate Studies, this course meets monthly and may include visits from guest speakers, professionalization workshops, guidance on funding applications, and research presentations from advanced students. Attendance is required for the six semesters during which you are enrolled in the class and encouraged for all students in the program. While registered for the Colloquium class, students must attend every session and complete whatever work the instructor requires.

Program Benchmarks

In addition to their required coursework, all students must complete five benchmarks to receive the PhD. 

• Portfolio Review (year 2)
• Second Language Requirement (may be completed any time prior to advancement)
• Major Fields (students advance to candidacy once this is completed)
• Dissertation Prospectus (due within 6 months of advancement)

Dissertation

Portfolio Review 

The goal of this benchmark is to ensure students engage with the broad range of WGSS scholarship and provide them with early feedback on their progress in the program. Completion of Portfolio Review, along with all required coursework, enables students to apply for a Master’s degree (non-thesis option) if they so wish. WGSS does not accept students directly to the MA, so this is the only way to obtain a Master’s in WGSS from UMD.

Second Language Requirement

Before advancing to candidacy, students must demonstrate intermediate competence in a language other than English through prior knowledge, coursework, or a formal test. The purpose of the language requirement in WGSS is three-fold: 1) to have communication skills in the language of a particular community, especially but not exclusively if one’s research is located in a community that is non-English speaking; 2) to be able to read and appreciate the work of scholars, artists, and activists working in languages other than English; and 3) to pursue the ability to become conversant in another language, which allows scholars to make broader intellectual engagement with people and materials.

Major Fields

The Major Fields benchmark marks your movement from student, following a path set out for you by others, into independent research, where you map out and pursue the unique trajectory you will follow in your career as a scholar. This benchmark requires you to delve deeply into interdisciplinary perspectives in your field of specialization and build competency in the methodologies and approaches you will employ in your dissertation. It provides you with the opportunity to build your scholarly networks and craft your professional identity as a scholar. This benchmark is equivalent to the “comprehensive exams” taken by students in disciplinary fields, and the areas of knowledge you develop at this time will be those you anticipate as your future areas of teaching and research expertise.

Prospectus 

The prospectus is prepared under the supervision of the dissertation chair and in consultation with your dissertation committee, which you will assemble at this stage. Before you proceed to writing the dissertation itself, you must defend your dissertation prospectus in a formal meeting with your committee. The prospectus defense is necessary to ensure that you have an opportunity to discuss your research plans in depth, and to make sure that they are of an appropriate scope and workability for a dissertation project, before you embark on research and writing in earnest.

The culmination of your doctoral work is your dissertation, which makes an original, significant contribution to the interdisciplinary field of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The department expects that the format or structure of each dissertation will be determined in consultation between the student, the dissertation director, and the dissertation committee. However, it may be useful to know that dissertations depend on extensive primary or original research; are typically 200 or more pages in length; and are expected to situate their interventions within a deep citational context. WGSS welcomes dissertations that incorporate a creative or technical element, but we expect such elements to be presented within a scholarly infrastructure that clarifies their relationship to WGSS as an academic field.

General Program Timeline

This timeline shows how a student moving through the program would typically complete requirements. Individual pathways through the program may vary for any number of reasons. 

Learn more about our alumni, who work in fields ranging from academia to the nonprofit world.

Interventions

Since 2013, the Women's Studies Graduate Association at the University of Maryland has hosted "Interventions," a biennial graduate symposium featuring innovative, interdiciplinary research in the field.

Additional Resources

• Graduate Programs
• Ph.D. Admissions and Requirements
• Ph.D. Funding and Awards
• Resources of Current Graduate Students

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Art by Bishakh Som

Spring Quarter Course Guide

Plan out your next quarter with our Spring Quarter Course Guide ! 

LiPo Ching for Stanford University.

New Director of FGSS

Warmest welcome to our amazing new Director, Professor Rachel Jean-Baptiste

Embodied Vol 2 is out!

We are excited to announce the publication of  Embodied : The Stanford Undergraduate Journal of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies — Vol. 2! You can find a peer-edited collection of original

Our students create change

We live in a moment when issues of identity, difference, and power continue to be highly, often violently, contested in the public sphere. FGSS helps students analyze how gender roles, relations, and identities intersect with hierarchies of power such as race, class, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and age. Through personalized, interdisciplinary curricula and practical experience, our students learn critical gender and sexuality studies methodologies so that they can bring intersectional, social justice frames to their work in the world.

