Program Overview

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Gender Studies MA

The Gender Studies MA is an interdisciplinary course that explores gender relations in the past, present, and future, centering marginalized perspectives. It takes a transnational view, engaging with decoloniality to tackle some of the most pressing social issues of our modern lives.

Course Overview

On this course, you will gain a thorough intellectual grounding in feminist scholarship, including both foundational and canonical texts, as well as current debates and developments. The course is dedicated to privileging transnational, indigenous, and marginalized feminist knowledge, disrupting the narrative of dominant Western perspectives that have frequently come to define feminist scholarship.

Course Structure

The course teaches you strong research skills and gives you a broad education in Gender Studies. You will put these into practice when you complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice, which you will submit by the end of the course.

Year 1 Compulsory Modules

• Theorising Gender (30 credits)
• Researching Gender / Feminist Research (30 credits)
• Dissertation (60 credits)

Year 1 Optional Modules

You will also choose 60 credits from the following options:

• Racism, Decoloniality and Migration (30 credits)
• Decolonial and Social Thought (30 credits)
• Contested Bodies (30 credits)
• Gender, Sexuality and Popular Culture (30 credits)
• Researching Inequality in the Media (30 credits)
• Policy and Programme Evaluation (15 credits)
• Quantitative Research Methods (15 credits)
• Qualitative Research Methods (15 credits)
• Religion, Gender and Sexuality (30 credits)

Learning and Teaching

At Leeds, a range of teaching and learning methods are used, including student-led workshops and discussions, online resources, and group tasks. Independent study is also crucial to this degree, as an opportunity to develop your skills and form your own ideas.

Assessment

Assessment methods may vary, depending on the modules you choose. They could include presentations, book reviews, research proposals, and essays.

Entry Requirements

• A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons) or equivalent in a social science or related subject.
• IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component.

Fees

• UK: Ł12,250 (Total)
• International: Ł26,500 (Total)

Scholarships and Financial Support

If you have the talent and drive, the university wants you to be able to study with them, whatever your financial circumstances. There may be help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the university and from the government.

Career Opportunities

This course equips you with transferable skills such as research, analysis, and communication, as well as a range of subject-specific knowledge and skills. Graduates have gone on to further study, pursuing both academic and non-academic research careers. Students have also found work in the public and third sector, in national and international organizations, or in private organizations.

Related Courses

• Social and Public Policy MA
• Social Research MA
• Society, Culture and Media MA
• Inequalities and Social Science MSc

Rankings and Awards

• Top 20 in the UK for Sociology & Social Policy (The Guardian University League Tables 2025)
• Top 100 in the world for Sociology (QS World Rankings by Subject 2025)