Academics

The 18 credit Sexualities Minor introduces students to pioneering thinking on sex, sexuality, queer studies, global and ethno-racial issues, health, activism, and social justice. Two required courses (Introduction to Critical Sexuality Studies and Research in Sexuality Studies) introduce students to the politics and challenges related to research and activism around sexuality. The four elective courses can be drawn from a broad range of historical and cross-cultural perspectives related to the central themes of the minor. 

Read more: Minor in Sexualities Studies

To declare a major in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies please visit the Rutgers myMajor system.

For more information, please visit the SAS Student Page.

Read more about Career Opportunities for Majors in Women's & Gender Studies.

• Major requirements
• Offered courses

Major requirements:

Students are required to complete twelve 3-credit courses (with a grade of C or better) in the major, for a total of 36 credits. 
18 credits must be in required 988 courses, and 18 credits must be in elective 988 courses or in approved cognate courses from other departments.

IF YOU DECLARED YOUR MAJOR AFTER MARCH 2020 FOLLOW THESE REQUIREMENTS:

I. Introductory Study

988:101 Introduction to Gender, Race, and Sexuality (3 credits)
or
988:130 Knowledge and Power (3 credits)

II. Feminist Practices and Methods

988:201 Feminist Practices (3 credits)
or
988:284 Feminist Knowledge Production  (3 credits)

III. Feminist Theory

988:301 Feminist Theory: Historical Perspectives  (3 credits) 
or
988:302 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Engagements (3 credits)

IV. Transnational Feminisms

988:303 Global Feminisms  (3 credits) 
or
One approved WGSS Transnational Feminism Course
Approved WGSS courses that focus on transnational feminisms
01:888:338 Transnational Sexualities
01:988:270 War: Critical Perspectives
01:988:310 South Asian Feminism
01:988:312 African Feminism
01:988:337 Globalization, Sex, and Families
01:988:405 Gender and Human Rights
01:988:407 Women's Global Health Movements
01:988:408 Impacts of Economic Inequality on Women's Health
01:988:409 The Growth Imperative, Global Ecology, and Women's Health
01:988:410 Debt, Crisis, and Women's Health
01:988:411 Gendered Health Impacts of Structural Adjustment Programs
01:988:412 Health Consequences of Global Trade in Food Commodities
01:988:413 Health Consequences in the Global Trade in Pharmaceuticals
01:988:414 Gendered Professions and the Transnational Care Economy
01:988:416 Women's Global Health: Special Topics
01:988:445 Feminist Advocacy for Women's Rights through the United Nations
01:988:486 Gender, Development, Environment: Policies, Politics, Perspectives

V. Intersectionality

988:235 Dynamics of Class, Race, and Sex (3 credits)
or
One approved WGSS Intersectionality Course
Approved WGSS courses that focus on intersectionality
01:988:258 Gender, Race, and Contemporary Art
01:988:311 Gender, Race, and Visual Media
01:988:329 Race, Gender, and Nation
01:988:368 Producing Identities: Race, Gender, Class, and Sexualities
01:988:394 Black Women in the United States
01:988:395 Race, Gender, Media, and the Law

VI. Senior Experience

Internship (988:422 or 988:426) or Senior Seminar (988:490) or 400-level special topics (988:491 or 988:492) or Honors Seminar (988:497 or 988:498)

VII. 6 elective courses

At least 4 approved electives must be 300 level or above

IF YOU DECLARED YOUR MAJOR PRIOR TO MARCH 2020 FOLLOW THESE REQUIREMENTS:

988:101 Introduction to Gender, Race, and Sexuality (3 credits)
or
988:202 Gender, Culture, and Representation (3 credits)
or
988:235 Dynamics of Class, Race, and Sex (3 credits)

988:201 Feminist Practices (3 credits)

988:301 Feminist Theory: Historical Perspectives (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:101, 201, 202 or 235, or by special permission)
or
988:302 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Engagements (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:101, 201, 202 or 235, or by special permission)

988:303 Global Feminisms (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:101, 201, 202 or 235, or by special permission)

988:422 Internship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 credits)
For more information, please visit our department.
or
988:490 Seminar: Women & Contemporary Issues (3 credits)
Every semester the topics in these Seminars differ. This course offers a unique focus on the professor's specialty.
or
988:491,492 Special Topics (3 credits)
(Pre-req: 988:301, 302, or 303)
or
988:426 Internship for IWL Scholars (6 credits)
(Pre-req: Acceptance into IWL Leadership Scholars Program and 01:988:344, or by permission of instructor)

Six (6) WGS Electives

Elective courses chosen from either the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies core course list, the approved cognate course list, or other courses approved by a program adviser. At least four of these six elective courses must be at the 300-level or above.