The Program offers an undergraduate major, secondary major, and minor , and an interdisciplinary honors program that is open to undergraduates in all majors. Additionally, the program offers a PhD minor that is open to all students currently enrolled in a doctoral program at Stanford.

Undergraduate Opportunities

The honors program, meet our students.

Interdisciplinary Study & Practical Experience

What can you do with with a degree in FGSS?

Every course took a different approach to understanding and documenting queerness and queer history, which allowed me to receive a truly bountiful learning of the focus. Whether it was theoretical, sociological, historical, political, or creative, each professor shed a new light and a new direction on interesting subjects I had never even heard of [and some that I had but had never seen in that light].

Graduate Opportunities

The phd minor, graduate courses, meet our phd students.

Develop Interdisciplinary Courses

Graduate teaching in fgss.

Casey Patterson (English PhD Candidate, Clayman Fellow) taught a new FGSS course Winter 2023 on Black Feminism and the SciFi of Octavia Butler.

News and Events

Gender, Equity, and Justice Summit 2024: Cultivating Healing, Hope, and Community Towards Liberation

* * * REGISTRATION OPEN NOW! * * * …

Attack on DEI: What's Behind It and What Comes Next

The Attack on DEI: What’s Behind It and What Comes Next …

Edges of Egypt

Edges of Egypt: Hanan Kholoussy, Associate Professor of History, American University in Cairo 

In this talk, Dr…

• Undergraduate

FGSS major Sofia Penglase recognized for Brazil summer work with Stanford Human Trafficking Data Lab

Usha Iyer receives an Inspiring Early Academic Career Award at Faculty Women’s Forum 2023

FGSS Affiliate Faculty, and 2020-21 Faculty Research Fellow Young Jean Lee, mentioned in The New Yorker

• Utility Menu

Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Mailing list.

New Directions in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality

Rani Neutill Thursday, April 4, 2024 5:00pm, Barker 133

WGS Professor Sarah Richardson Wins Adele E. Clark Book Award

For “The Maternal Imprint”

FALL 2024 - WOMGEN 1200FH

Feminism in the Age of Empire - Monday 9:00-11:45am with Professor Durba Mitra

Spring 2025 - WOMGEN 1210FT

Black Feminist Theory - Tuesdays 9:00-11:45am with Professor Imani Perry

GenderSci Lab is recruiting for a new lab manager

Apply & join their collaborative feminist science community!

Fulfill Gen Ed Requirements with WGS Courses

FALL 2024 - WOMGEN 1208

Gender and Sexuality in Korean Pop Culture - - Tuesdays 12:00-2:45pm with Professor Jung Choi

Fall 2024 - WOMGEN 1209

Dangerous Words: Feminist Debates on Speech, Harm, and Representation - Monday 3:00-5:45pm with Professor C. Wells

Fall 2024 WOMGEN 1217

Psychology of the Gendered Body - Thursdays 12:00-2:45pm with Professor Nicole Noll

Fall 2024 - GENED 1073

Guns in the U.S.: A Love Story - Monday & Wednesday, 9:00-10:15am with Professor Caroline Light *Counts for WGS Credit

Announcements

Visitas 2024

WGS Now Accepting Cummings Prize Submissions

Read Part I of Caroline Light’s essay on the pending Supreme Court case, U.S. v Rahimi, on the Armed With Reason newsletter

Read Part II of Prof Caroline Light’s essay about the Supreme Court case, U.S. v Rahimi, in the Armed with Reason newsletter

WGS Graduate Secondary Fielder Siobhan Kelly joins BU’s Society of Fellows

Degree Application Deadlines for May 2024 Graduates

Achievements.

WGS Professor Michael Bronski Guest on UK Podcast "The Bunker"

WGS Professor Michael Bronski Featured in Harvard Law Journal

WGS Professor Sarah Richardson Wins Adele Clark Book Award for "Maternal Imprint"

Former WGS Professor Marya Mtshali Featured on WNYC

WGS Professor Sarah Richardson Featured in The Crimson's Fifteen Questions

Crimson's "Most Interesting Thesis" Superlative Given to WGS Senior

Upcoming events, location: .

