Campuses:
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Twin Cities Campus
Feminist Studies Ph.D.Gender, Women and Sexuality
College of Liberal Arts
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
Department of Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies, 425 Ford Hall, 224 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-624-6006; fax: 612-624-3573)
Email:
gwss@umn.edu
Website: http://www.gwss.umn.edu
Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the
General Information section of
this
website for requirements that apply to all major fields.
The PhD program in feminist studies is designed to help students develop a high level of competence in feminist theories, research methods, interdisciplinarity, and pedagogies. The program is especially strong on feminist theory and issues related to women's diversity, nationally and globally. To guarantee a high level of interdisciplinary exchange, the program is designed to bring feminist studies doctoral students together with graduate minor students who are pursuing a disciplinary specialty in their own home department. The program's interdisciplinary curriculum emphasizes the interaction of social conditions such as class, ethnicity, race, sexualities, and national identity with gender. These interactions and their effects are examined in cultural productions such as media representations or colonialist paradigms in social systems and relations of power; in aspects of science such as genetics and new technologies; in epistemologies and philosophy; in professional areas such as health care to public policy; and in social, political, and environmental justice studies.
Program Delivery
Prerequisites for Admission
The preferred undergraduate GPA for admittance to the program
is 3.50.
A MA in gender, women, and/or sexuality studies or a related field will be considered important, but is not required.
Other requirements to be completed before admission:
Preference is given to students with academic training or an undergraduate degree in gender, women, and/or sexuality studies or a related field. Extensive political work in these areas will also be considered important but not required.
Special Application Requirements:
Applicants for the Ph.D. program must submit scores from the General (Aptitude) Test of the GRE, three letters of recommendation, a writing sample, a current curriculum vitae, and a clearly written statement of career interests, goals, and objectives by electronic application through the Graduate Office (Apply Yourself). Graduate study in the program begins in the fall semester following admission. The application deadline is December 1; all applications are evaluated once each year in December.
International applicants must submit score(s) from one of the following tests:
The preferred English language test is Test of English as Foreign Language.
Key to test
abbreviations
(TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB).
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the
General Information section of this
website.
Program Requirements
20 to 22
credits are required in the major.
12 credits are required outside the major. 24 thesis credits are required.
This program may not be completed with a minor.
Use of 4xxx courses towards program requirements is not permitted.
A minimum GPA of 3.50
is required for students to remain in good standing.
At least 4 semesters must be completed
before filing a Degree Program Form.
The course and credit requirements for the PhD fall into roughly two categories: interdisciplinary courses satisfying core requirements, and courses constituting or enhancing a concentration.
Students are expected to participate in the department colloquium series of faculty, student, and guest lecturer presentations.
Interdisciplinary Core and Required Courses
Required Core
GWSS 8108 - Genealogies of Feminist Theory
(3.0 cr)
GWSS 8109 - Feminist Knowledge Production
(3.0 cr)
GWSS 8107 - Feminist Pedagogies
(3.0 cr)
GWSS 8997 - Dissertation Seminar
(3.0 cr)
Colloquia Credits
Take 4 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
GWSS 8996 - Feminist Studies Colloquium
(1.0 cr)
GWSS Seminars
Take 6 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
GWSS 8210 - Seminar: Feminist Theory & Praxis
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 8220 - Seminar: Science, Technology & Environmental Justice
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 8230 - Seminar: Cultural Criticism and Media Studies
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 8490 - Seminar: Transnational, Postcolonial, Diaspora
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 8250 - Seminar: Nation, State, and Citizenship
(1.0-3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 8260 - Seminar: Race, Representation and Resistance
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 8270 - Seminar: Theories of Body
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 8103 - Feminist Theories of Knowledge
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 5104 - Transnational Feminist Theory
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 5406 - Black Feminist Thought in the American and African Diasporas
(3.0 cr)
Research Methods & Tools
Take at least 6 Research Methods & Tools credits from the list below, or chosen in consultation with the director of graduate studies. Up to 6 of these credits can be applied to the 12-credit requirement for outside coursework.
Take 0 - 6 credit(s) from the following:
·
GWSS 8201 - Feminist Theory and Methods in the Social Sciences
(3.0 cr)
Outside Coursework
Take at least 12 credits outside the major. Courses are chosen in consultation with the director of graduate studies.
Thesis Credits
Take 24 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
GWSS 8888 - Thesis Credit: Doctoral
(1.0-24.0 cr)
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Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Spring Odd Year |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 9.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | AmSt 8801/GWSS 8997 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | S-N or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 9.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 6.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 6.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 6.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -3.0 [max 6.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 6.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 6.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Odd Year |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Afro 4406/Afro 5406/GWSS 4406/ |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -24.0 [max 24.0] |
Grading Basis: | No Grade |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |