phd in gender studies

Gender Studies, PHD

On this page:, at a glance: program details.

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

The Gender Studies doctoral program accepts applications for incoming cohorts in odd years only. The next admit term is Fall 2025 (applications due in December 2024). Please contact [email protected] with questions.

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Gender Studies

The PhD program in gender studies is housed in the nation's first School of Social Transformation. The inclusive gender studies doctoral program empowers tomorrow's scholars and community leaders by immersing students in:

• creative and critical knowledge production
• deep fluency in feminist theory, methodology and praxis
• publicly engaged academic research

Courses in the gender studies program examine key topics related to gender. These include gendered dimensions of social structures, institutions and organizations; the ways in which policies and laws affect gender relations; the intersections of race, gender, sexualities and citizenship in a transnational world; historical and contemporary representations of gender across genres (e.g., popular culture; social media; scientific, medical, historical and legal discourse); and processes of social change, social movements and community development.

Students can choose to specialize in a wide variety of topic areas:

• activism and social movements
• BIPOC feminisms
• critical globalization and development studies
• critical refugee studies
• feminist social reproduction theory
• immigration and migration
• popular culture studies
• queer of color critique
• reproductive justice
• transnational feminisms

Degree Requirements

Curriculum plan options.

• 84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (12 credit hours) WST 601 Critical Concepts of Gender (3) WST 602 Mapping the Intersections of Gender (3) WST 603 Engendering Methodology (3) WST 701 Research Design and Proposal Development in Gender Studies (3)

Elective Coursework in Methodology (6 credit hours)

Elective Coursework in Specialization (12 credit hours)

General Electives (30 credit hours)

Research (12 credit hours)

Dissertation (12 credit hours) WST 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used for this degree. If students do not have a previously awarded master's degree, they select 30 hours of elective coursework with academic unit approval to reach the required 84 credit hours.

Students should see the academic unit for a complete list of approved electives.

Students must maintain an average GPA of 3.50 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in their courses.

The gender studies doctoral program is designed to provide students with the transdisciplinary training in theory and methods needed to conduct original research and scholarship about gender. Thus, students also take two research methods courses relevant to their dissertation, chosen in consultation with their faculty advisor.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The gender studies program welcomes applications from qualified students without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex or national origin. Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admission application and application fee
• official copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts
• resume or curriculum vitae
• statement of purpose
• three letters of reference, preferably from faculty or other researchers
• writing sample (10 to 15 pages)
• proof of English language proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

Students should see the ASU Admission Services website for mailing addresses and further admission information.

For additional financial information, students should consult the tuition and aid website.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, learning outcomes.

• Integrate and apply the core theories of gender in the field of Women and Gender Studies.
• Evaluate and apply core methodologies in the field of Women and Gender Studies.
• Examine and apply intersectionality as a foundational framework in the field of Women and Gender Studies.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program have gone on to careers at universities, research and policy institutes, government organizations and nonprofit organizations.

Global Opportunities

Global experience.

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-7682

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PhD Overview

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Introduction

The University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies offers a full-time and part-time PhD programme in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies. Through lectures, seminars, workshops, public events, and especially work with a supervisor from any department or faculty at the University of Cambridge, students will develop both general knowledge of the field(s) of gender studies as well as specific knowledge related to their own research project. Students will gain advanced methodological training suitable to conduct their own research from both in-house seminars and workshops and from supporting programmes around Cambridge. PhD students receive training in a wide variety of academic skills such as engagement with other scholars in seminars, and preparation for academic publishing and the job market. They will also have the opportunity to gain teaching skills, to organise their own conferences, and to participate in various forms of public engagement and other aspects of academic life as part of a lively and supportive community of scholars from UCCGS, and around the University and beyond. 

The PhD in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies is structured as a three year programme with an expectation that PhD students will submit a full draft of their thesis at the end of the third year or soon after. Students should submit their thesis for examination by viva during their 4th year, if not before. From 2023, the PhD in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies will also be offered as a part-time programme, which students will be expected to complete over the course of 5-7 years.

