Program Overview

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) program offers a dual-title master's degree (M.A./M.S.) and a dual-title Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. All dual-title degrees must be paired and completed simultaneously with a graduate degree in one of the partner programs.

Program Overview

The dual-title master's and Ph.D. degrees provide students with conceptual, methodological, and pedagogical training in the field of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The graduate program embraces intersectional and transnational feminist approaches to knowledge production, pedagogy, and community engagement. Faculty and graduate students in WGSS use interdisciplinary frameworks to research questions that span the arts, humanities, and the social sciences.

Admission Requirements

• Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.
• Students will be considered for admission to the interdisciplinary master's or Ph.D. dual-title programs by the WGSS Graduate Studies Committee.
• Applicants to the dual-title should have a junior/senior cumulative average of at least 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) and should have previous course work in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies or in related fields.
• Applicants may apply to the dual-title program in two ways:
  • As an "external" candidate: When a student first applies for graduate study at Penn State, they can indicate their interest in a dual-title on the main online graduate application.
  • As an "internal" candidate: Current Penn State graduate students pursuing a degree in one of the partner programs can also apply for admission into the dual-title Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Degree Requirements

• Requirements listed here are in addition to requirements listed in GCAC-208 Dual-Title Graduate Degree Programs.
• To qualify for a dual-title degree, students must satisfy the requirements of the disciplinary graduate program in which they are enrolled, as well as the degree requirements for the interdisciplinary dual-title in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
• Candidates for the dual-title M.A./M.S. degree must complete twelve credits of graduate coursework and write a thesis or scholarly paper that centrally engages the field of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
• Candidates for the dual-title Ph.D. degree must complete eighteen credits of graduate coursework and a dissertation that centrally engages the field of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Degree Requirements for the Dual-Title Master's Degree

• Course List Code | Title | Credits
  • WMNST 502 | Global Feminisms | 3
  • WMNST 507 | Feminist Theory | 3
  • WMNST 509 | Feminist Pedagogies | 3
  • or WMNST 508 | Feminist Methodologies | 3
  • 3 additional credits of graduate coursework will be completed with prior consultation and approval of the Director of Graduate Studies in WGSS | 3
• Total Credits | 12

Degree Requirements for the Dual-Title Ph.D.

• Course List Code | Title | Credits
  • WMNST 502 | Global Feminisms | 3
  • WMNST 507 | Feminist Theory | 3
  • WMNST 508 | Feminist Methodologies | 3
  • or WMNST 509 | Feminist Pedagogies | 3
  • 9 additional credits of elective graduate coursework will be completed with prior approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in WGSS | 9
• Total Credits | 18

Qualifying Examination

• The qualifying examination committee for the dual-title Ph.D. degree must include two Graduate Faculty members from Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
• Faculty members holding appointments in both programs' Graduate Faculty may serve in a combined role.
• There will be a single qualifying examination, with questions from both the disciplinary graduate degree program and from Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Doctoral Committee Composition

• In addition to the general Graduate Council requirements for doctoral committees, all candidates for the Dual-title Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies must have at least two members of the Graduate Faculty of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies on their advising committee.
• One of these members must serve as chair or co-chair of the doctoral committee.

Comprehensive Exams

• Dual-title Ph.D. students take one combined comprehensive exam that integrates questions from both disciplines.
• The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies-affiliated faculty members on the student's doctoral committee are responsible for assessing a student's mastery of the following areas: feminist theory, feminist methodologies, global feminisms, and feminist studies in the student's partner discipline.

Doctoral Dissertation And Defense

• A dissertation on a Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies topic is required of students in the dual-title degree program.
• That dissertation topic must be approved by the student's Ph.D. committee.
• Upon researching, writing, and completion of the doctoral dissertation, the candidate must pass a final oral examination (the dissertation defense).

Minor

• An interdisciplinary graduate minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is available.
• A student seeking a minor does not have to pass through an admissions process, and a minor can be completed by any student who is simultaneously completing any graduate degree at Penn State.

Master's Minor

• Master's Minor Requirements: To earn a master's-level graduate minor students are required to take 9 credits of course work in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.
• Six of these credits include WMNST 502 Global Feminisms (3 cr.) and WMNST 507 Feminist Theory (3 cr.).
• The additional three credits must be chosen in consultation with and pre-approval from the Director of Graduate Studies in WGSS.

Doctoral Minor

• To earn a doctoral-level minor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies students are required to complete 15 credits of graduate course work.
• Nine of these credits must include core theory: WMNST 502 Global Feminisms (3 cr.), WMNST 507 Feminist Theory (3 cr.), and either WMNST 509 Feminist Pedagogies (3 cr.) or WMNST 508 Feminist Methodologies (3 cr.).
• Students also must complete 6 additional credits of Women's Studies course work (at least 3 of which must be at the 500 level); these courses must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies of WGSS.

Student Aid

• Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School's website.
• Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by the Fox Graduate School.
• Dual-title students in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies receive most of their funding through their partner discipline.
• The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department offers a limited number of one-year graduate assistantships offering those students the opportunity to teach within WGSS.

Courses

• Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899.
• Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students.
• Courses below the 400 level may not.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon completion of the dual-title graduate degree in WGSS, students are expected to:
  • Demonstrate deep conceptual and historical understanding of intersectional feminist theory and methods;
  • Apply current feminist literature from their partner discipline to their own research agenda;
  • Comprehend the conceptual and practical dimensions of feminist pedagogy, for those planning an academic career;
  • Formulate and execute an independent research project that significantly furthers knowledge and theory within interdisciplinary feminist scholarship;
  • Communicate effectively conceptual and methodological arguments in both written and oral formats to interdisciplinary audiences;
  • Exhibit a commitment to professional standards and ethics in teaching, research, and service.