As part of this year's Visitas, admitted members of the class of 2028 can meet with WGS advisors to discuss our program offerings.

Monday, April 15, 2024, from 10:30am-12:30pm

Thesis Workshop for Juniors - Center for European Studies

... Read more about Thesis Workshop for Juniors - Center for European Studies

During the academic year, WGS sends weekly events and opportunities newsletters. Sign up for our mailing list  here .

Events at Harvard and Beyond

For WGS-related events at Harvard, in the Boston area, and beyond, please visit our calendar .

Opportunities Calendar

WGS maintains a calendar of opportunities for students and faculty. This calendar lists funding and research opportunities, internships, calls for papers, fellowships, prizes, and job postings.

2024 Best Colleges with Online Women's Studies Degrees in America

• Direct Admissions
• College Quiz
• Best student life
• Top party schools
• Best academics
• Best colleges
• Best professors
• Hardest to get into

Best programs

• Accounting/finance
• Agricultural sciences
• Anthropology
• Architecture
• Communications
• Computer science
• Criminal justice
• Culinary arts
• Engineering
• Engineering technician
• Environmental science
• Film/photography
• Global studies
• Health care management
• Information technology
• International relations
• Kinesiology/therapy
• Performing arts
• Political science
• Public health
• Public policy
• Religious studies
• Sports management
• Most diverse
• Most liberal
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Social scene

• Best greek life
• Best campuses
• Best college dorms
• Best college food
• Best locations
• Safest campuses
• College athletics
• Best for student athletes

1-10 of 10 results

New Mexico State University

Las Cruces, NM •

• • Rating 3.64 out of 5   3,239 reviews

Junior: I love the culture and all the opportunities available here in Las Cruces. My first semester was very exciting! I learned and made mistakes, as well as being able to bounce right back up. I got to see exhibitions, attend events, meet Celia Alvarez Munoz, and get to be part of a bigger community outside of my home community. The staff are wonderful, the Resident Assistants are amazing, teachers are understanding as well as be stern. Student life, for freshmen, has lots of help and aid for those who are confused or in a tight spot. The Aggie Health and Wellness Center is always there for confused or hurting students, and I'm glad the school can provide this for attending students. ... Read 3,239 reviews

• grade  B+ Overall Niche Grade

Acceptance rate 57%

Net price $11,397

SAT range 920-1140

LAS CRUCES, NM ,

3239 Niche users give it an average review of 3.6 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says I love the culture and all the opportunities available here in Las Cruces. My first semester was very exciting! I learned and made mistakes, as well as being able to bounce right back up. I got to... .

Read 3239 reviews.

Overall Niche Grade : B+ ,

Acceptance Rate : 57% ,

Net Price : $11,397 ,

SAT Range : 920-1140 ,

University of Missouri - St. Louis

Saint Louis, MO •

• • Rating 3.57 out of 5   1,046 reviews

Senior: I have been an online student at UMSL for 4 years now and it has been an incredibly rewarding and satisfying experience from start to finish. Aside from a few individual professors, the classes have been knowledgeable and have propelled me forward. The best thing that UMSL does is provide so many resources for students to access and utilize on their journey. For me, several advisors came together to give me all the necessary help and guidance I needed to complete my time here and make all the work manageable. All in all, UMSL is an excellent school that is both rewarding and challenging without ever being overwhelming. ... Read 1,046 reviews

Net price $10,525

SAT range 1020-1300

Blue checkmark.

SAINT LOUIS, MO ,

1046 Niche users give it an average review of 3.6 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says I have been an online student at UMSL for 4 years now and it has been an incredibly rewarding and satisfying experience from start to finish. Aside from a few individual professors, the classes have... .

Read 1046 reviews.