Note that only a few select courses are available each term. You may also obtain a list at our Department. To see current semester course listings click here.

top

Offered Courses:

01:988:101 Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality (3)
Introductory survey examining key concepts and themes in women's, gender, and sexuality studies, including: body image and media, class, feminisms, gender/sex, globalization and neoliberalism, intersectionality, patriarchy and privilege, race, reproductive justice, sexuality and queer theory, social justice and human rights, violence, conflict, and terrorism.

01:988:130 Knowledge and Power: Issues in Women's Leadership (3)
Study of gender, in the construction of knowledge in different fields, and the factors that encourage women to achieve agency and leadership.

01:988:160 Women in the Global Economy
This course examines issues related to women's paid and unpaid work as world markets integrate. Analyzes actions of governments, unions, women's movements, employers, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to promote equality and women's well-being.

01:988:201 Feminist Practices (3)
Examines development of women's and gender studies as interdisciplinary field of study; explores relationship of feminist scholarship to activism; introduces students to basic research techniques.Required for major.

01:988:202 Gender, Culture, and Representation (3)
Examines how gender is represented in cultural texts and artifacts; introduces students to theories of representation.

01:988:235 Dynamics of Class, Race, and Sex (3)
Examination of dynamics of, and connections among, classism, racism, and sexism in contemporary American society; ways they influence and are influenced by the structure of society at large; their effect on individuals; and strategies for personal and social change.

01:988:240 Gender and Science (3)
Role of gender, race, and class in production and use of scientific and medical knowledge. Impact of gender bias on research in the life, physical, and social sciences.

01:988:250 Feminist Perspectives (3)
Feminist examination of significant contemporary issues. The issue chosen will vary each year. Students should check the department's website for information. Issues to be considered include war, trafficking, poverty, environment, migration, globalization, and religion.

01:988:252 Mentoring, Leadership, and Young Women's Lives (3)
Feminist theory, model, and practice of mentoring. Topics include definitions and history of mentoring; personal narratives and mentoring practices; and mentoring women's leadership for social change.

01:988:255 Gender, Art, and Society (3)
Women artists, their achievements, and impact. Social and cultural reasons for their neglect in the visual arts and how that neglect is being remedied today. Different ways in which men and women are depicted in art and how those differences relate to culture and society.Please note that this is an online course.

01:988:257 Gender and the Body: Representation and Pornography (3)
Examination of representations of gendered bodies in art, sexuality, gender, politics, and pornography. Examines how to understand who defines what is obscene and why some work is called pornography.

01:988:258 Gender, Race, and Contemporary Art (3)
Intersection of gender and race in contemporary American art. Black and white racial politics in relation to gender and contemporary art in the United States. Special focus on African-American artists.

01:988:259 Homosexuality and Visual Culture (3)
Central role of homosexuality and homoeroticism in visual culture in the distant and recent past as well as the present. Marginalization of homosexual artists, critics, and patrons despite direct participation in cultural production of art and popular culture.

01:988:260 The Modern Girl (3)
Examines the so-called "modern girl" of the 1920s and 1930s. Representations in fiction, film, and advertisements. Concentrates on the West, with comparative evidence from Asia and Africa.

01:988:270 War: Critical Perspectives (3)
Critical examination of the nature, functions, and effects of war with particular attention to racialized and gendered dynamics of militarization, terrorism, counterterrorism, and genocide.Credit not given for both this course and 01:920:273.

01:988:280 Introduction to Critical Study of Masculinities (3)
Interdisciplinary and comparative introduction to the study of masculinities in the United States. Includes social history, and analyses of contemporary national and international contexts.

01:988:284 Feminist Knowledge Production (3)
Investigation of how to study the complexity of women¿s, men¿s, and trans¿ lives in ways that take race, gender-power, ethnicity, class, and nationality seriously. Includes projects that use different techniques of knowledge production including qualitative methods.