The PhD in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies programme includes a PhD seminar, a Multi-disciplinary gender research seminar, a series of speaker events and for those who have not read the MPhil in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies, two further courses:

• Theory, Controversy and Methodology (MGS 1)
• Gender and Methods (MGS 2)

Theory, Controversy and Methodology is organised as a set of lectures that will focus on examples of key thinkers. The lectures will be followed by seminars organised around group discussion of texts that either draw methodologically on the approaches portrayed in the lectures, or texts that critique them. In this way, and across the course, the aim is for students to see how ideas travel through texts, theoretical debates and disciplines enabling development of innovative approaches.

Gender and Methods  provides students with practical training for their thesis research. This element of the programme is organised as a combination of both internal and centrally run methods sessions tailored to research interests.

 [NB: Students who have completed the MPhil in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies need not follow MGS 1 and MGS 2]. 

Each PhD student will work with a Principal Supervisor who will guide their research. Students are required to successfully complete their first year assessment in order to register fully for the PhD programme and are required to undergo two further annual reviews.

PhDs in Multi-disciplinary Gender Studies emerge prepared for a wide variety of careers in academia and related fields such as governments, NGOs, media, advocacy, and more.

Throughout the programme, students are encouraged to debate ideas and concepts and will have the opportunity to interact with world-leading experts in gender theory including the  Diane Middlebrook and Carl Djerassi Visiting Professorship.

In addition to the two core courses above, the Multi-disciplinary Gender Research Seminar will convene at least four times a term Michaelmas (Autumn) and Lent (Spring) only. The purpose of this seminar series is to present front-line research in the multi-disciplinary study of Gender by senior scholars within and beyond Cambridge, as well as by junior academics, post-doctoral research fellows and advanced graduate students. These seminars will also be a compulsory component of the PhD. 

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Feminist Studies Doctoral Program

The Graduate Program in Feminist Studies has a strong interdisciplinary orientation. Intersectional, Decolonial, Indigenous, Queer and Transnational feminisms foreground our studies of gender, sex, and sexuality in the US and elsewhere. Our core faculty specializes in research informed by Black Studies, Latina/o Studies, Asian American Studies, Latin America, East Asia and South Asia Studies and the disciplines including Anthropology, Cultural Studies, History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. In addition to our core faculty, nearly 100 adjunct and affiliate faculty from departments across the university offer courses and expertise to our students.

See Faculty for additional information about our doctoral program faculty and their research interests.

Our History

The Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020. We started as a program in Women Studies in 1970 and became a department, with our own tenure lines in 1996. Our doctoral program, which began in 1998, awarded its first PhDs in 2006. Since then 29 students have successfully completed their PhDs in Feminist Studies. In 2011, we changed our name to Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies to better describe the scope and direction of the program.

Applying to the Program

Students applying to this program must have a strong academic background in Women, Feminist, Sexuality or Gender Studies.  Applicants may have a bachelors or masters degree in any interdiscipline or discipline but should have a record of academic coursework or activism that includes study of such subjects as feminist theory and/or empirical and/or theoretical analysis of race, class, sexuality, and gender.

Program Requirements

Students pursuing the Ph.D. must complete at least 60 credits of course work, which include 20 credits of core seminars: GWSS 501: History of Feminism; GWSS 502: Cross Disciplinary Feminist Theory; and GWSS 503: Feminist Research and Methods of Inquiry, taken sequentially; GWSS 504: Philosophies and Techniques of Teaching, and 40 credits of coursework in research methods and the student's areas of concentration.

Ph.D. students take a written and oral General Examination at the end of course work, usually in the third year of study. Within four weeks of the exam students are expected to submit a dissertation proposal and present it to their committee for discussion and approval. On successful completion of the exam and proposal defense, students are admitted to candidacy for the PhD. This marks the beginning of more intensive dissertation research.

