Graduate Program
The Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies offers the Ph.D., the M.A. , and a Graduate Certificate Program. The graduate program in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is the joint enterprise of a diverse Graduate Faculty comprising more than 100 scholars. Our students benefit from the rich resources of the larger feminist community at Rutgers which includes 27 Ph.D. students, 21 M.A. students, and over 100 Ph.D. students in other departments who are pursuing certificates in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In addition, the many Rutgers institutes and centers devoted to feminist research -- the Institute for Women's Leadership, the Center for American Women and Politics, the Center for Women's Global Leadership, the Center for Women and Work and the Institute for Research on Women -- enrich the opportunities for our students to gain practical skills and to broaden their knowledge of feminist research and politics.
This is a listing of our course offerings for the Summer 2019 semester. Click the plus sign (+) to display full information about the course (and link to syllabus, if one has been uploaded).
Fall 2016 Courses
Spring 2014 Courses
Graduate Spring 2014 Courses
Click here to view the Spring 2014 graduate course schedule.
Course Descriptions:
988:520:01 Agency, Subjectivity, and Social Change
T34 (12:35-3:35) RDJC-011 C/D
The interdisciplinarity of our work thus enriches everyone's experience. We will have a genuine seminar in which all students contribute from their own research and interests, in a collaborative enterprise that creates new knowledge in an engagement with primary theoretical texts.
M.A. Students
Graduate Certificate
The Certificate Program offered by Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies allows students enrolled in other Rutgers University graduate degree programs to earn a Certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Many students find the Certificate useful for expansion of career options and thesis preparation. It prepares students in any discipline to teach courses and conduct research in women’s studies, to develop courses with a focus on gender, and to expand the scope of their professional activity to include gender issues and debates.
The certificate program consists of nine credits. At least six credits must be taken in WGSS core courses or WGSS advanced colloquia. Three credits may be in cognate courses offered in other departments. Students from 22 departments and schools are currently enrolled in the program. Students interested in the Certificate Program must be enrolled in a disciplinary department at Rutgers other than WGSS.
Requirements
To obtain a Certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, students must:
- Take two Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (988) graduate courses. No exceptions.
- Take one approved graduate cognate course.
- Submit a
WGSS Graduate Certificate Application to the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Graduate Director upon completion of these courses.
Of these three courses, one must be a feminist theory course. This theory course can be any of the theory courses offered by WGSS, or it can be a course offered by another department if it has been approved by the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Graduate Director. Students should obtain approval prior to enrolling in a course; no courses will be approved retroactively. If the theory course is from another department, this course may satisfy the theory requirement and serve as the optional cognate course.
According to the Graduate School of New Brunswick, students may be awarded the Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies upon completion of the requirements for the certificate.
M.A. Admission
The M.A. in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is a liberal arts degree that provides students with an opportunity to pursue advanced interdisciplinary work in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and enables them to become active practitioners in this rapidly expanding field of study. The Program may serve as a "terminal" master's degree for students planning non-academic careers. It may also serve as a precursor, a supplemental degree for professional degrees in fields such as law, social work, public health, labor studies, public policy, or clinical psychology. With an increasing emphasis on careers focusing on the delivery of services to women and a rethinking of the needs of women and families worldwide, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies helps to fill a growing demand for experts versed in women and gender issues. The M.A. program is designed to emphasize global and multicultural perspectives on these matters. The Department welcomes a wide variety of applicants—ranging from recent college graduates to mid-career professionals to international activists—who wish to enrich their engagement with women’s and gender studies.
The deadline for applications is December 20th
BA/M.A. Admission
The WGSS BA/MA Track in Feminist Practices for Social Change is a combined BA and MA degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies that is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to assume leadership roles in contemporary social justice activism and human rights. Undergraduate students majoring in WGS who are interested in this track will apply for admission to the BA/MA Program in their sophomore year or junior years. If accepted, students will initiate Master’s coursework during the final semesters of their undergraduate degree. They will complete academic requirements for the Master's degree by either their fifth year, if admitted as a sophomore, or by their sixth year, if admitted as a junior. WGSS will finalize acceptance notifications by mid to end of April.
The deadline for applications is February 15th
Ph.D. Admission
The Ph.D. program is designed for students seeking advanced interdisciplinary training in the field of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Since the entering class each year is very small (3-5 funded students), admissions are highly competitive.
Preference is given to students who demonstrate excellence in analytical abilities and creativity in interdisciplinary research pertaining to women, gender, and/or sexuality. Students applying to the doctoral program will be selected both on the basis of the excellence of their preparation for doctoral level work, and on the intersection of their research interests with those of the faculty at Rutgers.
The deadline for applications is December 21st
Graduate Handbooks
Graduate Program
As interdisciplinary undertakings that cross the humanities and the social sciences, the graduate programs in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies prepare students to engage with and to create new forms of feminist knowledge and practice. The WGSS faculty and students combine theoretical and activist-oriented work that foregrounds social justice, especially with respect to gender, race, sexuality, and decoloniality. As emerging scholars, intellectuals, and activists enrolled at a Research 1 state university with a long commitment to feminist practices, our students benefit from the rich resources of the larger feminist community at Rutgers. This includes 25 Ph.D. students, 20 M.A. students, and over 40 Ph.D. students in other departments who are pursuing certificates in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In addition, the many Rutgers institutes and centers devoted to feminist research -- the Institute for Women's Leadership, the Center for American Women and Politics, the Center for Women's Global Leadership, the Center for Women and Work and the Institute for Research on Women, among others -- enrich the opportunities for our students to gain practical skills and to broaden their knowledge of feminist research and politics.
Click the associated link to learn more about WGSS Ph.D., M.A., BA/M.A. and Graduate Certificate Programs.
Click below to learn more about:
- BA/M.A. Learning Goals
- M.A. Learning Goals
- Ph.D. Learning Goals
For additional information please contact:
For the Ph.D. Program:Professor Ed Cohen Advising Hours: |
For the BA/M.A. & M.A. Program:Professor Julie Rajan Advising Hours: |