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Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

Graduate

Women standing in a row

“I feel prepared and excited to use what I’m learning here—about how gender intersects with race, economics, sexuality, nationality—in both my professional and activist work, and in my life as a woman, consumer, and citizen.”
—Diana McCarley, Program Alum
“[My Thesis] project has shown me that there is a way to blend technical tools like wikis and databases with feminist ethics of breaking down barriers to knowledge.”
—Tim D’Annecy, Program Alum

Graduate Work in Women’s Studies

A Master’s degree in Women’s Studies prepares you for doctoral study or professional work in a broad range of disciplines or careers and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies enhances your graduate study in your discipline. Our MA and graduate certificate students are prepared for and pursue further study in english, history, law, media studies, medicine, psychology, sociology, and more. They pursue careers in teaching, research, social policy making, nongovernmental organizations, health and human services, and the arts and performance. Students pursuing interdisciplinary graduate work in the Department learn about feminist, intersectional, and other theoretical approaches and methodologies for examining the roles of gender, race/ethnicity, sexualities, and other sociocultural systems, and they learn about how to TRANSFORM these systems. Please read our latest Graduate Handbook for more details about all that we offer in the Department! For more information about the University of Florida’s Graduate School, please click on this link to see the Graduate School’s Graduate Handbook.

MA Degrees

We offer the MA degree in Women’s Studies, with thesis and non-thesis MA options. We also offer combined MA/JD degrees and accelerated BA/MA degrees. Students typically complete the MA in 4 semesters. The MA degree requires 30 credits, including three core courses (9-credits) that provide a strong foundation in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, and additional elective credits that students can choose from a wide range of exciting options:

  • Data Feminisms
  • Ecofeminism
  • LGBTQ+ Health
  • Global Women of Color
  • Feminist Methods
  • Jobs, Gender, Justice
  • LGBTQ+ Movements & Activisms
  • Race, Sex & Representation
  • Critical Girlhood Studies

Vibrant Community of Scholars

The Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Research has 11 core faculty members and over 100 affiliate faculty members. These faculty members have expertise in gender, race/ethnicity, and sexualities/LGBTQ+ studies, feminist intersectional analysis, and transnational feminist analysis. They apply this expertise in the study of critical domains such as collective identity and activism, health and medicine, law and politics, leadership and business, literatures and cultures, media and art, and social movements. We also have a strong group of MA students, graduate certificate students, and graduate affiliate students from around the country and the world who are engaged in our program.

Student Funding

Assistantships with tuition remission as well as fellowships and other scholarships are available for Women’s Studies MA students. Financial aid applications should be submitted with admission materials. Honorably discharged veterans eligible for in state tuition.

Note on postbaccalaureate study – The graduate school has specific guidelines for students to apply for postbaccalaureate enrollment to take graduate classes that are not as part of a degree program. Please note that “postbaccalaureate students may enroll in graduate courses, but graduate credit is not generally accepted by the Graduate School for transfer.” Click here for more details