01:988:285 Lesbians and Gay Men and Society (3)
Introduction to various disciplines' contributions to understanding the relationship of homosexuality, particularly lesbianism, to society. Includes a section on the political organization and recent theory coming out of the gay movement.

01:988:290 Introduction to Critical Sexualities (3)
Introduction to the study of sexuality as well as sexual and gendered identity from multidisciplinary and historical perspectives. Includes U.S. and European approaches to sexology, legal regulation of sexual practices, and family formation.

01:988:299 Mentoring Leadership and Practice (3)
Explores meaning of women's leadership, knowledge, and power through the mentor experience. Topics include how gender shapes knowledge and power; the challenges women's colleges present to orthodox conceptions of leadership; and practical and theoretical applications of feminist pedagogies.

01:988:301 Feminist Theory: Historical Perspectives (3)
Introduction to feminist theories about women, sex, gender, sexuality, embodiment, politics, social relations; examination of feminist theories' challenge to Western literary, philosophical, and scientific traditions.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:302 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Engagements (3)
Introduction to basic concepts central to contemporary feminist thought; exploration of the critical, productive relationship between feminist and patriarchal theory.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:303 Comparative Feminisms (3)
Compares the development of feminist writing in several historical periods across different cultures. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:307 Women and the Law (3)
Areas of law that regulate the position of women, including birth control, abortion, marriage, alimony, child support and custody, child care, education, employment, criminal law (including rape, prostitution, women in prison, and the juvenile justice system), and constitutional rights. Readings in court decisions, statutes, and supplementary materials.

01:988:308 Women and Society in the Islamic Middle East (3)
History of women and gender relations in the Islamic Middle East: origins of gender inequalities, women's functioning within society, reality versus literary depictions, recent transformations.

01:988:310 South Asian Feminism (3)
Women's activism in South Asia in autonomous feminist movements, as participants in organized political movements, and in family and community. Credit not given for both this course and 01:925:310.

01:988:311 Gender, Race, and Visual Media (3)
Examines visual culture, especially Hollywood cinema and television, in light of the economic structure of neoliberalism. Race, gender, and sexuality as sites of power; visual texts; connections between culture and politics.

01:988:312 African Feminism (3)
What feminism means to Africa; how gender affects female socialization, women as state subjects; how diverse African feminist strategies differ from and/or parallel other feminisms.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235. Credit not given for both this course and 01:016:312.

01:988:317 Gender and Consumption (3)
Introduces feminist approaches to consumption through readings that examine the relation of consumption to body, race, nation, and sex work. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 235 or permission of instructor.

01:988:318 The Gendered Body (3)
Explores the processes by which the body is gendered in different cultures. How is the relationship between physical body, gender, and sexuality forged?

01:988:321 Queer Contexts (3)
Cultural construction and representation of same-sex desire in Western societies. Debates about identity, subjectivity, and the uses of experience included.

01:988:325 Women on the Fringe (3) 
Examines societal responses to female behavior deviating from prescribed norms of social and feminine behavior from the colonial period to the present through the use of historical narratives, literature, and film to treat such themes as heresy, madness, prostitution, adultery, criminality, drug addiction, political protest, and lesbianism.

 01:988:326 Psychology of Women (3)
Evaluation of some major psychological conceptualizations of women in light of current research. Bases for these formulations and their influence on the position of women today. Credit not given for both this course and 01:830:381.

01:988:329 Race, Gender, and Nation (3)
Feminist theories about race, gender, and nation. Focuses on U.S. nation formation, gender and American nationalism, and U.S. hegemony in a globalizing world.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or by special permission.

01:988:330 Memoir and Autobiography (3)
Involves intensive and extensive reading of several women's memoirs, all written within the last 50 years.

01:988:331 Theorizing Sexuality and Gender (3)
Examines how sexuality and gender became meaningful categories in Western culture through the emergence of sexual politics and queer theory.

01:988:332 The Color of AIDS: The Politics of Race During the AIDS Crisis (3)
Focuses on AIDS crisis, explores relationships between illness, race, ethnicity, and gender in health policy, research, and care for communities of color.

01:988:333 Power, Subjectivity, and Resistance (3)
Examines development of feminist concepts of power and the relations between feminist and patriarchal theories.

01:988:337 Globalization, Sex, and Families (3)
Transnational intimacies, travel, and migration.  Case studies of transnational adoption, marriage, sex work, and domestic work.  Larger contexts of globalization and impact on families and sexual relations.

01:988:341 Gender and Popular Culture (3)
Use of varied theoretical approaches to examine how popular culture texts shape everyday perceptions of race, gender, family, and nation. Texts include film, television, and radio.Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 235 or permission of instructor.

01:988:344 Women and Leadership (3)
Course explores women's leadership for social change at work, in politics, communities, and the household in a variety of historical and contemporary meetings.
Prerequisites: By special permission of instructor. Students for this course must have applied and been accepted into the IWL Leadership Scholars Program.

01:988:350 Gender and Spirituality (3)
Class explores women's spirituality, feminist theology, and spiritual systems from around the world. How are spiritual systems and practices gendered?

 01:988:368 Producing Identities: Race, Gender, Class, and Sexualities (3)
Social constitution of the self and communities through emergence and transformation of concepts and categories (race, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality) associated with personal identity.

01:988:369 Feminism, Space, and Visuality (3)
Examines how space and vision have been associated with historically developed concepts of femininity and masculinity.

01:988:370 Critical Feminist Investigation (3)
Introduces modes of knowledge production, research methods, and strategies for interdisciplinary feminist scholarship.
Required for students pursuing honors in women's and gender studies. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or 201 or 301 or 302.

01:988:371 Making Change (3)
In-depth analysis of different ways women have organized for change. Focus on three or four case studies using cross-cultural perspectives to illustrate various themes of gender and collective action by women.

01:988:372 Contemporary Feminist Activism (3)
Autonomous women's movements in the 20th and 21st centuries. Select case studies illustrate themes of gender and collective action.

01:988:387 Feminism, Signs, and Representation (3)
Introduces major theories in contemporary critical theory including structuralism, recent critiques of structuralism. Focuses on the models and criteria to analyze cultural and social life.

01:988:392 Thinking Bodies (3)
Examines work of theorists questioning the subordination of body to mind in modern Western thought.

01:988:394 Black Women in the United States (3)Examines cultural stereotypes; political, economic, and social challenges confronting black women in the United States; and strategies of resistance developed by black women.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or by permission.

01:988:395 Race, Gender, Media, and the Law (3)
Considers relationship between gender, law, and race in contemporary popular and political culture. Addresses impact of rise in televised court cases on perceptions of legal system and in stimulating public debates about justice.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or 201 or 202.

01:988:396 Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3)
Selected topics in women's and gender studies. Topics vary each semester. Consult department.

01:988:397 Freud and Feminism I--Sexuality (3)
Introduces Freudian concepts, methods and terminology, and the corresponding issues and debates in feminist theory.

01:988:398 Freud and Feminism II--The Unconscious (3)
Examines Freud's account of the unconscious and its relevance to theories of subjectivity, especially to feminist theory and antiracist theory.

01:988:399 CESEP (1)
Community service placement in women's and gender studies. Corequisite: Must be taken in conjunction with a designated CESEP (Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnerships) course offered in the women's and gender studies program.

01:988:405 Gender and Human Rights (3)
Examines history and discourse of women's human rights; uses of humanitarian law in wartime; issues of gender-based violence, health, and sexuality.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or permission of instructor.

01:988:406 Women, Work, and Social Change (3)
Study of problems faced by women working in industry, unions, the home, and professions in light of modern agitation and social trends; analysis of sex-differentiated occupations, legislation, and service roles with attention to biological, psychological, and social differences between the sexes.

01:988:407 Women’s Global Health Movements (3)
Politics and structure of global women's health movements. Relationship between health and phenomena such as international politics, globalization, economic policy, and conflict and war.

01:988:408 Gender, Economic Inequality & Health (3)
Examines how resource distribution shapes health risk, access to health care, and clinical outcomes. Relationship of gender, class, race, sexuality, and nation to health. 

01:988:409 Gender, Environmental Justice & Health (3)
Examines women's health in relationship to contradictions between capitalist growth and resource exhaustion. Health consequences of environmental crises linked to new markets and technologies. 

01:988:410 Debt, Crisis, and Women's Health (3)
*Explores relationship between debt and economic crisis; examines impact of austerity policies on women's health in various nations. 

01:988:412 Global Food Politics: Health Consequences (3)
Investigates shifting modes of food production, distribution, diet, and health. Compares consequences of changes for women in global North with women in global South. 

