Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Graduate Major (MA, PhD)
Graduate Areas of Concentration
Feminist leadership; gender, rhetoric, and representation; health and gender justice; social justice theory and practice
Major Code: 8008
MA
- Conduct research or produce some other form of creative work.
- Demonstrate mastery of subject material.
- Conduct scholarly or professional activities in an ethical manner.
- Apply intersectional feminist theories, methodologies, and methods to advance effective and ethical tactics for social change through scholarship, creative work, community, and/or institutional transformations.
- Prepare for careers in social justice and social change agencies, higher education and/or doctoral-level study as demonstrated through professional and scholarly activities.
- Demonstrate substantive knowledge in an area of multiracial, transnational, and queer feminist studies through an original significant contribution to scholarship.
PhD
- Produce and defend an original significant contribution to knowledge.
- Demonstrate mastery of subject material.
- Conduct scholarly activities in an ethical manner.
- Apply intersectional feminist theories, methodologies, and methods to advance effective and ethical tactics for social change through scholarship, creative work, community activism, and institutional transformations.
- Create, participate in, and maintain local, national, and transnational communities of WGSS scholars, educators, and activists through community-minded practices contextualized within historical and current intersecting movements for social justice, both inside and outside of academic spaces.
- Prepare for social justice-focused careers in social change agencies and higher education through professional and scholarly activities conducted in an ethical manner.
- Demonstrate doctoral-level knowledge in an area of multiracial, transnational, and queer feminist studies through an original significant contribution to, and implications for, the discipline of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
MA students will take 42-43 credits of course work, including 21 credits of required courses and thesis credit. In addition, students select two courses from cluster area one, one course from each of cluster areas two and three, and 6 elective credit chosen from any of the cluster areas and/or other WGSS/QS elective courses. Cluster areas include:
- Women of Color Feminisms/Queer of Color Feminisms
- Global/Transnational Feminisms
- Feminist Praxis
MA students must also demonstrate second-year proficiency in a second language.
PhD students will take 27–28 credits of core requirements, as well as 36 dissertation credits, and 12 credits of electives in a concentration specific to their area of focus, for a total of 75–76 required credits. No more than two "slash" courses will be accepted toward the degree.
MA in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core Course Work | ||
| WGSS 503 | THESIS | 6 |
| WGSS 511 & WGSS 512 & WGSS 513 | ORIENTATION AND PROFESSIONALIZATION I and ORIENTATION AND PROFESSIONALIZATION II and ORIENTATION AND PROFESSIONALIZATION III | 3 |
| WGSS 514 | SYSTEMS OF OPPRESSION: STRATEGIES FOR RESISTANCE | 4 |
| WGSS 516 | THEORIES OF FEMINISM | 4 |
| WGSS 518 | FEMINIST RESEARCH | 4 |
| Cluster Electives 1 | 15-16 | |
| Cluster #1: Women of Color Feminisms/Queer of Color Feminisms | ||
| WOMEN OF COLOR FEMINISMS | ||
| QUEER OF COLOR CRITIQUES | ||
| CRITICAL RACE FEMINISM AND OUTSIDER JURISPRUDENCE | ||
| QUEER/TRANS PEOPLE OF COLOR ARTS AND ACTIVISM | ||
| RACE, GENDER, AND HEALTH JUSTICE | ||
| Cluster #2: Global/Transnational Feminisms | ||
| INDIGENOUS TWO-SPIRIT AND QUEER STUDIES | ||
| TRANSNATIONAL SEXUALITIES | ||
| GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN'S HEALTH | ||
| TRANSNATIONAL FEMINISMS | ||
| GLOBAL FEMINIST THEOLOGIES | ||
| Cluster #3: Feminist Praxis | ||
| INTERNSHIP | ||
| FEMINIST LEADERSHIP | ||
| FEMINIST TEACHING AND LEARNING | ||
| THE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM: DIFFERENCE, POWER AND DISCRIMINATION | ||
| GLOBAL EXPERIENCE I and GLOBAL EXPERIENCE II and GLOBAL EXPERIENCE III | ||
| Electives | 6 | |
| Students must also complete at least 6 elective credits from any of the cluster areas and/or other WGSS/QS elective courses.in order to meet the 42-43 minimum credit total. | ||
| Total Credits | 42-43 | |
- 1
All MA students must also take at least two courses from cluster one, Women of Color Feminisms/Queer of Color Feminisms, and at least one course each from the remaining clusters, Global/Transnational Feminisms and Feminist Praxis. WGSS 586/587/588 Global Experience I, II, III together constitute the equivalent of one 3-credit class within the Feminist Praxis cluster. Students must also complete an additional 6 elective credits chosen from any of the cluster areas and/or other WGSS/QS elective courses.
Second-year proficiency in a second language as demonstrated by:
- Two years of a college language sequence on the transcript.
- Scoring at second-year proficiency on a language placement test.
- Completing the 213 course of a language sequence while enrolled in the MA program.
PhD in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| WGSS 518 | FEMINIST RESEARCH 1 | 4 |
| or WGSS 619 | DECOLONIZING METHODS | |
| or WGSS 555 | FEMINIST TEXTUAL AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS | |
| WGSS 521 | FEMINIST LEADERSHIP 2 | 4 |
| WGSS 535 | FEMINIST TEACHING AND LEARNING | 3-4 |
| or WGSS 542 | THE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM: DIFFERENCE, POWER AND DISCRIMINATION | |
| or GRAD 542 | THE INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM: DIFFERENCE, POWER AND DISCRIMINATION | |
| WGSS 611 | COLLOQUIUM 3 | 4 |
| WGSS 616 | MULTIRACIAL, TRANSNATIONAL, AND QUEER FEMINISMS I | 4 |
| WGSS 617 | MULTIRACIAL, TRANSNATIONAL, AND QUEER FEMINISMS II | 4 |
| WGSS 620 | SOCIAL JUSTICE THEORY AND PRACTICE | 4 |
| Thesis | ||
| WGSS 603 | THESIS | 36 |
| Electives | ||
| Select 12 credits 4 | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 75-76 | |
- 1
Students who have already taken WGSS 518 and WGSS 555 at OSU may take WGSS 619 or another approved methods course.
- 2
Students who have already taken WGSS 521 at OSU will take WGSS 610.
- 3
Students must take 4 terms of colloquium and must present dissertation research once.
- 4
Students may select a concentration in one of the four areas below or may work in consultation with their advisor to develop a 12-credit concentration specific to their needs and interests. Students may also elect to take 12 elective credits from any WGGS graduate courses or other approved courses in any of the graduate concentrations.
Graduate Concentrations
Minimum 12 credits of course work; no more than two of these courses may be “slash” courses.
Feminist Leadership
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| WGSS 518 | FEMINIST RESEARCH | 4 |
| WGSS 610 | INTERNSHIP (Shadowing) | 4 |
Gender, Rhetoric, and Representation
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| ENG 598 | 4 | |
| WGSS 555 | FEMINIST TEXTUAL AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS | 4 |
Health and Gender Justice
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| WGSS 518 | FEMINIST RESEARCH | 4 |
| WGSS 582 | GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN'S HEALTH | 4 |
| WGSS 583 | RACE, GENDER, AND HEALTH JUSTICE | 4 |
Social Justice Theory and Practice
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| WGSS 514 | SYSTEMS OF OPPRESSION: STRATEGIES FOR RESISTANCE | 4 |
| WGSS 518 | FEMINIST RESEARCH | 4 |
Major Code: 8008