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Master of Arts Degree Coursework Requirements
Women's and Gender Studies

To complete the WGS master’s degree, students select one of the following two options:

• 33 credit degree program

  • Includes 10 courses and completion of WGS 497 Master’s Project

• 30 credit degree program

  • Includes 9 courses and completion of WGS 490 Thesis     (two-semester course)

 

Six semester credits are required core courses:

• WGS 402 Introduction to Women’s & Gender Studies (3 credits)

• WGS 404 Topics in Feminist Theories (3 credits)

 

Core Courses

Our small WGS graduate seminars are one of the strengths of our program; they enable students to work closely with their professors and one another. WGS 402 focuses on several of the ideas and debates that have defined the field of Women's and Gender Studies. Students learn how understandings and analyses of women, gender, and sexuality develop, differ, and change over time and across the globe.

WGS 404 is an umbrella course number that identifies all WGS graduate seminars that are led by WGS core faculty. The core WGS faculty members continually design new courses that represent their research specialties, trends in the field, and student interests. These advanced courses allow students to study the complexities and significance of a particular topic in depth.

They also give students sustained practice working with key concepts, critical methodologies, and research resources in their own work. Because these courses are designed specifically for students in the WGS MA program, we encourage students to take multiple versions of WGS 404 as part of their elective coursework. Only one section of WGS 404 is required for the degree, but students may take WGS 404 repeatedly, as new and interesting offerings suit their interests.

Recent and upcoming WGS 404 graduate seminars include:

• The Body: Agency, Pain, and Desire

• Comparative Feminisms: India, Morocco, and the United States

• Feminism and Fashion

• Feminism and Western Philosophy

• Feminist Theories of Gender and Violence

• Feminist Theories of Performance

• Feminist Theories of Space and Place

• Gender, Race, and Environmental Justice

• Gender, Sexuality, and Popular Culture

• Global Feminist Ethics

• Grassroots Activism and Feminist Theories

 

Elective Courses

Students select the courses to fulfill the remaining required semester hours for the degree. These courses may include additional WGS 404 courses and/or cross-listed course offerings. Cross-listed courses draw from academic disciplines including African and African American Studies, anthropology, art and art history, economics, film, history, literature, philosophy, political science, psychology, public administration, social justice, sociology, and Spanish.

Recent and upcoming cross-listed electives include:

• 20th-century Women’s Fiction: Gender and Mobility

• Social Movements

• Religion, the Body, and Reproductive Justice

• The History and Politics of Women in the United States

• Contemporary Irish Women Writers and the Politics of Gender

• Sexuality, Gender, and International Human Rights

• The Politics of Gay and Lesbian Communities

• Gender, Sex, and Power in Early Modern Europe

• Women and Art

Students may choose to complete a Graduate Certificate in another program (for example, in non-profit management) while simultaneously pursing the MA in WGS. In that case, no more than two courses for the graduate certificate can count towards the MA in WGS. Please see the individual programs’ website for Graduate Certificate requirements and discuss options with your advisor.