01:988:413 The Global Pharmaceutical Economy & Health (3)
Explores aspects of pharmaceutical industry. Analyzes burdens and benefits of drug research and development on different populations. 

01:988:414 Care Work (3)
Overview of "care economy." Explores recent efforts to heighten its profit-making potential; considers long-term implications of efforts to deskill and outsource care work. 

01:988:416 Women's Global Health: Special Topics (3)
Topic varies with instructor. The requirements for the course would be the equivalent of any 400-level course in the department.

01:988:420,421 Women's Global Health Internship (3,3)
RN Response Network provides medical assistance in the context of natural disasters wherever they may occur. This internship placement involves 150-180 hours of professional work with RN Response Network in conjunction with a research paper that links this professional experience with relevant academic work on humanitarian intervention.

01:988:422 Internship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3)
Students work in organizations related to women's and gender studies. Supervision by assigned staff at the placement. Paper, student journal, and assessment of work performed at placement required.Permission of undergraduate director required.

01:988:425 Internship in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (6)
Interns work in organizations related to women's and gender studies. Supervision by assigned staff at the placement site. Seminar, student journal, paper, and assessment of work experience required.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303. Permission of undergraduate director required.

 01:988:426 Internship for IWL Scholars (BA)
Examination of women, community activism, and leadership for change; explores how women's leadership shapes organizations, social movements, and policy development. Interns work in placements relevant to their policy interests and produce proposals for social action projects.
Prerequisites: Acceptance into IWL Leadership Scholars Program and 01:988:344, or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:429 Engendering Development (3)
Examines gender differences in economic opportunity, human rights, and political representation across developing countries.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 235 or 301.

 01:988:430 IWL Social Action Project (BA)
Independent action projects designed to address a particular problem or women's policy issue relevant to the work done at the internship site. Projects include gender component and development of leadership skills. Class meets biweekly.

 01:988:480 Ethics and Leadership (3)
This course will explore contemporary relations between ethics and politics, between conceptions of leadership and the production of depoliticized masses, between individual values and public beliefs.

 01:988:481 Feminism and Visual Culture (3)
Examines the history of cultural contexts of visual narratives that address gender and sexuality and their influence on cultural policies. Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:482 Feminism, Policy, and the Poor (3)
Explores the contributions of feminist analysis, advocacy, and policymaking to antipoverty policy and social justice politics.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:485 Motherhood: Nature and Culture, Policy, and Politics (3)
Investigates how motherhood is shaped by intentional public policies and social, economic, political, and cultural forces in the United States and globally.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:486 Gender, Development, Environment: Policies, Politics, Perspectives (3)
Using ethnography and gender as a category of analysis, examines the experiences and implications of transnational development and environmental policies in specific localities.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:487 Language of Women's Health and Health Policy (3)
Examines the creation of narratives of women's health and health policy; through visits from health care experts, considers the impact of these narratives on practice.
Prerequisite: 01:988:101 or 201 or 202 or 235 or permission of instructor.

 01:988:490 Seminar: Women and Contemporary Issues (3)
Intensive reading and discussion; designed for graduating seniors. Topic changes annually.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:491 Seminar in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies(3)
Advanced course on a selected topic in women's and gender studies. Paper is required.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:492 Seminar: Special Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3)
Selected interdisciplinary topics in women's and gender studies. Past topics included sexuality, popular culture, women and religion, and women and the arts.
Prerequisite: 01:988:301 or 302 or 303 or by permission of instructor.

 01:988:493,494 Independent Study (3,3)
Independent study project under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. Permission of associate director required.

 01:988:497-498 Honors Research in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3,3)
Individual research project to be written as honors thesis. Open only to seniors who are candidates for honors in women's, gender, and sexuality studies. Permission of undergraduate director required. Both semesters required.

t

As an interdisciplinary Ph.D. with 60 graduate faculty who work in a wide array of departments and schools across the university, the Ph.D. program in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies provides advanced and systematic course work investigating the multidimensional aspects of gender and sexuality. Approaching feminist knowledge production from multi-cultural and multi-racial perspectives, the program emphasizes the ways in which gender and sexuality have produced--and continue to produce—decisive and oftentimes unjust social and cultural effects in diverse historical and geographical contexts, The graduate course offerings are designed to explore the intricate connections between feminist theory and practice in order to illuminate how genders and sexualities intersect with other socially and culturally produced identities in both local and global contexts. The program requirements include 21 hours of core courses taken within the WGSS department and 18 hours of course work that can be located in units across the university, as well as in the Inter-University Doctoral Consortium (https://grad.rutgers.edu/academics/inter-university-exchange). In addition to course work, the Ph.D. requires the successful completion of a written qualifying and a comprehensive oral examination, as well as a doctoral dissertation. Core courses include Feminist Genealogies, Feminist Theory, Feminist Methodologies, Feminist Knowledge Production, Feminist Pedagogies, and two proseminars from the areas of concentration.