Net Price : $10,525 ,

SAT Range : 1020-1300 ,

Saddleback College

Mission Viejo, CA •

• • Rating 3.89 out of 5   1,297 reviews

Sophomore: My overall experience at Saddleback College has been incredibly enriching, the school offers a wide variety of opportunities for students looking to further their academic and professional careers. In joining with the Promise Program, I was able to benefit from state subsidies which paid my tuition for the two years of enrollment at Saddleback College. The guidance counselors I have spoken to have all been helpful and insightful in guiding and helping me navigate the several opportunities available to me through the school. Campus life is fairly active, there are a number of activities, student organizations and clubs all adding depth to the experience. ... Read 1,297 reviews

• grade  B Overall Niche Grade

Acceptance rate 100%

Net price $7,918

SAT range —

MISSION VIEJO, CA ,

1297 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Sophomore says My overall experience at Saddleback College has been incredibly enriching, the school offers a wide variety of opportunities for students looking to further their academic and professional careers.... .

Read 1297 reviews.

Overall Niche Grade : B ,

Acceptance Rate : 100% ,

Net Price : $7,918 ,

Mesa Community College

• • Rating 3.89 out of 5   2,003 reviews

Other: I wanted to share my positive experience with Mesa Community College – it's truly a fantastic college to attend! The atmosphere is welcoming and personal, creating a great environment for learning. The support from the staff is outstanding; the advisors were especially helpful and played a crucial role in guiding me through my journey. I highly recommend Mesa Community College to anyone seeking a supportive and enriching educational experience. ... Read 2,003 reviews

Net price $11,733

2003 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Other says I wanted to share my positive experience with Mesa Community College – it's truly a fantastic college to attend! The atmosphere is welcoming and personal, creating a great environment for learning.... .

Read 2003 reviews.

Net Price : $11,733 ,

St. Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN •

• • Rating 3.53 out of 5   1,236 reviews

Junior: St. Cloud State University is a great school with staff and faculty who care about your academics, and mental and physical health. Every professor I have had has been extremely helpful and willing to help with any questions I may have or anything I may need. The campus community has a comfortable atmosphere. The campus is beautiful, even during the winter! We have a great hockey team, and the games are fun to attend. ... Read 1,236 reviews

• grade  B minus Overall Niche Grade

Acceptance rate 94%

Net price $13,615

SAT range 1000-1250

SAINT CLOUD, MN ,

1236 Niche users give it an average review of 3.5 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says St. Cloud State University is a great school with staff and faculty who care about your academics, and mental and physical health. Every professor I have had has been extremely helpful and willing to... .

Read 1236 reviews.

Overall Niche Grade : B minus ,

Acceptance Rate : 94% ,

Net Price : $13,615 ,

SAT Range : 1000-1250 ,

Penn State World Campus

4 Year (Online)

• • Rating 4.55 out of 5   352 reviews

Senior: I really enjoy attending World Campus. As of late, they have added a lot more programs to try to make it feel less like an online environment and get a more personal experience with both your classmates and your professors. I think they make a really good effort in including World Campus students so that they get a chance to enjoy the "college experience". The classes are just as difficult as the on campus classes and you also get many of the same professors that work on campus as well. It's been an all around great experience and I can tell that it's only getting better. ... Read 352 reviews

• grade  C+ Overall Niche Grade

Acceptance rate 54%

Net price $21,678

SAT range 990-1260

4 Year (Online) ,

352 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says I really enjoy attending World Campus. As of late, they have added a lot more programs to try to make it feel less like an online environment and get a more personal experience with both your... .

Read 352 reviews.

Overall Niche Grade : C+ ,

Acceptance Rate : 54% ,

Net Price : $21,678 ,

SAT Range : 990-1260 ,

• Will you get in? Understand your chances of getting accepted into any college in the country, and it's completely free

Arizona State University - Online

• • Rating 4.49 out of 5   266 reviews

Freshman: During my first year at Arizona State University, I worked directly with faculty to assist in daily coursework. Moving from being a high school student traversing the curriculum of a local community college to an undergraduate student working towards a Bachelor of Science at a large All-American University was two different ends of the spectrum. Arizona State University welcomed me and other students with open arms, assisting me with many professionals, coaches, and resources. I thoroughly enjoy the abundance of resources given to me as a student, including library, medical journal access, and MCAT test prep. Getting involved remotely and collaborating with students helps bridge the connection gap that comes with online degrees. Arizona State University's ability to cater individually to all students, regardless of residence and location, allows me to work diligently and prosper in my undergraduate program! ... Read 266 reviews

Acceptance rate 73%

Net price $14,568

266 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says During my first year at Arizona State University, I worked directly with faculty to assist in daily coursework. Moving from being a high school student traversing the curriculum of a local community... .