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits of dissertation research culminating in a publishable dissertation.

Preparing for Your Future

Our Ph.D. program is designed to prepare students for scholarly careers in feminist research and teaching interdisciplinary gender, women, and sexuality studies and/or related disciplines at the university/college level. Graduates of our Ph.D. program may also find employment with governmental agencies, non-governmental agencies (NGO's) and non-profit organizations working on social issues.

In recent years, our graduates have taken tenure-track positions at major universities, postdoctoral fellowships, research positions, directorships of Women’s Centers, and leadership positions in international organizations. 

Our Departmental Expertise

The UW department of Gender, Women and Sexuality  is reputed for scholarly expertise in women of color and transnational feminisms. We have growing foci in digital humanities, where we are well-known for innovative experimental exchanges with communities through music, dance, and visual cultures, and in queer studies, especially queer of color and transnational queer scholarship.

Funding Your Graduate Studies

Incoming students, domestic and international, are typically offered at least a fifteen-quarter funding package comprised of a combination of department-based research and teaching assistantships and University-wide fellowship funding secured through the department, subject to satisfactory performance (which is reviewed annually). Because of our desire to work intensively with each of our doctoral students and to fund our students through the majority of their graduate training, admission to the graduate program is highly competitive. We typically admit about two to four new students each year. Students with disabilities, as confirmed by Disabilities Resource Services, may qualify for additional funding.

Feminist Studies Doctoral Program Pamphlet (PDF)

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UCLA Graduate Programs

Graduate Program: Gender Studies

UCLA's Graduate Program in Gender Studies offers the following degree(s):

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Masters available on Doctoral track

• Admission Requirements
• Program Statistics

With questions not answered here or on the program’s site (above), please contact the program directly.

Gender Studies Graduate Program at UCLA 1120 Rolfe Hall Box 951504 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1504

Visit the Gender Studies’s faculty roster

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Visit the registrar's site for the Gender Studies’s course descriptions

(310) 206-8101

[email protected] [email protected]

MAJOR CODE: GENDER STUDIES

• Reserve WLH 309

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Combined phd program in wgss.

The WGSS Program at Yale is proud to announce our new Combined PhD degree! We are thrilled to work with a new generation of scholars committed to feminist and queer inquiry, and to researching gender and sexuality across axes of difference and inequality. Our faculty work on questions of gender and sexuality from a wide range of theoretical and methodological locations, concentrating our attention on transnational politics and security regimes, public law and sexual violence, reproduction and reproductive technologies, incarceration, social movements and protest, race and racism, neoliberalism, and Islam. We hope you will join us to pursue your WGSS scholarship.

Students may pursue a Combined PhD in WGSS with one of our five spartnering departments: African American Studies , American Studies , Anthropology , English or Sociology .

Program Requirements

In their first two years of study, students in the Combined PhD program will complete Introduction to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS 600), Feminist and Queer Theory (WGSS 700), Methods in Gender & Sexuality Studies (WGSS 800)* and one elective.  Typically, electives taken in the student’s partnering Department will be cross-titled with WGSS or will substantively examine gender and sexuality.  Students will enroll for two sequential semesters in WGSS 900, Colloquium & Working Group.  The Colloquium and Working Group convene several Monday evenings throughout the semester; faculty and graduate students present works in progress.

*The WGSS DGS will determine, case-by-case, whether or not the methods course offered by the student’s primary department fulfills our methods requirement.

WGSS 600: Introduction to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies (typically offered fall semester)

Introduction to women’s, gender, and sexuality studies as a field of knowledge and to the interdiscipline’s structuring questions and tensions. The course genealogizes feminist and queer knowledge production, and the institutionalization of WGSS, by examining several of our key terms.

WGSS 700: Feminist & Queer Theory (typically offered spring semester)

Survey of feminist and queer theoretic contestations, focusing both on historical foundations and contemporary articulations. Students examine the Marxist, critical race, postcolonial, transnational and liberal philosophical coordinates of feminist and queer theories.

