Academics
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M.A. Requirements: An Overview
Consult the current Graduate Handbook for detailed requirements.
30 Credits total:
- 24 course credits (8 courses)
- 6 credits for Practicum or Thesis
Required courses:
- 988:515 Feminism: Theory and Practice
- 988:520 Agency, Subjectivity and Social Change
- One course in Feminist Theory. Usually either 988:582 Feminist Genealogies or 988:583 Contemporary Feminist Theories. Other courses in feminist theory may also be designated as fulfilling this requirement.
- One course in Feminist Methodology
- This requirement may be filled by 988:602 Feminist Methodologies or 988:603 Feminist Knowledge Production. Other courses in feminist methodology may also be designated as fulfilling this requirement.
- Four additional courses selected in consultation with the advisor to form an area of concentration related to the interests of the student.
Graduate Courses Fall 2018
This is a listing of our course offerings for the Fall 2018 semester. Click the plus sign (+) to display full information about the course (and link to syllabus, if one has been uploaded).
Undergraduate Courses Fall 2018
This is a listing of our course offerings for the Fall 2018 semester. Click the plus sign (+) to display full information about the course (and link to syllabus, if one has been uploaded).
Undergraduate Courses Spring 2019
This is a listing of our course offerings for the Spring 2019 semester. Click the plus sign (+) to display full information about the course (and link to syllabus, if one has been uploaded).
Undergraduate Courses Summer 2019
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).
Advising
Need academic advising? We're here to help!
Academic Advising Schedule
Undergraduate:
Dr. Carlos Decena, Interim Undergraduate Director
Zoom, by appointment; email
*APPOINTMENTS STRONGLY SUGGESTED*
The mission of academic advising is to assist each student in developing and implementing their own academic plan designed for your educational, career and personal goals. The advising process is a shared responsibility between students and advisers.
To make the most of your advising experience, we suggest that you:
- come prepared with a general idea of majors/minors that you would be interested in, including WGSS;
- come prepared with a general idea of career paths you may be interested in pursuing or areas of interest;
- consider what types of courses or subjects you may be interested in within the WGSS department;
- have a copy of your transcript available, and have a sense of when you are hoping to graduate.
Our Associate Undergraduate Director can assist you directly or point you in the right direction, regardless of the type of advice you need or questions you have.
Certificate Programs and Internships
Women's Global Health Leadership Certificate Program
The Certificate Program in Women’s Global Health Leadership is an innovative online project developed by the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in collaboration with the Institute for Women’s Leadership (IWL) and National Nurses United (NNU), the largest nurses union in the United States.
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 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.
Read more about our Certificate Program here.
Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Internship
The internship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (988:422) integrates feminist theory and gender-based activism, and allows you to receive 3 credits for your work as a volunteer/intern in a community or university-based organization serving women
Read more about the internship here.
Gender and Media Capstone - Internship Forms
Collaborative and International Programs
GEMMA European Exchange Program:
The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) at Rutgers University has established collaboration with Erasmus Mundus Joint European Master’s Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies (GEMMA), coordinated by the University of Granada and in cooperation with the GEMMA Consortium.
WGSS is able to send one MA student per year through the duration of the Gemma Program to participate in the GEMMA exchange at European universities associated with the Program. During the exchange, students may either: (1) take graduate-level courses to count toward elective coursework; or (2) carrying out research for their MA practicum or thesis. Such credits or research would then be counted toward the MA in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Rutgers University. MA students from partner universities in Europe, in turn, would be able to complete research overseen by Rutgers WGS faculty in their fourth semester only.
Faculty at participating institutions may also apply through Gemma to take part in the exchange for research in partner institutions.
The participating European universities are Lodz, Poland; Oviedo, Spain; Granada, Spain; Utrecht, Netherlands; and Bologna, Italy.
Department Contact: Julie Rajan, Director, M.A. Program.