Read 266 reviews.

Acceptance Rate : 73% ,

Net Price : $14,568 ,

Mesa Community College Online

2 Year (Online)

• • Rating 4 out of 5   5 reviews

Sophomore: Mesa Community College has been an overall great school that has helped me to achieve my academic goals. I have been able to interact with students and teachers in meaningful ways and prepare to transfer to Grand Canyon University. My online college experience has given me the flexibility I have needed to work from home. ... Read 5 reviews

• grade  unavailable Overall Niche Grade

Acceptance rate —

Net price —

2 Year (Online) ,

5 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Sophomore says Mesa Community College has been an overall great school that has helped me to achieve my academic goals. I have been able to interact with students and teachers in meaningful ways and prepare to... .

Read 5 reviews.

NMSU Online

• • Rating 5 out of 5   1 review

Freshman: Currently, everything has been great so far. Enrolling and applying was super quick. They've really helped with the transition and have always helped me out with questions and such ASAP. ... Read 1 review

1 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says Currently, everything has been great so far. Enrolling and applying was super quick. They've really helped with the transition and have always helped me out with questions and such ASAP. .

Read 1 reviews.

Saddleback College Online

• • Rating 4.43 out of 5   14 reviews

Other: Classes were set up in order to pace us at the best pace for success. My professors made sure they were there to help even online! The classes were overall really easy to take while handling outside responsibilities ... Read 14 reviews

14 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Other says Classes were set up in order to pace us at the best pace for success. My professors made sure they were there to help even online! The classes were overall really easy to take while handling outside... .

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Showing results 1 through 10 of 10

• Reserve WLH 309

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Combined phd program in wgss.

The WGSS Program at Yale is proud to announce our new Combined PhD degree! We are thrilled to work with a new generation of scholars committed to feminist and queer inquiry, and to researching gender and sexuality across axes of difference and inequality. Our faculty work on questions of gender and sexuality from a wide range of theoretical and methodological locations, concentrating our attention on transnational politics and security regimes, public law and sexual violence, reproduction and reproductive technologies, incarceration, social movements and protest, race and racism, neoliberalism, and Islam. We hope you will join us to pursue your WGSS scholarship.

Students may pursue a Combined PhD in WGSS with one of our five spartnering departments: African American Studies , American Studies , Anthropology , English or Sociology .

Program Requirements

In their first two years of study, students in the Combined PhD program will complete Introduction to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS 600), Feminist and Queer Theory (WGSS 700), Methods in Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS 800)* and one elective.  Typically, electives taken in the student’s partnering Department will be cross-titled with WGSS or will substantively examine gender and sexuality.  Students will enroll for two sequential semesters in WGSS 900, Colloquium & Working Group.  The Colloquium and Working Group convene several Monday evenings throughout the semester; faculty and graduate students present works in progress.

*The WGSS DGS will determine, case-by-case, whether or not the methods course offered by the student’s primary department fulfills our methods requirement.

WGSS 600: Introduction to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (typically offered fall semester)

Introduction to women’s, gender, and sexuality studies as a field of knowledge and to the interdiscipline’s structuring questions and tensions. The course genealogizes feminist and queer knowledge production, and the institutionalization of WGSS, by examining several of our key terms.

WGSS 700: Feminist & Queer Theory (typically offered spring semester)

Survey of feminist and queer theoretic contestations, focusing both on historical foundations and contemporary articulations. Students examine the Marxist, critical race, postcolonial, transnational and liberal philosophical coordinates of feminist and queer theories.

WGSS 800: Methods in Gender & Sexuality Studies (offered alternate years)

A practical forum that explores interdisciplinary methods and modes of analysis and evidence building for research in WGSS. Examines interventions from cultural studies, archive studies, ethnography, STS and media studies. Foci on the historicity of knowledge production, ethical research, and scholarship examining (what’s “feminist” or “queer” about) feminist and queer methods.

Teaching Fellowship

WGSS Combined PhD students will typically teach or serve as a teaching fellow in their third and fourth years in the program, unless their dissertation research plans require other arrangements. The courses will usually be WGSS-titled and undergraduate level.

