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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Women's and Gender Studies

Women's and Gender Studies
Graduate Specialization and Graduate Minor

Who should apply?

Students admitted to graduate programs in any department are welcome to apply. We especially encourage students to apply who have a strong interest in interdisciplinary research and teaching in areas such as feminist and gender theory; women, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, disability studies, or international women's issues.

How to Apply

Admission to a department with a graduate program at UNL is required for participation in the Graduate Specialization or Graduate Minor in Women's and Gender Studies. Application to the specialization is normally made when completing the Memorandum of Courses for the M.A. or filing the Program of Study for the Ph.D., but applications may be considered at any time in consultation with the student's supervisory committee and the Director of Women's and Gender Studies.

To apply, submit:

•  a letter of application addressed to the graduate chair of the student's home department and to the director of Women's and Gender Studies. This letter should include a statement describing how the graduate specialization or graduate minor will help the student meet his or her goals and how it fits the individual program of study.

•  the list of courses for the graduate specialization or graduate minor.

•  a copy of the student's Memorandum of Courses for the M.A. or Program of Study for the Ph.D.

The Women's and Gender Studies Advisory Board, chaired by the program director, will approve the list of courses for the specialization or minor and course substitutions in consultation with the chair of the student's supervisory committee.

Requirements

Masters Degree Program Requirements

An interdisciplinary masters-level specialization or minor in Women's and Gender Studies is available to any student pursuing a master's degree.

Each student will be required to complete:

  • a master's degree in one of the participating departments or programs;
  • nine credit hours of graduate courses on gender outside the student's major department approved by the Women's and Gender Studies Advisory Board. Substitutions may be made with the permission of the Advisory Board. Under Graduate College rules both Options I and II offer possibilities for completing the graduate specialization without adding additional hours of coursework.
  • a thesis that addresses some issue/s relevant to Women's and Gender Studies (if option I is chosen).

Successful completion of the specialization will be indicated on the student's official transcript in parentheses following the name of the academic discipline.

Doctoral Degree Program Requirements

An interdisciplinary doctoral-level specialization or minor in Women's and Gender Studies is available to any student pursuing a Ph.D. degree.

Each student will be required to complete:

  • a doctoral degree in one of the participating departments or programs;
  • twelve credit hours of courses on gender outside the student's major department approved by the Women's and Gender Studies Advisory Board. Substitutions may be made with the permission of the Advisory Board.*
  • a dissertation that addresses some issue/s relevant to Women's and Gender Studies.

Successful completion of the specialization will be indicated on the student's official transcript in parentheses following the name of the academic discipline.

*( Graduate College rules provide various options within the Ph.D. that allow students to complete the graduate specialization without adding additional hours, subject to the approval of the supervisory committee. These include supporting courses in a related field, minor field courses, and/or collateral field courses.)

 
 

Women's and Gender Studies Courses

Listed below are the courses students can choose from to complete a specialization or minor in Women's and Gender Studies. Course descriptions can be found in each department's pages in the Graduate Bulletin. With the approval of the Women's and Gender Studies Advisory Board students may substitute courses not on this list. Each semester the Program will also publish a course description booklet with the current WGS course offerings.

Department of Anthropology:
810. Women and Men: An Anthropological Perspective
816. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Aging
843. Human Osteology
844. Biology of Human Variation
876. Human Rights, Environment & Development

Department of Architecture:
581/881. Women in Design
556/856. Behavioral & Social Factors in Environmental Design

Department of Communication Studies:
850. Seminar in Gender and Communication
859. Human Communication Theory

Department of Educational Psychology:
871. Human Sexuality and Society
987. Developmental Perspectives on Gender Issues in Counseling

Department of English:
801. Gay and Lesbian Drama
813. Film Theory (with appropriate subtitle)
814. Survey of Women's Literature
814B. 20th Century Women Writers
844. African American Women's Literature
875A. Rhetorical Theory: Rhetoric of Women Writers
913. Advanced Film Theory (appropriate subtitle)
914. Seminar in Women Writers
962A. Medieval Women Writers
971A. Seminar in Literary Theory: Feminist Theory
Other seminars in English with appropriate emphases

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences:
892. Family Violence

Department of History:
802. Sexuality in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century America (cross-listed as WMNS 802)
811. Indians in American Popular Culture
836. Saints, Witches and Madwomen
841. Women and Gender in the USA (cross-listed WMNS 841)
848. History of Women and Gender in the American West (cross-listed as WMNS 848)
856. Black and/or African-American Women's History (cross-listed as WMNS 856)
864. Native American History: Special Topics (with appropriate subtitle)
868. Cultural History of Native America
921,931,932. Readings and Problems in English History (with appropriate subtitle)
951. Readings in the History of Women and Gender

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures:
FREN 898. Postcolonial Literature by Women
FREN 898. Gender in Francophone Literatures and Cultures
FREN 929. Seminar in Eroticism
GERM 898. German Women Writers and Composers
RUSS 882. Women in Russian Literature
SPAN 870. South American Women Writers
SPAN 896. Hispanic Women Writers

College of Law :
686G. Gender Issues in the Law
771. Seminar in Law

Department of Political Science:
842. Civil Liberties: Freedoms & Expressions of Conviction
843. Civil Liberties: Issues of Fairness and Equality
885. Contemporary Political Thought

Department of Psychology:
821. Psychology of Gender
871. Human Sexuality and Society (cross-listed as EDPS, FACS, SOCI 871)

Department of Sociology:
890. Sociology of Women
896. Special Topics (with appropriate subtitle)
898. Special Topics (with appropriate subtitle)
907. Seminar in Sex and Gender

Teaching, Learning & Teacher Education:
840A. Culture and Schooling: Gender
840B. Culture and Schooling: Gender and Science
840D. Culture and Schooling: Literacy, Gender and Ethnicity
921D. Seminar in Literacy Studies: Language, Culture and Education
930A. Ethnographic Methods
944A. Curriculum As Aesthetic Text
944B. Seminar in Curriculum Studies: Curriculum as Gendered Text

Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design:
807. History of Costume
808. History of Textiles
810. Socio-Psychological Aspects of Clothing

Women's and Gender Studies :
885. Feminist Theories/ Feminist Perspectives