Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Concentration (GR)

About the Program

As a program affilated with the Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs (OIGP), the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Concentration empowers students to critically assess the historical and social context and meanings attached to the categories of “man” and “woman” as well as the importance of gender identities that exist outside and beyond that dichotomy. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to examine systematically the role and politics of sexuality and interrogate the discriminatory practices disadvantaging those who reject or fall outside of compulsory heteronormativity. The program sponsors student engagement on issues central to feminism, promotes equality for all people regardless of the way they express their gender or sexuality, and nurtures academic research and scholarly inquiry that supports these core values.

Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs Website

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Website

Program Requirements - M.S./M.A.

12 Credits Required

Program Requirements - Ph.D.

15 Credits Required

Additional Requirements - Anthropology

Courses in Anthropology pre-approved for this concentration are listed below. Choose one course if an M.S./M.A. student, or two if a Ph.D. student. Alternatively, students can complete graduate-level courses that have been cross-listed under both Anthropology and WGSS rubrics. For courses that do not fall in either of these two categories, student may submit syllabi to the WGSS director (either pre- or post-enrollment) to confirm their content satisfies the criteria for this concentration. The courses may also count toward the major in ANTH as well as toward fulfilling the requirements in the concentration.

• ANTH 50500 - Culture And Society Credits: 3.00
• ANTH 56500 - Sociolinguistics Credits: 3.00
• ANTH 59200 - Selected Topics In Anthropology Credits: 1.00 to 3.00 (Must be approved by Anthropology faculty affiliaged with WGSS.)
• ANTH 62000 - Special Topics In Cultural Anthropology Credits: 3.00 (Must be approved by Anthropology faculty affiliaged with WGSS.)

Additional Requirements - History

Courses in History pre-approved for this concentration are listed below. Choose one course if an M.S./M.A. student, or two if a Ph.D. student. Alternatively, students can complete graduate-level courses that have been cross-listed under both History and WGSS rubrics. For courses that do not fall in either of these two categories, student may submit syllabi to the WGSS director (either pre- or post-enrollment) to confirm their content satisfies the criteria for this concentration. The courses may also count toward the major in History as well as toward fulfilling the requirements in the concentration.

• HIST 59000 - Directed Reading In History Credits: 1.00 to 3.00
• HIST 64100 - Reading Seminar In Global History Credits: 3.00 Title: Gender
• HIST 64200 - Seminar In Global History Credits: 3.00 Title: Gender
• HIST 65100 - Reading Seminar In American History Credits: 1.00 to 3.00 Title: U.S. Women’s History after 1860

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Achieve a scholarly level of understanding of commonality, difference, and diversity through interdisciplinary courses.
• Produce, promote, and advance knowledge, scholarship, theory, research, pedagogy, education, and action in the service of three overlapping feminist goals:
  • Understanding and improving women’s lives and status;
  • Revealing the operations and consequences of gender, sexuality, and other critical axes of identity and power relations such as race, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, ability, etc., as constitutive and intertwined elements of sociality; and
  • Eliminating discriminatory practices and inequalities based on gender, sexual orientation, and other critical axes of identity such as race, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, ability, etc.

Additional Information

Participating programs:

• American Studies, MA  & American Studies, PHD 
• Anthropology, MS  & Anthropology, PHD  
• Communication, MA , Communication, MS , & Communication, MS (OL) 
• Curriculum and Instruction, MSED or MS  & Curriculum and Instruction, PHD 
• English, MA , English: Literature, Theory, Cultural Studies Concentration, PHD , & English: Rhetoric and Composition Concentration, PHD  
• History, MA  & History, PHD  
• Languages and Cultures, MA  & Languages and Cultures, PHD  
• Linguistics, MA  & Linguistics, PHD  
• Philosophy and Literature, PHD 
• Philosophy, MA  & Philosophy, PHD  
• Political Science, MA  & Political Science, PHD 
• Sociology, MS , Sociology, PHD , & Sociology/Gerontology, PHD  
• Technology, PHD 

Graduate Programs Disclaimer

• The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Students should consult with their advisor/department for more information.
• Not all graduate programs may be actively recruiting students and course modality availability may vary. 
• Please refer to the Explore Graduate Programs website for a list of currently available graduate programs.
• Transfer credit policy: Credits earned for graduate study at other universities (both domestic and international) may be applied toward an advanced degree. Only credit hours associated with graduate courses for which grades of B- or better were obtained will be eligible for transfer. Any additional conditions under which credit transfers may be made are determined by the various departments.
• Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.