Dissertation Proposal

Students in their third year of study will undertake a dissertation proposal workshop with faculty from the WGSS program.

Dissertation

Students will typically research and write their dissertations in their final two- to three-years of study. At least one faculty committee member of the student’s dissertation will hold a primary, tenured or tenure-track appointment in WGSS.

How to Apply

To apply to the Combined PhD in WGSS (and AFAM, AMST, ANTH, ENGL or SOCY), please visit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences admissions page .   The deadline to submit an application to a combined program is always the earlier deadline of the two individual programs, or December 15, whichever comes first.

Requirements for Transfer into the Combined Ph.D. Program

Students already pursuing a Ph.D. in one of the five partnering departments and programs listed above may apply for transfer into the combined Ph.D. in WGSS.

Interested students should submit a departmental transfer request form and a 2-3 page statement of interest describing why you wish to pursue the Combined Ph.D. to wgss.dgs@yale.edu .  Please indicate whether you have completed WGSS 600 and/or WGSS 900, and if not, when you intend to do so.  Your statement of interest should also outline a plan of completion for any outstanding WGSS course requirements.     Only current students in the first or second year of their degree study in American Studies, Anthropology, English, and Sociology are eligible to apply.  (Interested students in their *first* year of other Ph.D. programmes may apply to do an ad hoc combined degree with WGSS, but must first get permission from their current DGS.  See here for more information about ad hoc joint degrees.) 

For admission in fall 2024, please submit your form and statement of interest to wgss.dgs@yale.edu by 15 December 2023. The WGSS graduate admissions committee hopes to inform applicants of its decisions in early March 2024.

Still have questions? Please see the  Combined PhD FAQs .

Women's Studies

Through course work and outreach, the Institute for Women’s Studies offers students an opportunity to explore women’s lives in global and multicultural contexts.

Welcome to the Institute for Women's Studies

The University of Georgia Institute for Women’s Studies provides a feminist interdisciplinary perspective on women and gender. Administratively a program in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Women’s Studies cooperates with departments of all schools and colleges of the University in developing its curriculum and programming.

Traditional academic disciplines have devoted little systematic attention to issues of gender, race, class, and sexuality. In the past 40 years, feminist scholars have contributed to the reinterpretation of existing data and to the presentation of new knowledge about the diversity of women’s experiences. Through course work and outreach, the Institute for Women’s Studies offers students an opportunity to explore women’s lives in global and multicultural contexts.

Featured Content

Monday, March 18, 2024

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Upcoming events, april 12 30th annual andrea carson coley lecture in lgbtq+ studies, latest news.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Women's Studies Alum Raquel Willis visits Athens

Thursday, November 9, 2023

IWS featured in national academic advising journal

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Dr. Barbara McCaskill receives IWS Faculty Award at Women Faculty Reception

Support uga women's studies.

The Institute of Women's Studies appreciates your financial support. Your gift is important to us and helps support critical opportunities for students and faculty alike, including lectures, travel support, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.

Click here to learn more

Every dollar contributed to the department has a direct impact on our students and faculty.

Women and Girls in Georgia Conference

The biennial Women and Girls in Georgia Conference was established in 2007 to encourage and highlight research by, for, and about women and girls in Georgia, in all their diversity. Hosted by the Institute for Women’s Studies at the University of Georgia, the conference brings together academics, activists, and community members to share expertise, strengthen networks, and strategize for positive social change in Georgia and beyond.

Please contact us at [email protected]  with suggestions or questions or to join our email list for updates and conference information.

Learn more about the Women and Girls in Georgia Conference

Study Postgraduate

Phd in women's and gender studies (2024 entry).

Course code

30 September 2024

3-4 years full-time; Up to 7 years part-time

Qualification

University of Warwick

Find out more about our PhD in Women's and Gender Studies.

Extend your understanding of societal and cultural issues on PhD in Women's and Gender Studies. Ranked 9th in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2022), Warwick's Sociology Department offers you a well-established and vigorous PhD programme to extend your research skills and knowledge.

Course overview

The doctoral programme in Women’s and Gender Studies provides access to a vibrant and welcoming community of international and interdisciplinary researchers and supports you in developing your independent research project.

