Women’s and Gender Studies, MA MA
Effective Spring 2026, admission to the Women’s and Gender Studies, MA program is temporarily suspended (last updated January 2026).
The MA in Women’s and Gender Studies is designed for students who intend to pursue additional academic degrees and students who seek graduate credentials to further their career goals. The degree combines advanced Women’s and Gender Studies courses in feminist theory, research methods, global feminisms, and selected topics with graduate-level courses in many disciplines. Over forty faculty members at 51ÁÔÆæ are Women’s and Gender Studies affiliates and offer graduate courses that are cross-listed with Women’s and Gender Studies.
Students completing an MA in Women’s and Gender Studies will:
- Gain an understanding of Women’s and Gender Studies as an interdisciplinary field of study and research.
- Demonstrate an advanced understanding of feminist theory and research methods.
- Develop critical thinking skills that will enable them to analyze competing perspectives and integrate various bodies of knowledge across academic boundaries, paying particular attention to gender-based assumptions and their consequences on individuals, social and cultural groups, and institutions.
- Demonstrate an awareness of women’s diverse experiences based on factors such as age, race, sexuality, gender identity, class, religion, and ability status.
- Acquire the background necessary for entry into PhD programs in Women’s and Gender Studies. The MA also prepares students for further graduate studies in many fields of the humanities, social sciences or professions, as well as career fields that require an advanced degree.
Program Type
Master’s
Program Format
On Campus
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Application Deadlines
Application deadlines vary by program, please review the for specific programs. Other important dates and deadlines can be found by using the One Stop calendars.
The Women's and Gender Studies MA Program accepts fall admission only.Â
Admission
In addition to satisfying  for admission, applicants must apply online via the 51ÁÔÆæ Graduate School Admission Application. Additionally, the following materials must be submitted to be considered for admission:
- Official or unofficial transcripts for all work done at higher education/post-secondary institutions
- Three letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant’s academic or professional work
- A sample of the applicant’s written work that demonstrates the applicant’s critical thinking, research, and writing skills
- A letter of intent (reason statement) explaining the applicant’s reasons for graduate study
scores are not required for application to the WGS MA Program. However, 51ÁÔÆæ may require GRE scores for fellowships or awards.Â
Applicants may be admitted with course deficiencies provided that the deficiencies amount to no more than two courses. Students are expected to satisfy deficiency requirements within three enrolled semesters. The deficiencies are monitored by the Graduate School and the program. No course credits earned in making up deficiencies may be counted toward the degree.
Credits and Courses
To earn an MA in Women’s and Gender Studies, students must complete 30 credits. Fifteen credits are in required Women’s and Gender Studies courses (15 with thesis option):
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | ||
| °Â³Ò³§Ìý700 | Feminist Issues and Scholarship | 3 |
| °Â³Ò³§Ìý701 | Feminisms in Global Context | 3 |
| °Â³Ò³§Ìý710 | Advanced Feminist Theory | 3 |
| °Â³Ò³§Ìý711 | Feminist Epistemologies and Research Practices | 3 |
| °Â³Ò³§Ìý740 | Advanced Queer Theory | 3 |
| Select one G or U/G WGS course 1 | 3 | |
| Electives | ||
| Select 12 credits in graduate-level courses in consultation with the WGS Director of Graduate Studies. | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 30 | |
- 1
Excluding WGS 497,°Â³Ò³§Ìý700, WGS 990, and WGS 999.Â
No more than six credits may be in undergraduate/graduate (U/G) courses, and no more than six transfer credits may apply. Students may not count more than three credits of WGSÂ 999 toward the degree.
