The University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Academics

Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies

This independent interdisciplinary program is designed to broaden and enrich disciplinary scholarship for students enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree granting program. The purpose of the certificate is to enable students interested in feminist scholarship to pursue a coherent, integrated curriculum in the field and to credential them as knowledgeable in Feminist Studies, thus qualifying them for positions requiring such expertise.   Students completing the certificate will have the opportunity to bring a feminist perspective to bear on the practices and ideas of their own discipline, thereby increasing the body of feminist theory and research. 

The curriculum is designed to ground students in the evolving tradition of feminist scholarship while supporting them as they utilize a feminist perspective within their own fields of study. The certificate emphasizes the development of feminist theory, research and analytical skills from an integrative and intersectional perspective, meaning by this the interaction of race, class, gender and sexuality in a national and/or global perspective. Students are required to complete a set of five requirements

  • WGSS 701 (offered in fall) - Geneaologies of Feminist Thought (formerly WGSS 791B - Feminist Theory)
  • WGSS 705 (offered every spring) – Feminist Epistemologies and Interdisciplinary Methodologies (formerly WGSS 691B - Issues in Feminist Research)
  • 3 electives from the WGSS Course Guide.   At least two of the three electives should be courses taught by WGSS core faculty and selected from the designated options in the WGSS course guide  The course guide is published before registration every semester.   

 

DEADLINE FOR ADMISSION IS MARCH 1. 
Click for Application and information

Many students apply to the certificate program having already begun coursework, but we strongly encourage applying early. A maximum of two courses completed prior to acceptance can be applied towards the certificate, including those taken in the Spring of application. Because the application process occurs annually in the Spring, it is highly recommended that interested students apply early in their coursework. This requirement is meant to engage them early in the intellectual life of the program.  If there are extenuating circumstances that require a student to count more than two courses that were taken before acceptance into the program, please explain these and they will be taken into consideration. However, we cannot guarantee that all previous courses will be counted without compelling reasons.

Contact Laura Ciolkowski, Associate Director of Graduate Program 

Contact Angela Willey, Graduate Program Director

Contact Linda Hillenbrand to be added to the Graduate Student listserv. 
Announcements about new classes, applications and jobs (on and off campus) etc. will be announced on this listserv.