Concentration Description

The graduate concentration in women's and gender studies provides graduate students the opportunity to study gender and sexuality from a variety of disciplinary perspectives in conjunction with their study toward a master's or doctoral degree. Interdisciplinary by nature, women's and gender studies courses primarily address the diversity of gendered experiences based on race, ethnicity, class, religion, nationality, and sexual orientation. The graduate concentration is an appropriate option for graduate students who wish to focus on gender and/or sexuality in their particular disciplinary field.

The graduate concentration in women's and gender studies is offered to students in the following programs: master of arts (M.A.) in American studies, English, History, and Political Science; master of science (M.S.) in the Division of Global Affairs; and a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) in American studies and the Division of Global Affairs. The graduate concentration consists of a total of 12 credits. Students will take two courses cross-listed with women's and gender studies from their own department and two core courses offered by the women's and gender studies program, taught by faculty members affiliated with the Graduate School-Newark.

The two core courses are:

  26:988:532  Feminist Theory and History (fall semester)

  26:988:570  Feminist Research Methods (spring semester)

Because each program is unique, and the way that the graduate concentration in women's and gender studies fits with each program is slightly different, students should seek advisement from the director of the graduate program in their own department as well as from the director of the women's and gender studies program at the beginning of their graduate studies. Full-time students should be able to complete the course of study for the graduate concentration in women's and gender studies and for their master's or doctoral degree within their program's normal time frame.

Students interested in pursuing the graduate concentration in women's and gender studies should contact the director of the women's and gender studies program after they have been accepted into the graduate program in their discipline.