Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies

The Women's Studies Program offers a 15-hour graduate certificate in Women's Studies. The certificate is available to students who are currently pursuing a graduate degree or who already have a graduate degree. The purpose of the certificate is to expose students to the rapidly expanding interdisciplinary scholarship on women that might otherwise be neglected in their traditional curricula. Interested graduate students must first contact the program advisor to submit an application and to select an interdisciplinary program of study.

All certificate candidates are required to take WMST 6010 Introduction to Feminist Theories and WMST 8010 Women and the Construction of Knowledge. (This course was formerly numbered 7010 and may not be repeated for credit.) WMST 6010 is a prerequisite for WMST 8010. The nine hours remaining will be drawn primarily from the Primary Course Options listed below. Primary Courses are devoted exclusively or primarily to topics pertaining to women or gender. With permission, a student may include one three-hour Related Course. Related Courses, while not having a major focus on women or gender, have units devoted to these topics or provide opportunities for students enrolled to structure their independent research and reading efforts on Women's Studies. The program advisor can provide information on current related courses.

Alternatively, a student may take a three-hour Directed Research course either in a department or in Women's Studies (WMST 7950). Directed readings or independent research hours will be allowed if: 1. the research focuses on a Women's Studies-related topic and 2. the Director receives and approves, prior to the student's enrollment in the course, a statement from the student and instructor outlining the goals and content of the course. The student must file a copy of the final paper with the Program Office.

A list of graduate courses can be found in the Student Handbook. Students are not required to take WMST 6010 and 8010 before taking other courses on the list. However, departmental prerequisites do apply. Students should consult the current Graduate Bulletin for the prerequisites set by the respective departments for all the courses listed.

Graduate Certificate Required Courses (6 hours)
WMST 6010 and WMST 8010

Primary Course Options (6 - 9 hours)
See the Student Handbook for list of courses

Directed Research or Related Course Option (0 - 3 hours)
WMST 7950 Directed Research in Women's Studies. 3 hours
or
Approved departmental directed research or related course. 3 hours.

As with the undergraduate certificate, appropriate substitutions may be petitioned. No more than two courses in the same department (or courses with the same prefix) and no more than two courses with the same instructor may be taken. A minimum grade of "B" in each course is required for graduate certificate credit.

*Download the Application for the Graduate Certificate

Please contact Dr. Patricia Richards and Dr. Susan Thomas at iwsgrad@uga.edu, for more information about a Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies or phone (706-542-2846).