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The MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture is a highly interdisciplinary programme that will:
This approach is unique within the UK as it brings together scholars who offer options in a range of academic disciplines, including English and American Studies, Art History or Visual Culture, History, Modern Language, Religions and Theology, History of Medicine, Sociology, Social Anthropology, and others. The research culture of the University of Manchester is unusually rich for the study of gender and sexuality, and many departments with offerings in this area are ranked 5 or 5*. Based in the Centre for the Study of Sexuality and Culture, graduate students can take advantage of the stimulating research environment with regular seminar series such as Gender, Sexuality and Culture: New Exchanges and conferences.
Students from all academic backgrounds are invited to apply.
Students may take a range of options across the humanities and social sciences.
Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: [email protected]
Students in our programme have gone on to take up a diverse range of careers in both the public and private sectors. Some have gone on to pursue postgraduate research, and several have taken up jobs as teachers.
The MRes in Sexuality and Gender Studies is an example of truly interdisciplinary collaboration, staffed by academics from a range of disciplines, each bringing their specific expertise to bear on the topics under discussion.
The programme introduces you to a range of theoretical and methodological issues and debates, which have characterised the development of sexuality and gender studies in the twentieth century. These include: feminist theory, masculinity studies, queer theory, postcolonial theory, psychoanalysis, ethnography, sexology, and criminology.
The MRes programme focuses on research and, as such, is broken down into three modules and a thesis, totalling 180 credits:
The course aims to ensure that, at the end of the programme, you are able to:
The programme provides you with sophisticated theoretical frameworks and methodologies with which to approach issues of sexuality and gender in a range of texts (literary, visual, film, dramatic) and in socio-cultural contexts. It ensures a solid methodological foundation for your own exploration of sexuality and/ or gender in your chosen area.
It also gives you the opportunity to specialise in the following (and other) chosen disciplines:
The interdisciplinary nature of this programme means that there are a wide range of research centres, groups, and seminars across the University to which you have access.
Most obviously, you will be an integral member of the interdisciplinary network of researchers in Sexuality and Gender studies, who are pursuing exciting cutting-edge work. There is a thriving postgraduate-led forum, ROLES, which organises regular seminars, reading groups, and an annual postgraduate conference.
You will also become part of, and contribute to, the lively international community of the College of Arts and Law Graduate School, which offers dedicated research resources and a supportive working environment. Our team of academic and operational staff are on hand to offer support and advice to all postgraduate students within the College.
Your degree will provide excellent preparation for employment and this will be further enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University.
The University's Careers Network provides advice and information specifically for postgraduates that will help you to develop an effective career and skills development strategy, and to make the most of your time with us at the University. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated careers and employability team to deliver tailored programmes of careers events and local support.
You will have opportunities to: meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs; attend employer presentations and skills workshops; receive individual guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique; and access to comprehensive listings of hundreds of graduate jobs and work experience opportunities.
You will also be able to access our full range of careers support for up to two years after graduation.
Postgraduate employability: Modern Languages
Birmingham's Modern Languages postgraduates develop excellent communication skills, whilst cultural awareness and foreign language skills are highly sought after by employers. Postgraduates in Modern Languages also have a range of transferable skills including the ability to gather and interpret information, organisational skills and the ability to work well with others. Such skills can be used in a variety of occupations.
In 2015/16, over 95% of Modern Languages postgraduates were in work and/or further study six months after graduation. Some of our language graduates train to become professional linguists such as translators and interpreters. Other graduates enter employment where their language skills may be advantageous but not central to their role - for example, within international organisations or in the travel and hospitality industry - and some go on to teaching or lecturing positions. Employers that graduates have gone on to work for include: Berlitz Language Centre; TransPerfect Global Business Solutions; KPMG; University of Birmingham; University of Cambridge; and University of Oxford.
The MSc Gender is a flexible degree which offers you the opportunity to develop expertise in the fullest possible range of gender theories, and stresses the significance of gender for knowledge and research design.
You are trained in how to treat gender as an object of study, as an analytic approach or perspective and as a way of thinking across disciplinary boundaries. A key focus of the degree concerns the ethical as well as intellectual issues that arise from practicing gender studies. In addition to the compulsory courses of the degree, you are able to choose options, from within and outside of the Department, in order to develop your own gender studies pathway and focus on key research areas.
The MSc Gender (Research) degree combines a thorough grounding in contemporary theories of gender with advanced training in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies.
This programme is particularly useful for students considering further study. You will be located in the Department of Gender Studies and take one or two units in the Department of Methodology, which is a base for cross-disciplinary research and teaching in the broad area of social science methodology.
The sexuality pathway of the MSc Gender introduces you to the field of sexuality and gender studies and explores the significance of theories, politices and representations of sexuality for understanding everyday life from a transnational perspective.
Our students go on to work in varied career paths: research and consultancy for government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in developed and less developed countries, international organisations, humanitarian and charity work, personnel work, civil and diplomatic services, representative politics, advocacy, the legal profession, academia, media and communication and in education.