Electives
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Approved Electives outside of WGS | ||
| ´¡¹ó¸é±õ°äÌý565³Ò | Topics in African & African Diaspora Studies: (Topic: "Black Women Writers") | 3 |
| ´¡¹ó¸é±õ°äÌý700 | Foundations and Theories in African & African Diaspora Studies | 3 |
| ´¡¹ó¸é±õ°äÌý800 | Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods in African & African Diaspora Studies | 3 |
| ´¡±·°Õ±á¸é°¿Ìý641³Ò | Seminar in Anthropology: (Topics: "Lives of American Indian Women", "Women and Development") | 3 |
| ´¡±·°Õ±á¸é°¿Ìý942 | Seminar in Prehistory and Archaeology: (Topic: "Archaeology of Gender") | 3 |
| °ä°¿²Ñ²Ñ±«±·Ìý651 | Current Topics in Rhetorical/Public Communication: (Topic: "The Rhetoric of Women's Rights in the US") | 3 |
| °ä°¿²Ñ²Ñ±«±·Ìý802 | Marital and Family Communication | 3 |
| °ä°¿²Ñ²Ñ±«±·Ìý860 | Seminar: Issues in Communication: (Topic: "Rhetoric of Marriage and Family") | 3 |
| °ä°¿²Ñ²Ñ±«±·Ìý874 | Rhetoric of Women's Rights in the US | 3 |
| °ä¸é²ÑÌý´³³§°ÕÌý424³Ò | Sex Crimes, Human Trafficking, and the Internet | 3 |
| °ä¸é²ÑÌý´³³§°ÕÌý970 | Readings in Criminal Justice Research: (Topic: "Women and Criminal Justice") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý463³Ò | Writers in African-American Literature: (Topic: "Toni Morrison and Gloria Naylor") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý465³Ò | Women Writers: (All Topics) | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý504³Ò | Studies in Literature, 1660-1800: (Topic: "Sex and Enlightenment") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý517³Ò | Studies in African-American Literature: (Topics: "Black Women in Fiction and Film", "Images of Black Women in Fiction and Film") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý547³Ò | Studies in Theory and Criticism: | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý622³Ò | Seminar in Irish Literature: | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý623³Ò | Seminar in American Literature: (Topic: "American Women Regionalists") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý625³Ò | Seminar in Literary History: (Topic: "Major Early Women Writers") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý628³Ò | Seminar in Literature by Women: (All Titles) | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý629³Ò | Seminar in Literature and Sexuality: (All Titles) | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý631³Ò | Seminar in African-American Literature: (Topic: "Images of Black Women in African-American Fiction and Films") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý633³Ò | Seminar in Rhetoric and Professional Writing: (Topic: "Intergenerational Feminisms") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý685 | Honors Seminar: (Topics: "Chinese American Women Writers", "Romance Plot in Fiction by British Women, 1800-2000") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý690 | Seminar in Contemporary Cinema and Media: (Topic: Global Women Directors) | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý771 | Literature of the English Renaissance: (Topic: "Early Modern Women Writers") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý776 | Women Writers: (Topics: "Gender, Anger and Revenge", "Early Women Writers", "Greatest Hits") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý780 | African American Literature: (Topic: "Sex and Sexuality") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý783 | World Literature in English: (Topic: "Texts and Concepts") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý784 | Topics in Transnational Literature (Topic: "Transnational Fiction: (Un)Settling & Gender") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý812 | Seminar in Theories of Composition and Rhetoric: (Topic: "Feminist Rhetorics") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý820 | Seminar in Advanced Topics in Literary Criticism and Research: (Topic: "Feminist Theory and Criticism") | 1-3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý843 | Seminar in Renaissance Prose and Poetry: (Topic: "Women Writers") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý872 | Seminar in Women Writers: (All Topics) | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý875 | Seminar in Modern Literature: (Topics: "Becoming Modern - Gendered Narratives", "Virginia Woolf") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý876 | Seminar in Media Studies: (Topics: "Family Photography", "Queer Cinema and Television") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý878 | Seminar in Feminist Critical Theory: (All Topics) | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý882 | Seminar in Nineteenth-Century American Literature: (Topic: "American Women Writers and the Sentimenal) | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý883 | Seminar in Twentieth-Century American Literature: (Topic: "Multiculturalism") | 3 |
| ·¡±·³Ò³¢±õ³§±áÌý885 | Seminar in Critical Theory: (Topics: "Psychoanalysis, Gender, Sexuality", "Queer Theory", "Spivak") | 3 |