WGSS 800: Methods in Gender & Sexuality Studies (offered alternate years)

A practical forum that explores interdisciplinary methods and modes of analysis and evidence building for research in WGSS. Examines interventions from cultural studies, archive studies, ethnography, STS and media studies. Foci on the historicity of knowledge production, ethical research, and scholarship examining (what’s “feminist” or “queer” about) feminist and queer methods.

Teaching Fellowship

WGSS Combined PhD students will typically teach or serve as a teaching fellow in their third and fourth years in the program, unless their dissertation research plans require other arrangements. The courses will usually be WGSS-titled and undergraduate level.

Dissertation Proposal

Students in their third year of study will undertake a dissertation proposal workshop with faculty from the WGSS program.

Dissertation

Students will typically research and write their dissertations in their final two- to three-years of study. At least one faculty committee member of the student’s dissertation will hold a primary, tenured or tenure-track appointment in WGSS.

How to Apply

To apply to the Combined PhD in WGSS (and AFAM, AMST, ANTH, ENGL or SOCY), please visit the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences admissions page .   The deadline to submit an application to a combined program is always the earlier deadline of the two individual programs, or December 15, whichever comes first.

Requirements for Transfer into the Combined Ph.D. Program

Students already pursuing a Ph.D. in one of the five partnering departments and programs listed above may apply for transfer into the combined Ph.D. in WGSS.

Interested students should submit a departmental transfer request form and a 2-3 page statement of interest describing why you wish to pursue the Combined Ph.D. to wgss.dgs@yale.edu .  Please indicate whether you have completed WGSS 600 and/or WGSS 900, and if not, when you intend to do so.  Your statement of interest should also outline a plan of completion for any outstanding WGSS course requirements.     Only current students in the first or second year of their degree study in American Studies, Anthropology, English, and Sociology are eligible to apply.  (Interested students in their *first* year of other Ph.D. programmes may apply to do an ad hoc combined degree with WGSS, but must first get permission from their current DGS.  See here for more information about ad hoc joint degrees.) 

For admission in fall 2024, please submit your form and statement of interest to wgss.dgs@yale.edu by 15 December 2023. The WGSS graduate admissions committee hopes to inform applicants of its decisions in early March 2024.

Still have questions? Please see the  Combined PhD FAQs .

Ph.D. Program in Gender and Women’s Studies

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Our Program

The PhD degree in Gender and Women’s Studies provides advanced feminist training for students with a variety of academic backgrounds and career plans. The degree engages the multidisciplinary perspectives associated with gender studies, including queer studies, transgender studies, sexuality studies, race and ethnicity studies, postcolonial and settler-colonial studies, disability studies, area and global studies, cultural studies, and art, visual culture, and performance studies.

Faculty and students in our program, often working within other departments as well, develop scholarly expertise in areas such as: Gender and Health; LGBTQ2SIA+ Studies; Visual Culture, Art, and Performance Studies; Disability Studies; Gender and Sexuality in History; Gender and Politics; Psychology, Gender, and Sexuality; Transnational, Postcolonial, and Settler Colonial Studies; Care Work, Community Action, and Social Movements.

A unique feature of the Wisconsin PhD program in GWS is that all students complete a 15-credit concentration (mostly) outside GWS. The concentration may be in a traditional discipline (e.g., History or Political Science) or an interdisciplinary area (e.g., Gender and Health, or LGBTQ+ Studies). With the concentration, students will have expanded options on the academic and non-academic job markets, and they will learn research methods and content that will be useful for their dissertation and research beyond that. For more information, see the Concentration tab.

The Department benefits from numerous campus resources including a dedicated Office and Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian, the McBurney Disability Resource Center, the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center, and other vital resources that may be found under the Campus Resources tab.

Land Acknowledgement

From Land Acknowledgement to Action – a Bibliography from the Office of the Gender & Women’s Studies Librarian

Diversity Statement