Graduate Program Links
- WS Grad Program Home
M.A. in Women's Studies
PhD in Women's Studies
- PhD Admissions Criteria
- PhD Overview
- PhD Degree Requirements
- Graduate Minor in Women's Studies
- Graduate Minor Overview
- Graduate Minor Requirements
Applications & Funding
- Admissions Procedures
- Financial Support
Other Information
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Ohio State Links

Overview of the PhD Program in Women's Studies

The Women's Studies Graduate Program at The Ohio State University offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree that prepares students for careers in research, teaching, government agencies, political and educational organizations, and foundations.

Our commitment is to remain a national leader in the development of Women's Studies as an academic field. PhD students are expected to demonstrate a strong theoretical background in women's studies, pass a candidacy examination covering a primary and two secondary specializations, and successfully prepare and defend a dissertation.

PhD Program Philosophy

Central to our mission is an emphasis on interdisciplinary research and scholarship. Our program is organized not around disciplines but around feminist lines of inquiry that cut across disciplines and traditional categories of knowledge. Students take courses that emphasize the use of these categories:

difference and diversity
gender representation
gender, power, and social change

PhD Specializations

Within the categories of knowledge, our program offers five fields of specialization:

Latina and Black Women's Studies
Sexuality Studies
Visual and Narrative Cultures
States, Economies, and Social Action
Global Feminisms

Acceptance Criteria

Prospective PhD students should have a Master's degree in Women's Studies or a strongly related field. We also recommend that applicants have a thorough grounding in feminist theory.

Successful applicants to the Women's Studies PhD program have had GPAs of 3.4 or higher. The GRE General Test is recommended for all applicants and required for those seeking fellowships; there is no minimum GRE score.

Applicants are judged on the basis of letters of recommendation, statements of interest, GPA and writing sample, and GRE/TOEFL scores. Applicants to the PhD program from the OSU Women's Studies M.A. program are evaluated on the same criteria as those applying from other schools.

Please note that admission to the Women's Studies PhD Program at OSU is very competitive. We admit approximately 15% of applications received: 3-4 new PhD students each year. Experience has shown that the best predictors of success in our program are GPA and the Women's Studies course and degree requirements. We highly recommend that students who do not have this background acquire it before applying.

Additional Information

Use the links on this page for more information about PhD degree requirements, graduate funding, coursework, faculty, and the application process.

For more information about the PhD program, contact Pat Drillien, the Graduate Studies Coordinator at (614) 292-1021 in The Department of Women's Studies at OSU.

The complete text of the Women's Studies Graduate Handbook [PDF] is available on-line.