Program Overview

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, PhD

Degree Awarded:

Doctor of Philosophy in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Chairperson:

Liz Montegary

Graduate Program Director:

Ritch Calvin

Assistant to the Chair & Graduate Program Coordinator:

Jacqueline Donnelly, Humanities Building #20

Department Website:

The Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, offers the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, as well as an advanced graduate certificate in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Admission Requirements

• To be considered for admission to graduate studies in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, all applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a suitable overall grade point average and with a high average in a major field appropriate for study in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
• In addition, they must submit the following:
  • B.A. or M.A. degree from a recognized institution in a suitable area of study
  • An official graduate application including a statement of purpose and 3 letters of recommendation
  • One official copy of any transcript from any undergraduate college or university attended, from which a degree was conferred
  • Applicants must submit one official copy of any transcript relating to any graduate level work undertaken, regardless of whether or not a degree was earned
  • For international students, proficiency in English as demonstrated by a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper) or 213 (computer) or 90 (iBT) OR an IELTS total score of 6.5
  • One research or term paper in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies or a related field of approximately 20-25 pages
  • An application fee of $100

Degree Requirements

Course Requirements

• WST 600 - Feminist Interdisciplinary Histories and Methods (3 credits)
• WST 601 - Feminist Theories (3 credits)
• WST 698 - Practicing Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (3 credits)
• WST 680 - Interdisciplinary Research Design (3 credits)
• Twelve additional graduate courses, at least three of which must be WST courses numbered 600 or higher or appropriate graduate level seminars offered by another department and cross-listed by WGSS

First-Year Evaluation

• In the middle of the student’s second semester of graduate work, the director of graduate studies requests a report on progress from the student that asks them to comment on their progress through the degree program
• A file for the student’s first-year evaluation will be collated and will include 1) the student’s grades, 2) and, if the student is a teaching assistant, a letter of evaluation from appropriate faculty, 3) student evaluations, and 4) the progress report
• Students may submit any other relevant material such as a seminar paper or original essay

Foreign Language Requirements

• Entering graduate students are expected to have a good command of at least one foreign language
• All language requirements must be met before students sit for their comprehensive examination
• Competence in a foreign language can be demonstrated in one of the following ways:
  • By earning a grade of B or better in a graduate translation course taught by one of the foreign language departments at Stony Brook
  • By passing an examination consisting of two parts, each one hour long, to be taken with a dictionary
  • By passing an hour-long oral examination

Comprehensive Examination

• Full-time students who are candidates for the Ph.D. will normally take their comprehensive examination no more than one year after completing their course work
• Completing the language requirement is a prerequisite for sitting for the examination
• The examination is written, with each of the three areas of examination scheduled for one day (8 hours)
• The written exam will be followed within 1-2 weeks by an in-person discussion (oral exam) of the student’s written exam

Advancement to Candidacy

• Advancement to candidacy is granted by the Graduate School upon recommendation of the director of graduate studies after a successful comprehensive examination
• All other requirements must have been met before the student sits for the comprehensive examination

Dissertation

• The dissertation represents the culmination of the student’s degree program and should be a serious contribution to scholarship
• Within three months of passing the comprehensive examination, the student must be prepared to schedule the Dissertation Proposal Review (Prospectus)
• The dissertation proposal, which must be appropriate to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, should be between 2000 and 5000 words, not counting footnotes or bibliography

Teaching Assistantships

• For Ph.D. students awarded teaching assistant ships, four years of full support is the department’s norm
• Awards are renewable annually, provided the student maintains satisfactory academic progress towards the degree and performs teaching duties appropriately

Advisor and Mentor

• The Graduate School requires all students to have an advisor
• The director of graduate studies serves as advisor to all entering students during their first year and helps them plan their programs
• Before the end of the first academic year, full-time students should choose an official graduate advisor from the WGSS core or graduate faculty

Residence Requirement

• The University requires that students receiving a Ph.D. must take at least two consecutive semesters of full-time graduate study
• For those entering without prior graduate study or with fewer than 24 graduate credits, this usually means 12 credits per semester
• For those entering with more than 24 graduate credits or with advanced standing provided by prior graduate work, this would mean 9 credits per semester