ERASMUS MUNDUS MASTER IN WOMEN´S AND GENDER STUDIES (GEMMA) STUDENT APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
INTER UNIVERSITY CENTER - DUBROVNIK, CROATIA
The Center for Gender and Politics of the Belgrade University - Faculty of Political, the Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and the Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Washington University in St. Louis host an annual Postgraduate course in Feminist Critical Analysis.
The courses are held at Inter-University Centre in Dubrovnik in late May early June. This collaboration encourages active participation and debates that will bring together disciplines from across the humanities, social sciences, art, political theory, cultural studies, and philosophy, etc.
Eligibility: The course is open to candidates with a graduate degree and/or current postgraduate students interested in the topic.
Application: Once an official call has been made interested candidates must send their CV and a short narrative (up to 250 words) explaining their interest in the topic by email.
For more information on Inter University Centre Dubrovnik visit http://www.iuc.hr/index.php
Undergraduate Course Catalog
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Critical Sexualities Courses (888)
- 01:888:215 Introduction to Transgender Studies
- 01:888:285 Lesbians and Gay Men and Society
- 01:888:290 Introduction to Critical Sexualities
- 01:888:291 Francophilia: Literature and Sexuality in Modern France
- 01:888:321 Queer Contexts: Same-Sex Desire, Culture, and Representation
- 01:888:338 Transnational Sexualities
- 01:888:339 Research on Sexualities
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Social Justice Courses (904)
- 01:904:201 Introduction to Social Justice
- 01:904:202 Practicing Social Justice
- 01:904:391 Topics in Social Justice
- 01:904:392 Topics in Social Justice
- 01:904:401 Social Justice Capstone Seminar
- 01:904:402 Social Justice Capstone Seminar
- 01:904:493 Social Justice Independent Study
- 01:904:494 Social Justice Independent Study
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Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies Courses (988)
- 01:988:101 Intro to Gender, Race and Sexuality
- 01:988:101:03 Introduction to Gender, Race, and Sexuality (3)
- 01:988:130 Knowledge and Power : Issues in Women’s Leadership
- 01:988:160 Women Working in the Global Economy: Feminist Perspectives
- 01:988:200 Gender, Digital Media, and Social Curation
- 01:988:201 Feminist Practices
- 01:988:202 Gender, Culture, and Representation
- 01:988:235 Dynamics of Class, Race, and Sex
- 01:988:240 Gender and Science
- 01:988:250 Feminist Perspectives
- 01:988:252 Mentoring, Leadership, and Young Women’s Lives
- 01:988:255 Gender, Art, and Society
- 01:988:257 Gender and the Body: Representation and Pornography
- 01:988:258 Gender, Race, and Contemporary Art
- 01:988:259 Homosexuality and Visual Culture
- 01:988:260 The Modern Girl
- 01:988:270 War: Critical Perspectives
- 01:988:280 Introduction to Critical Study of Masculinities
- 01:988:284 Feminist Knowledge Production
- 01:988:285 Lesbians and Gay Men and Society (note: also listed as 888:285)
- 01:988:290 Introduction to Critical Sexualities (note: also listed as 888:290)
- 01:988:294 Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:296 Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:299 Mentoring Leadership and Practice
- 01:988:301 Feminist Theory: Historical Perspectives
- 01:988:302 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Engagements
- 01:988:303 Global Feminisms
- 01:988:307 Women and the Law
- 01:988:310 South Asian Feminism
- 01:988:311 Gender, Race, and Visual Media
- 01:988:312 African Feminism
- 01:988:317 Gender and Consumption
- 01:988:321 Queer Contexts: Same-Sex Desire, Culture, and Representation
- 01:988:325 Women on the Fringe
- 01:988:326 Psychology of Women
- 01:988:329 Race, Gender, and Nation
- 01:988:330 Memoir and Autobiography
- 01:988:331 Theorizing Sexuality and Gender
- 01:988:332 The Color of AIDS: The Politics of Race During the AIDS Crisis
- 01:988:333 Power, Subjectivity, and Resistance
- 01:988:337 Globalization, Sex, and Families
- 01:988:341 Gender and Popular Culture
- 01:988:344 Women and Leadership
- 01:988:350 Gender and Spirituality
- 01:988:368 Producing Identities: Race, Gender, Class, and Sexualities
