The Graduate Programs in Women’s Studies and Gender Studies draw from a variety of departments and programs on campus to analyze how knowledge is shaped by power (especially around the intersecting axes of gender, sexuality, and race) and to create new pathways for promoting social justice.

The WSGS community at Loyola is broadly interdisciplinary; culturally and intellectually diverse; tight-knit and supportive; politically and socially engaged; and committed to open-ended critique, inquiry, and invention.

Curriculum

The Master of Arts in Women's Studies and Gender Studies requires 30 credit hours of courses plus a capstone project (WSGS 599).

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Required Courses
WSGS 401	History of Feminist Thought (Offered every fall)	3
WSGS 402	Foundations of Women's Studies (Offered every spring)	3
One Global Feminisms course 1		3
WSGS 450	Global Feminisms
Select seven elective courses 2		18
WSGS 460	Migration, Identity, Sexuality
WSGS 455	Feminist Pedagogy
WSGS 470	Sexual Assault Advocacy
WSGS 475	Masculinity Studies: Equity, Race, Transformation
WSGS 480	Queer Theory
WSGS 497	Topics in Women's Studies and Gender Studies
WSGS 498	Practicum
WSGS 499	Independent Study
WSGS 595	Thesis Supervision 3	0
WSGS 500	Thesis Research	3
Total Hours		30

¹

The third core requirement is a course that explores feminism/gender in a global dimension; a number of different courses can satisfy this requirement.

²

Some graduate level electives are offered through other departments, including English, History, Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, Theology, Communications, Law, and Social Work. Students must select three electives to apply to a track of study (detailed below).

³

WSGS 500 Thesis Research and WSGS 595 Thesis Supervision are taken by students who elect to write a thesis for the MA rather than a capstone.

Tracks of Study

Students must choose one of the following concentration tracks for at least three of their electives. Dual-degree students will not be required to choose a concentration beyond their dual degree, but they may organize their electives around a concentration if they choose.

• Global and Transnational
• Gender and Violence
• Bodies and Sexualities
• Religion and Ethics
• Expressive Arts
• Self-designed concentration (must be approved by the Graduate Program Director based on a written statement explaining the merits of the proposed course of study)

Responsible Conduct of Research

All PhD students and students in thesis-based Master's degree programs must successfully complete UNIV 370 Responsible Conduct in Research and Scholarship or other approved coursework in responsible conduct of research as part of the degree requirements. It is strongly recommended that students complete this two-day training before beginning the dissertation/thesis stage of the program.

Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations

Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supersede school policies.

Learning Outcomes

Upon graduating, Graduate Women’s Studies and Gender Studies students will be able to:
 

• Identify major influences within key historic feminist/gender studies movements. These influences may include activists, authors and/or writings, or legislation both in and outside the US.
• Articulate and understand how women’s and gender studies is a distinct and fundamental field of study intimately connected to other interdisciplinary academic disciplines.
• Evaluate, compare, and analyze gender and feminist theories and methodologies from both an intersectional and social justice lens.
• Identify and examine the intersections of identities (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, nationality, etc.) and assess the ways in which they contribute to instances of privilege and power dynamics across global cultures, space, and time.
• Conduct research by privileging Feminist, Queer, and/or other Gender Studies methodologies.