As well as being part of an active and exciting research culture, you will receive specialist training in undertaking doctoral study at the beginning of your course and dedicated and expert supervision throughout.

Teaching and learning

All first year PhD students undertake a two-term course called Research Process and Research Design. Provided by the Department, this course supports students with the fundamentals of PhD study and life and prepares them for their upgrade from MPhil to PhD. All doctoral students have access to dedicated PhD study rooms with computers and printers.

General entry requirements

Minimum requirements.

A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Sociology or a related subject; a strong research proposal.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirements Link opens in a new window . This course requires the following:

• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements page Link opens in a new window .

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Our research

Research within our department covers a broad span of the discipline and is organised into three main themes:

• Economy, Technology, Expertise
• Inequalities and Social Change
• Justice, Authority and the Geopolitical

The Department hosts the Social Research Centre and the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender.

We have considerable expertise in areas such as:

• Gender and sexuality studies
• Social and cultural theory
• Race and racism
• Criminology
• Work and employment
• Political sociology
• Markets and capitalism
• Methodologies

Full details of our research interests are listed on the Sociology web pages .

You can also read our general University research proposal guidance.

Find a supervisor

Find your supervisor using the link below and discuss with them the area you'd like to research.

Explore our Sociology Staff Directory.

You can also see our general University guidance about finding a supervisor.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your research course fees

Fee Status Guidance

The University carries out an initial fee status assessment based on information provided in the application and according to the guidance published by UKCISA. Students are classified as either Home or Overseas Fee status and this can determine the tuition fee and eligibility of certain scholarships and financial support.

If you receive an offer, your fee status will be stated with the tuition fee information. If you believe your fee status has been incorrectly classified you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire (follow the instructions in your offer) and provide the required documentation for this to be reassessed.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides guidance to UK universities on fees status criteria, you can find the latest guidance on the impact of Brexit on fees and student support on the UKCISA website .

Additional course costs

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Sociology Funding Opportunities

Find out more about the various funding opportunities that are available in our department.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

Sociology at Warwick

We have an international reputation for research excellence, a global and cosmopolitan perspective, and high-quality teaching. Our curriculum offers a comprehensive and up-to-date foundation with a diverse range of specialist options.

What does it mean to understand the world in which you live? What will your contribution be to this changing world? How do your own experiences and life chances compare to those of others?

Sociology – the study of humans in society – attempts to capture the rich variety and complexity of human social life. Indeed, it is difficult to think of any area of social existence that a sociologist wouldn’t be interested in examining, from the most intimate of personal relationships to the worldwide circulation of ideas, beliefs, products and people.

Find out more about us on our website. Link opens in a new window

Our Postgraduate courses

• Gender and International Development (MA)
• Gender and Sexuality (MA)
• Social and Political Thought (MA)
• Social Inequalities and Research Methods (MSc)
• Sociology (MA)
• Sociology (PhD)
• Women's and Gender Studies (PhD)

How to apply

The application process for courses that start in September and October 2024 will open on 2 October 2023.

For research courses that start in September and October 2024 the application deadline for students who require a visa to study in the UK is 2 August 2024. This should allow sufficient time to complete the admissions process and to obtain a visa to study in the UK.

How to apply for a postgraduate research course  

After you’ve applied

Find out how we process your application.

Applicant Portal

Track your application and update your details.

Admissions statement

See Warwick’s postgraduate admissions policy.

Join a live chat

Ask questions and engage with Warwick.

Warwick Hosted Events Link opens in a new window

Postgraduate fairs.

Throughout the year we attend exhibitions and fairs online and in-person around the UK. These events give you the chance to explore our range of postgraduate courses, and find out what it’s like studying at Warwick. You’ll also be able to speak directly with our student recruitment team, who will be able to help answer your questions.

Join a live chat with our staff and students, who are here to answer your questions and help you learn more about postgraduate life at Warwick. You can join our general drop-in sessions or talk to your prospective department and student services.

Departmental events

Some academic departments hold events for specific postgraduate programmes, these are fantastic opportunities to learn more about Warwick and your chosen department and course.