- 01:988:369 Feminism, Space, and Visuality
- 01:988:371 Making Change
- 01:988:372 Contemporary Feminist Activism
- 01:988:387 Feminism, Signs, and Representation
- 01:988:392 Thinking Bodies
- 01:988:394 Black Women in the United States
- 01:988:395 Race, Gender, Media, and the Law
- 01:988:396 Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:397 Freud and Feminism I – Sexuality
- 01:988:398 Freud and Feminism II – The Unconscious
- 01:988:399 CESEP
- 01:988:405 Gender and Human Rights
- 01:988:406 Women, Work, and Social Change
- 01:988:407 Women’s Global Health Movements
- 01:988:408 Gender, Economic Inequality & Health
- 01:988:409 Gender, Environmental Justice & Health
- 01:988:410 Debt, Crisis, and Women’s Health
- 01:988:412 Global Food Politics: Health Consequences
- 01:988:413 The Global Pharmaceutical Economy & Health
- 01:988:414 Care Work
- 01:988:416 Women’s Global Health: Special Topics
- 01:988:420 Women’s Global Health Internship
- 01:988:421 Women’s Global Health Internship
- 01:988:422 Internship in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:422 Women’s Global Health Internship
- 01:988:425 Internship in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:426 Internship for IWL Scholars
- 01:988:429 Engendering Development
- 01:988:430 IWL Social Action Project
- 01:988:445 Feminist Advocacy for Women’s Rights through the United Nations
- 01:988:480 Ethics and Leadership
- 01:988:481 Feminism and Visual Culture
- 01:988:482 Feminism, Policy, and the Poor
- 01:988:485 Motherhood: Nature and Culture, Policy, and Politics
- 01:988:486 Gender, Development, Environment: Policies, Politics, Perspectives
- 01:988:487 Language of Women’s Health and Health Policy
- 01:988:490 Seminar: Women and Contemporary Issues
- 01:988:491 Seminar in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:492 Seminar: Special Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:493 Independent Study
- 01:988:494 Independent Study
- 01:988:497 Honors Research in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:498 Honors Research in Women’s and Gender Studies
- 01:988:499 Capstone in Gender and Media
01:904:493 Social Justice Independent Study
- Course Code: 01:904:493
- Semester(s) Offered: Fall, Spring
- Credits: By arrangement
Undergraduate Program
Undergraduate Director:Dr. Yana Rodgers
Sr. Department Administrator: Monique Gregory
The Women's & Gender Studies undergraduate program, founded in the early seventies, is one of the oldest in the nation. Currently, the program has over 200 majors and minors and serves over 1900 students annually in a wide array of core and cross-listed courses. The major, approved in 1984, introduces students to significant issues and debates in feminist scholarship, theory, and activism.
“Women’s & Gender Studies seek to enrich traditional disciplinary approaches not simply by including women but by transforming the categories, through which knowledge is produced and disseminated.”
All courses are interdisciplinary and each considers the complex dynamics among race, ethnicity, locality, class, gender, and sexuality. The readings and discussions in each class represent a wide variety of women's perspectives concerning issues such as: the conceptualization of difference, the production and recreation of femininity and masculinity, language and gender, the division of labor, women and poverty, sexual violence, reproductive rights, gay and lesbian theory, gender and popular theory, and contemporary feminist politics. Ultimately, we strive to ground both research and theory in the everyday realities of feminist activism around the globe. Women’s & Gender Studies program faculty, students and staff are active members and leaders of academic and community women’s organizations.
The WGS alumnae pursue their professional career in various fields. One-fifth of our graduates continue their education in graduate programs in different fields (political science, English, law) around the country. Many alumnae also engage in work in the area of health and pharmacy (about one fourth). Others choose law (one-fifth of the alumnae), education (one fourth) media or computer studies. Many WGS graduates continue their activist work in non-governmental organizations that engage with women and work, international politics and women’s leadership.
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.