| ¹ó±õ³¢²ÑÌý720 | Graduate Media Arts Workshop I (Topic: "Feminism 2.0 - Gender in Art in Remix Culture") | 1-6 |
| ¹ó±õ³¢²Ñ³§°Õ¶ÙÌý669 | Screening Sexuality: (Topic: "Screening Sexuality") | 3 |
| ¹ó¸é·¡±·°ä±áÌý733 | Seminar in French Literature: (Topic: "French Women Writers") | 3 |
| ±á±õ³§°ÕÌý373³Ò | Topics in Gender and History: (Topic: "When Normal Wasn't: Sex and Gender to 1700) | 3 |
| ±á±õ³§°ÕÌý600 | Seminar in History: (Topics: "Gender, Technology, and the Body in Modern Europe", "Social Justice Movements in America Since 1945") | 3 |
| ±á±õ³§°ÕÌý840 | Colloquium on Global History: (Topic: "Gender and Imperialism: 1830 to 1940") | 3 |
| ±á±õ³§°ÕÌý841 | Colloquium on Modern Studies: (Topic: "Queer Theory") | 3 |
| ±á±õ³§°ÕÌý900 | Seminar on U.S. History: (Topics: "History of Women in America", "Women and Reform - 19th and 20th Centuries") | 3 |
| ±á±õ³§°ÕÌý940 | Seminar on Global History: (Topics: "Gender, Religion and Colonization", "Slavery & Gender in Early American & the Caribbean", "Gender, Sexuality & Imperialism") | 3 |
| ±á±õ³§°ÕÌý950 | Seminar on European History: (Topic: "Christianity and Sexuality from New Testament Times to the Present") | 3 |
| ´³´¡²Ñ³§Ìý660³Ò | Seminar in Contemporary Issues in Media Studies: (Topics: "Gender, Race and Class in Wedding Media", "Gender and the Media", "Race, Gender and Media") | 3 |
| ´³´¡²Ñ³§Ìý661 | Seminar in Media Communication and Society: (Topic: "Gender and Popular Culture") | 3 |
| ´³´¡²Ñ³§Ìý840 | Topics in Media Law and Ethics: (Topic: "Pornography and Hate Speech") | 3 |
| ´³´¡²Ñ³§Ìý845 | Topics in Gender, Sexuality, and Media: (Topic: "Gender and Popular Culture") | 3 |
| ´³´¡²Ñ³§Ìý860 | Seminar in Media Studies: (Topic: "Pornography, Privacy, and Hate Speech") | 3 |
| °±õ±·Ìý575³Ò | The Social Construction of Obesity | 3 |
| °±õ±·Ìý590³Ò | Current Topics in Human Kinetics: (Topic: "Body Image: Influences Health Related Implications") | 1-3 |
| ±·±«¸é³§Ìý620³Ò | Global Food Security and Systems | 3 |
| ±·±«¸é³§Ìý763 | Issues in Women's Health and Development | 3 |
| ±·±«¸é³§Ìý779 | Special Topics Seminar: (Topic: "Current Issues in Women's Health Development - Health of Older Women") | 1-5 |
| ±Ê±á±õ³¢°¿³§Ìý554³Ò | Special Topics in the History of Modern Philosophy: (Topic: "Women Philosophers") | 3 |
| ±Ê±á±õ³¢°¿³§Ìý562³Ò | Special Topics in Ethics and Social and Political Philosophy: (Topic: "Personhood and the Abortion Issue") | 3 |
| ±Ê°¿³¢Ìý³§°ä±õÌý471³Ò | Problems in Law Studies: (Topics: "Civil Rights Movements", "Law and Sexuality", "Women, the Workplace, and the Law") | 3 |
| ±Ê³§³Û°ä±áÌý611³Ò | Current Topics: (Topic: "Feminist Perspectives on Psychoanalysis - Etiology and Treatment of Eating Disorders") | 1-4 |
| ±Ê³§³Û°ä±áÌý711 | Current Topics in Psychology: (Topic: "Feminist Perspectives on Psychoanalysis - Etiology and Treatment of Eating Disorders") | 1-4 |
| ³§°¿°äÌý°Â¸é°Ìý630³Ò | Families and Poverty | 3 |
| ³§°¿°äÌý°Â¸é°Ìý771 | Development of the Family Over the Life Span | 3 |
| ³§°¿°äÌý°Â¸é°Ìý791 | Current Topics in Social Work: (Topics: "Family Violence - A Cycle to be Broken", "Women, Work and Family") | 1-3 |
| ³§°¿°äÌý°Â¸é°Ìý820 | Seminar in Social Work Practice: (Topic: "Intimate Partner Violence") | 3 |
| ³§°¿°ä±õ°¿³¢Ìý444³Ò | Sociology of the Body | 3 |
| ³§°¿°ä±õ°¿³¢Ìý495 | Seminar in Sociology: (Topics: "The Social Construction of Female Affiliation", "The Work-Family Intersection") | 3 |
| ³§°¿°ä±õ°¿³¢Ìý925 | Sex and Gender | 3 |
| ³§°¿°ä±õ°¿³¢Ìý927 | Seminar in Sociology of Contemporary Institutions: (Topics: "A Sociology of Welfare", "Issues in Family and Gender", "Sociology of Gender", "The Family and the State") | 3 |
| ³§°¿°ä±õ°¿³¢Ìý928 | Seminar in Social Organization: (Topics: "Gendered Institutions", "The Sociology of Sex & Gender") | 3 |
Application to all graduate programs are completed through the 51ÁÔÆæ Graduate School. Please see their website for detailed information about the application process and contact them with questions.
Teaching and Research Assistantships are the primary form of financial support for women’s & gender studies graduate students. These positions provide a salary and tuition remission. Some small scholarships are also available. Click below for more details.
Women's and Gender Studies MA Learning Outcomes
Students graduating from the Women’s and Gender Studies MA program will be able to:Â
- Demonstrate an understanding of feminist, women's, and gender issues in local, national, and/or global contexts.Â
- Demonstrate an understanding of the interrelatedness of gender and other identity categories such as class, race, sexuality, age, or ability status.Â
- Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of relevant perspectives within feminisms and feminist theory.Â
- Properly apply theoretical terms and concepts of feminist and gender analysis.
- Demonstrate mastery of relevant theoretical terms and concepts of feminist and gender analysis.Â
- Productively analyze complex material using gender as a framework.Â
- Write a well-structured, well-argued paper using relevant academic sources.Â