Learn more about the Ph.D. Learning Goals.

See below for more information on:

• Ph.D. Requirements: An Overview
• Course Descriptions
• Areas of Concentration
• Exams and Dissertation

Ph.D. Requirements: An Overview

Consult the current Graduate Student Handbook for detailed requirements.

72 Credits total

• 39 Course Credits (13 courses)
  
  
• Remaining credits may include transfer credits, dissertation research credits, additional course credits.

Proficiency in a second language

• Students without second language proficiency are recommended to begin acquisition as soon as possible.

Qualifying Examinations: Written and Oral Dissertation Proposal and Defense

See below for information on Exams and Dissertation

Required Courses

Core Courses:

• 988:582 Feminist Genealogies
• 988:587 Feminist Pedagogies
• 988:603 Feminist Knowledge Production
• An additional course in Feminist Theory, chosen from designated 988 courses *
• An additional course in Feminist Methods, chosen from designated 988 courses *

* Students may substitute a colloquium (988:525) for their additional theory course or for their additional methodology course.

Proseminars—two of the following:

• 988:510 Technologies and Poetics of Gender and Sexuality
• 988:520 Agency, Subjectivity and Social Change
• 988:530 Gendered Borders/Changing Boundaries

Remaining courses must be selected in consultation with the advisor to form an area of concentration. Transfer credits may be accepted toward meeting the required 39 course credits.

Course Descriptions

Click here for all Graduate Course Descriptions.

Areas of Concentration

Feminist scholars at Rutgers have identified three innovative areas of focus to shape the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Women’s and Gender Studies. These areas are designed to stimulate original scholarship addressing new research questions and fostering the growth of feminist inquiry and practice. Each area of concentration is introduced through a proseminar that presents key questions, theories, methodologies, and empirical case studies.

Agency, Subjectivity, and Social Change

This concentration investigates women's mobilizations to transform social and political institutions, which also transform women activists themselves. Examining global feminist movements in the past as well as in the contemporary world, this concentration seeks to explicate how women's activism and agency continue to challenge dominant discourses on agency, subjectivity, culture, politics, authority, religion, and society.

Suggested Cognate Courses:

• Women's Movements in Comparative Perspective
• Third World Feminism: Critique or New Paradigm
• Literary Criticism and Social Critique: Feminist Theory, Science, and Epistemology
• Gender and Public Policy
• Urban Poverty, Theory, and Policy
• Proseminar in Women and Politics
• Gender and the Self
• Gender and Mass Politics
• Sociological Perspectives on Feminist Theory
• Colloquium in History of Women
• Colloquium in African American History
• Comparative Labor Movements
• Contemporary Fiction
• Fiction and Narrative Theory: Life Narratives
• Psychological Approaches to Literature: Self, Psychopathology and the Modern Age

Technologies and Poetics of Gender and Sexuality

This concentration investigates the hierarchical production of cultural differences. Technologies of gender and sexuality refer to the manifold practices through which categories of difference are produced and deployed to structure relationships and institutions in particular social and historical contexts. The poetics of gender and sexuality involve the creative and symbolic work of the imagination that reifies and naturalizes difference as a central factor of human relationships and cultural meaning.

