PhD Degree Requirements
A minimum of 135 graduate credit hours, at least 90 of which must be earned beyond the Master's degree. A General Candidacy Examination covering the course work, followed by completion and defense of a dissertation comprising an original work of scholarship.Course Work
Required Core Theory Courses: 30 credit hours
- Women's Studies 700: Introduction to Graduate Studies (5 credit hours)
- Women's Studies 702: Teaching Women's Studies (5 credit hours)
- Women's Studies 710: Theorizing Difference (5 credit hours)
- Women's Studies 720: Theorizing Gender, Power, and Change (5 credit hours)
- Women's Studies 740: Theorizing Gender Representation (5 credit hours)
- Women's Studies 760: Feminist Methodology (5 credit hours)
Fields of Specialization: 55 Credit Hours
Students will select one major and two equally-weighted minor fields as their areas of specialization. The fields of specialization will provide the framework for course selection beyond the core courses and structure the candidacy exam. The fields of specialization are:- Latina and Black Women's Studies
- The State, Economies and Social Action
- Sexuality Studies
- Visual and Narrative Cultures
- Global Feminisms
Coursework and exam preparation should reflect the intersection of each field of specialization with the three lines of inquiry emphasized in the core courses:
- difference and diversity
- gender, power, and social change
- gender representation
Transfer of Credit
Students with master's degrees from other institutions should confer with their advisors during the first quarter in residency about receiving and applying transfer credit to their program of study.Language Requirement
PhD students are required to demonstrate oral and written proficiency in a language other than English. Students should demonstrate the capability of using at least one language other than their first language. Depending on the student's dissertation topic and area of specialization, the advisor may require proficiency in additional languages.Candidacy Examinations
The candidacy exam will generally be taken during autumn quarter of the 3rd year in the PhD program. The exam is expected to allow the student to demonstrate mastery of the broad range of ideas covered in the major and minor fields. The student should also be able to discuss the intersection of each specialization area with the lines of inquiry: difference and diversity; gender, power, and social change; gender representation.Dissertation
Subsequent to successful completion of the Candidacy Examination, students will complete the research and writing of an original work of scholarship, the dissertation, supervised by the student's advisor. Students are strongly encouraged to file a dissertation prospectus the quarter after they pass the candidacy exam.PhD candidates are encouraged to seek funding for their dissertation research from all available sources, including outside the university.
Graduate Progression Policy
The Women's Studies Graduate Program supports and strongly adheres to the University's Graduate School Handbook rule that states, "a student must maintain a graduate cumulative point-hour ratio (CPHR) of 3.0 or better in all graduate credit courses and must maintain reasonable progress" to be considered in "good standing" (II.4.1).Graduate students in the Department of Women's Studies must also earn no less than a B- in any course for the course to be counted toward the 135 credits required to complete the PhD degree in Women's Studies.
