The master's degree requires 30 credits of course work for students who choose the thesis option. Those who opt for an alternate plan paper must complete 34 credits.
Descriptions of courses listed below are available on the Graduate Bulletins page.
The Gender & Women's Studies department regularly offers two elective courses: GWS 540, Feminist Pedagogy (fall), and GWS 555, Politics of Sexuality (approximately every other year). Most elective graduate-level Gender & Women's Studies courses are offered outside the Gender & Women's Studies department. Electives vary from semester to semester. In the past, students have taken Gender in Art, U.S. Women's History, Issues in Counseling Women, Women and Film, Women and Politics, Psychology of Women, Feminist Philosophy, Family Violence, and Women of Color.
Note: The maximum credit load per semester is 12 hours; exceptions must be approved by your advisor and the Graduate Dean.
Each student is responsible for planning their courses in consultation with her or his advisor. As of 2004-5, Plan of Study and Thesis Proposal forms are available from the department.
The Thesis option requires the completion of 30 graduate credit hours, with at least 15 hours in Gender & Women's Studies. The remaining 15 credits may be from program courses selected with the approval of your committee. In addition to the general requirements of the program, the thesis option requires the completion of and oral defense of a thesis. At least one-half of all credit hours must be at the 600 level, and no more than one-third of the credits can be on a pass/no pass credit basis.
The Alternate Plan Paper option requires the completion of 34 graduate credit hours, with at least 16 in Gender & Women's Studies, including 1 credit or more individual study. As with the thesis option, the Alternate Plan Paper requires the completion and oral defense of your paper. At least one-half of all credit hours must be at the 600 level, and no more than one-third of the credits can be on a pass/no pass credit basis.