Suggested Cognate Courses:

• Sociology of Gender
• Race, Class, Gender
• Anthropology of Gender
• Conceptualizing Gender
• Recent Advances in Gender Scholarship
• Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective
• Economic Anthropology: Culture and Capitalism
• Black History and the Fictive Imagination
• Literature and Politics: Textuality, Embodiment, Community
• Women and Work
• Women Writers of Modernism
• The Sixties and Postmodernism
• Theater of the 20th Century
• Literature and Social Commentary
• Problems in 20th Century Art: Constructions of the Female Body
• Topics in Comparative Literature: Genre and Gender
• Topics in Comparative Literature: The Body in Literature
• Literature and Social Order: Literature and Class

Gendered Borders/Changing Boundaries

Feminist scholarship has sought to challenge and de-center many traditional boundaries by cultivating voices “from the margin” and exploring dimensions of women’s experiences that defy these boundaries. This concentration examines how feminist scholarship can illuminate phenomena such as fluctuating national borders, shifting contours of sovereignty, displacement, immigration, and diaspora, uncertain global economies, hybrid identities, and changing sexualities.

Suggested Cognate Courses:

• Anthropology of Industrial Society: Transnationalism
• Gender and Comparative Politics
• American Literary Women: Black Literature and Migration
• Postcolonial Literature and Theory
• Postcolonial Writers, Postmodern Conditions
• 20th Century Black Women Writers: Imagining the Diaspora
• Japanese Literature/Queer Theory
• US Latino/a Theater and Performance: From Rural and Urban Roots to Queer and Feminist
• Border Mappings
• Women in African Diaspora
• Black Diaspora

Exams and Dissertation

Ph.D. Students in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies must complete Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations within 12 months of the completion of course work (minimum 39 credit hours) and prior to admission to candidacy status. Qualifying exams include a written component and an oral component to demonstrate mastery of the field of Women’s and Gender Studies, expertise in a specific area of interest, and preparation for independent research in the dissertation. Written examinations may be taken in the first week of September or the first week of March of each academic year. Oral examinations are scheduled on an individual basis no more than 3 months later. Students are expected to submit and defend a Dissertation Proposal within 7 months of passing the Qualifying Exams.

The WGSS MA Program is pleased to allow students to matriculate in the spring semester each year. For Spring '27 Matriculation, applications are due September 15, 2026. For Fall '27 Matriculation, applications are due to December 20, 2026.

The M.A. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) offers liberal arts degrees that enable students to become active practitioners in a wide range of areas related to this rapidly expanding field of study. The degree is specifically designed so that full-time students can complete the program in one calendar year. The program is structured as a terminal master's degree for students and professionals who seek to deepen their feminist, gender-, and sexuality-related perspectives on activism, policy/advocacy, and research.

Centered at the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University, this master’s degree draws on the strengths of a core faculty with twenty-five members working on various aspects of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality studies who have made major scholarly contributions to the field. In addition, the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies is part of the Institute for Women’s Leadership (IWL), a consortium of nine units at Rutgers University dedicated to the study of women and gender, to advocacy on behalf of gender equity, and to the promotion of women’s leadership locally, nationally, and globally.

WGSS offers two distinct options to complete a Masters in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Either M.A. option may serve as a supplement for professional degrees in fields such as law, social work, human rights and social justice, public health, labor studies, public policy, or clinical psychology. With an increasing emphasis on careers focusing on the delivery of services to women and families worldwide, WGS helps to fill a growing demand for experts versed in women's and gender issues. The M.A. program is designed to emphasize global and multicultural perspectives on these matters.

• Master’s Degree with Thesis
  This option reflects the traditional Master's Degree offered by WGSS. Students completing this option will complete the Masters with a traditional Thesis. This option is best suited for students interested in continuing academic work upon graduation, for example, in a doctoral program. For more information, please see the links listed “MA Program” in the right-hand navigation bar.
  
  
• Master’s Track in Feminist Practices for Social Change:  Fall 2020 Flyer
  WGSS has approved this new Track for implementation in Fall 2020. This Track prepares students interested in activism work in social justice and human rights for professional placement in those fields upon graduation. Students completing this Track will complete core classes different than those required of the traditional Master’s Degree with Thesis. Students will also complete a Practicum rather than a Thesis. For more information, please click here. 

Please note that students must apply for only one option. Once accepted into the MA Program, students may not switch into the alternate option.

PROGRAM FEATURES

Strength of Scholarship: Faculty members have a strong research profile and have published widely in their fields. A number of faculty are also directly involved in activist/advocacy work related to critical issues challenging feminism and racial equality, among others.

Commitment of Scholarship: Courses are taught by full-time faculty members committed to teaching and advising.

Small classes: Enable extensive and personal interaction between students and faculty.

Access to Practicum Sites: Students who complete the new MA Track in Feminist Practices for Social Change will have the opportunity to complete a Practicum for their degree. This experience will encourage students to relate the academic knowledge they have gained in the classroom to real-life situations and work related to their field of interest. Our department has access to, and relationships with, practicum sites in New York City, such as UN Women, and throughout New Jersey. In addition, the units of the IWL, including the globally-renowned Center for Women’s Global Leadership, have hosted a number of our students through the years. Though students have generally completed practicum work within the United States, students have the option to complete this portion of their degree in sites internationally that have been approved by WGSS.

Research Resources: As a major state university, Rutgers offers extensive resources to support graduate research, including a comprehensive collection of library material related to feminism, gender, and sexuality. Rutgers is a member of the Association of American Universities—the nationwide consortium of leading research universities—as well as the prestigious Big Ten Academic Alliance.

Teaching Experience: Offers potential teaching opportunities through WGSS Social Justice Minor.

Study Abroad Program: As of 2020-2021, the WGSS Master’s Program is pleased to MA students in either option the chance to take advantage of either of two study abroad options. One MA student will be selected to complete up to three classes during a semester abroad (with a majority of expenses paid) in one of a select number of European Universities affiliated with the Erasmus Mundus Master´s Degree in Women's and Gender Studies, sponsored by the European Commission. A number of MA students may also apply to study abroad for six weeks at the University of Kassel in Kassel, Germany, through the European Institute at lower tuition rates.

Accessibility: Close to the Turnpike and NJ Transit, the program is available to students throughout New Jersey and beyond.

Educational Value: As the State University of New Jersey, a Rutgers education offers tremendous value.

Admission to the M.A. program is entirely separate from admission to the Ph.D. program. Students in the M.A. program who wish to pursue doctoral work in Women's and Gender Studies at Rutgers must apply to the Ph.D. program directly, where they will compete with the general pool of applicants for admissions.

Learn more about the M.A. Learning Goals.

The WGSS BA/MA Program is pleased to allow students to matriculate in the spring semester each year. For BA/MA only matriculation into the fall '26 semester, we can accept through April 1, 2026.

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 WGSS 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.

Students will complete traditional courses in feminist theory as well as courses specifically developed for the newly implemented Master’s Track, including “Social Justice Movements” and “Advocacy: Tactics and Techniques.” These core classes, in conjunction with a range of electives including Gender and Human Rights and Gender and Development, will guide BA/MA students to best cultivate their abilities to think creatively about short-term tactics and long-term strategies for social transformation. They will examine in detail the inequities and challenges facing diverse women, men, non-binary, transgender and gender non-conforming human beings in the contemporary world.

Students will complete the degree by translating what they have learned in the classroom into social justice and human rights initiatives through placement in professional settings resonant with their interests, including in: units of the Institute for Women’s Leadership Consortium at Rutgers-NB; non-governmental organizations; and the United Nations.

ADVANTAGES OF THE BA/MA TRACK

The BA/MA track is structured to allow current Rutgers undergraduates to complete both undergraduate and professional degree courses to earn both a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in WGSS in less time than it would take to earn both degrees separately.

During the senior year of their Bachelor’s Degree, students receive the benefit of undergraduate tuition rates while completing UP TO THREE graduate WGSS courses toward their Master’s Degree. This will help to reduce the costs and time commitment required of the two degrees if pursued separately.

In addition, while completing their BA, students may also complete one undergraduate WGSS course at the 400 level or above that can be applied toward the MA degree: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EXTRA COURSE CANNOT BE APPLIED TO THE BA DEGREE. This option is advantageous as it allows undergrads to complete one additional course toward their MA degree at undergraduate tuition rates and to cut back the time and work required of their MA Degree.

The GRE is not required. This will help to reduce the costs and time commitment required to matriculate into the MA Program.

Graduates of the Feminist Practices for Social Change track will be trained to work in social justice and social change organizations, NGOs and international governmental organizations (IGOs) at local, regional, national, and transnational levels.

Click here for information about Admissions to the BA/M.A. program. This admissions process is separate to the M.A. and Ph.D. program. Students in the BA/M.A. program who wish to pursue doctoral work in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Rutgers must apply to the Ph.D. program directly, where they will compete with the general pool of applicants for admissions.

To declare a minor in Social Justice, please visit the Rutgers myMajor system.

 For more information, please visit the SAS Student Page.

Read more: Minor in Social Justice