Women's & Gender Studies, M.A.

Women's & Gender Studies |View/Print PDF


For further information: WomensStudiesGrad@southernct.edu

Application Deadline

Rolling admissions

Compatible with many different areas of study in the professions and the liberal arts, Women's & Gender Studies allows students to explore the nature of women's status, circumstances, and objectives across the boundaries of academic disciplines, cultures, and historical periods. Women's & Gender Studies courses offer students the opportunity to integrate scholarly inquiry, critical problem solving methods, professional training, cooperative leadership skills, and practical strategies for intervention in real life situations.

Admission Procedures

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Students entering the Women's & Gender Studies program in the fall semester will enter a two-year cohort. Students entering in the spring semester will take electives in their area of concentration and begin the cohort the following fall semester.

Applications are considered complete only when items one through five have been received by the Graduate Coordinator of Women's & Gender Studies and item six has been received by the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Master of Arts Degree

The Master of Arts Degree in Women's & Gender Studies is a two-year program based on a cohort model. The program is designed to give students access to advanced concepts in Women's & Gender Studies, to the specialized research methods of the field, and to the professional skills related to Women's & Gender Studies that can be applied in the work place. The coursework in the degree emphasizes interdisciplinary and intersectional analyses; students are asked to identify an academic discipline or a related/applied area or a specialization designed by the student in consultation with the graduate coordinator.

The program offers options for degree candidates who choose to seek professional credentialing such as a terminal degree. The program also serves those who have achieved competence in their field and who want to integrate the theory and practice of Women's & Gender Studies into their profession. It is also suitable for students seeking personal enrichment.

The interdisciplinary model of the Master of Arts Degree Program in Women's & Gender Studies allows students to establish a complex grasp of Women's & Gender Studies issues within various disciplines. There are five core courses: Feminist Theories and Practices (WMS 500), Research Methods in Women's Studies (WMS 510), History of Feminist Thought (WMS 520), Global Women's Issues (WMS 530), and a Field Experience (WMS 601). Students are encouraged to take additional interdisciplinary Women's & Gender Studies courses among their elective options. Students select electives from a range of Women's & Gender Studies offerings. Core courses and electives can be offered on-ground, hybrid, or online. In consultation with the graduate coordinator, students choose a concentration in a discipline through a host department or identify a related/ applied area relevant to their professional objectives. Students may also choose to design a specialization based on their own interests. No student should take more than four courses (12 credits) through a single host department. It is strongly recommended that students complete WMS 510, WMS 500 and WMS 520 before enrolling in the thesis or special project seminars (WMS 590, WMS 591, WMS 592, WMS 593).

All candidates for the master 's degree must satisfy the exit requirements of the program. The options are a thesis, a comprehensive examination, and special project.

Program Sequence - 33 Credits (Thesis), 36 Credits (Comprehensive Examination), 33 Credits (Special Project Option)

As sequencing changes, it is highly recommended that students meet with their program advisor to finalize a list of requirements for graduation.  

Core Requirements - 15 credits
WMS 500 - Feminist Theories and Practices -3 credits
WMS 510 - Research Methods in Women's & Gender Studies - 3 credits
WMS 520 - History of Feminist Thought - 3 credits
WMS 530 - Global Women's Issues - 3 credits
WMS 601 - Field Experience - 3 credits

Plan A - Thesis Option - 18 credits
WMS 590 - Thesis Seminar I - 3 credits
and
WMS 591 - Thesis Seminar II - 3 credits

Electives in area of specialization - 12 credits
Electives may be taken in any subject and must be graduate level

Plan B — Comprehensive Option - 21 credits
Comprehensive Examination
Electives in area of specialization - 21 credits
Electives may be taken in any subject and must be graduate level.

Plan C — Special Project Option — 18 credits
WMS 592 — Special Project Seminar I - 3 credits
and
WMS 593 — Special Project Seminar II - 3 credits


Electives in area of specialization - 12 credits
Electives may be taken in any subject and must be graduate level.

Extra Course Information

In addition to the regularly offered Women's & Gender Studies courses, a range of special top- ics courses are offered. Some courses offered in the past have included: Evolution of Black Feminist Thought; Gender, Race, Class in Young Adult Literature; Feminist Utopias; Psychoanalysis and Feminism; Ecofeminist Writing; History of U.S. Women Photographers; Women and the Law; Feminist Families/Women's Choices; Writer 's Workshop: The Gendered Voice; Gender and Culture; Women and Professional Ethics; Women, Affirmative Action and the Law; Women in the Professions; Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice; Ethnic Identity: Women's Voices; British Reform Movements; A Room With a View; Anglophone Women Writers; Women Writers of the British Isles; Women's Autobiographical Writing, Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury; Women's Autobiographies Through the Arts; Feminist Interpretations of the Gospels.