See our online departmental events

Warwick Talk and Tours

A Warwick talk and tour lasts around two hours and consists of an overview presentation from one of our Recruitment Officers covering the key features, facilities and activities that make Warwick a leading institution. The talk is followed by a campus tour which is the perfect way to view campus, with a current student guiding you around the key areas on campus.

Connect with us

Learn more about Postgraduate study at the University of Warwick.

We may have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history .

Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

9th in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2024) Link opens in a new window

67th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2024) Link opens in a new window

6th most targeted university by the UK's top 100 graduate employers Link opens in a new window

(The Graduate Market in 2024, High Fliers Research Ltd. Link opens in a new window )

About the information on this page

This information is applicable for 2024 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.

• Centre for Women's Studies

University | A to Z | Departments

• Postgraduate study
• MPhil and PhD Women's Studies
• Studying at CWS
• Masters Student Prizes
• Our research students
• News and events
• Information for current students
• Information for new students
• Student wellbeing

MPhil and PhD

Apply MPhil Women's Studies PhD Women's Studies   Funding options

We provide an interdisciplinary environment for research and supervision in a wide range of Women's Studies issues to both full- and part-time students.

Our MPhil is 2 years in length (or part-time equivalent), with a thesis of 50-60,000 words.

Our PhD programme is 3 years in length (or part-time equivalent), with a thesis of 70-90,000 words. 

Each year there are approximately 35 students studying for research degrees. Throughout their registration period, students are given specialised research supervision in their main area of study. This is supported by an academic thesis panel, designed to offer additional help and guidance.

If you are interested in applying to undertake research at the centre, please consult the list of staff interests to see whether the appropriate supervision is likely to be available for your proposed research.

For further information please contact the Centre’s Administrator [email protected]

Key specialities of CWS Core staff are:

• Dr Rachel Alsop :   Contemporary developments in feminist theory; issues of body image (particularly in relation to aesthetic surgery); gender based violence and refugee and migrant women; and girls’ rights.
• Dr Boriana Alexandrova   Medical humanities; disability theory; modern and contemporary global literatures; contemporary women’s writing and performance; trauma theory and survivors’ narratives; embodiment; feminist and queer art-activism; ethics; literary multilingualism and translation; postcoloniality.
• Dr Clare Bielby : Violence, representation and gender; violence, subjectivity and affect/emotion; terrorism and gender; the field of perpetrator studies. History of feminism, particularly German feminisms; queer studies and feminist queer theory; subjectivity and narratives of the self; gender, sexuality and representation.
• Dr Asha Abeyasekera :   Marriage and kinship; the everyday practices of intimacy and care; and the gendered impacts of global capitalism on women’s homemaking in contemporary South Asia.  The gendered dimensions of urban poverty and precarity; the materiality and emotional dimensions of intimate relations and domestic violence; and the creative strategies women use to survive, resist, and flourish even as they claim ethical lives. 

Alongside four core members of staff, the Centre draws on the expertise of many staff from contributing departments.

Degree components Research: The main focus of the MPhil and PhD degrees is in research and the writing of a thesis. Taught modules:  All students will audit one or more modules to support their research and to develop their research skills. To ‘audit’ a module means to fully participate in the seminar reading, preparatory exercises, and class discussion, but to omit the assessment. The choice of modules is decided in consultation with a student’s supervisor. Most students new to CWS will take some core modules in year one (see the MA programme for details). Transferable Skills Programme: The University and CWS offer sessions to help professionalise the degree. Many sessions are optional and can be chosen as appropriate, while some CWS sessions are compulsory and designed to help facilitate the supportive research culture among the MPhil/PhD group. The women’s studies programme is responsive to students needs and includes sessions on writing skills, producing an academic CV, conference participation, and teaching and writing for journals. Research seminars: CWS offers a regular programme of research seminars where academics from other institutions offer papers on their research. These seminars and similar ones offered by sister departments are invaluable for extending students’ knowledge, and frequent attendance is highly recommended. Space for research students is in the form of a shared space with desks, computers, printing, photocopying and other key facilities. This space is LMB/158 in the Law and Managment Building on the first floor. There is also a kitchen space available for student use, with chairs, a kettle, microwave, fridge and toaster.  

Centre for Women's Studies University of York , York , YO10 5GD , UK Tel: work 01904 323671 | [email protected]

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