Further information on graduate destinations for this programme
Gender, Society and Representation is an inter-faculty programme drawing on the unusual breadth of disciplines for which UCL is renowned, including development studies, law, anthropology, literary scholarship, geography and queer studies. UCL offers students an opportunity to develop their own interests within this broad intellectual landscape.
Students gain the advanced skills, methods, concepts and theories required for the study of gender in an interdisciplinary context at graduate level. Optional modules offer students a genuine opportunity to develop their own interests in a wide range of disciplines, and the dissertation provides opportunities for independent research.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme offers two pathways: Taught and Research. The taught pathway consists of three core modules (60 credits), optional modules (60 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits). The research pathway consists of three core modules (60 credits), optional modules (30 credits) and a dissertation (90 credits).
A Postgraduate Diploma, three core modules (60 credts), two to four optional modules (60 credits), full-time one year, part-time two years, is offered.
Core modules
All three of these modules are compulsory.
Optional modules
Options may include the following (not all will be available in a given year, and some have prerequisites such as existing studies in the field):
Other UCL Master's modules may be chosen, subject to the convenor's approval, if their relevance to the programme of study is demonstrated.
Dissertation/report
Students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 12,000 words (taught pathway) or 18,000 words (research pathway).
Teaching and learning
Teaching sessions are interactive, with a limited amount of lecturing and an emphasis on student participation and critical discussion. Assessment is through a variety of methods, including essays, coursework, written papers, oral examination and the dissertation.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Gender, Society and Representation MA
Engaging with gender and sexuality concerns is now an integral aspect of research and planning activities in a wide range of fields. The need to address different forms of discrimination has created a demand in both public and private sectors for highly qualified graduates with a broad theoretical background in gender and sexuality studies, a familiarity with the intersectional nature of inequality, and a commitment to social change. Our graduates have gone on to careers as researchers, administrators and communications officers for charities, cultural institutions, NGOs and the private sector, and in academic research in related disciplines.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
Students graduating from this Master's programme will possess a broad understanding of gender issues in social practice and discourse. They will have demonstrated intellectual flexibility in engaging successfully with a diverse and challenging range of subject areas and disciplinary approaches to gender. They will be able to develop and sustain a convincing argument on a variety of complex subjects, supporting their conclusions with appropriate evidence, clearly expressed. They will have experience in researching a topic from scratch, learning to identify and choose between different routes into exploring that topic and producing a coherent account of their research and findings.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
Gender and sexuality studies have expanded rapidly in recent decades, to emerge as dynamic interdisciplinary field of study.
As a multi-faculty institution located in the heart of cosmopolitan London and covering an exceptionally wide range of disciplines, UCL offers an ideal environment for gender studies, enabling students to tailor their degrees according to their specific interests and providing a wealth of opportunities for interdisciplinary work.
Staff contributing to MA level and research work in gender studies are drawn from different faculties including Arts & Humanities, Social & Historical Sciences, Laws, and Life Sciences.
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
This unique interdisciplinary degree will allow you to study race and strategies of resistance from a variety of historical and theoretical approaches.
A broad transnational framework allows you to combine African, U.S., Caribbean, British and Southeast Asian history under the guidance of leading researchers in English, History, Gender Studies, Spanish, and Latin American studies. You’ll be trained in historical research methods and use varied materials such as novels, films, speeches, newspapers and organisational records to explore issues of race and resistance across very different periods and cultures.
Supported by the Institute for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, you could study the slave trade, Mexican-American identity, race and feminism in the US, political violence in India or apartheid, among many others. It’s a fascinating and vital opportunity to gain an understanding of the roles that race and resistance have played in shaping the modern world – and how this complex relationship is evolving.
More Information
We have a wide range of resources to help you explore the topics that interest you. Among our library resources are microfilm collections of American, Indian and South African newspapers as well as journals relating to US civil rights. British and US government papers are also on microfilm, and an extensive set of British documents on end of empire and foreign affairs.
The Church Missionary Society Archives, the Black Power Movement archive and the Curzon papers are all available, and we have access to extensive online resources to access original material for your independent research.
With the chance to participate in our active research groups – such as Identity, Power and Protest; Women, Gender and Sexuality; and Health, Medicine and Society – and benefit from an impressive range of expertise among our tutors, you’ll find that the University of Leeds is a fantastic place to gain the knowledge and skills you need.
This degree is also available to study part-time over 24 months.
The first semester will lay the foundations of your studies, introducing you to historical research methods and approaches to the study of race and resistance. You’ll explore issues such as diasporas and migration, the legacy of non-violence and sexuality and race.
In Semester Two, you’ll build on this knowledge with your choice from a wide range of optional modules across different subject areas, on issues such as the Black Atlantic, postcolonial literature, British settler colonies in Africa and more.
Throughout the programme, you’ll develop your knowledge across a variety of areas as well as key skills in research and critical analysis. You’ll showcase these when you complete your dissertation, which will be independently researched on a topic of your choice and submitted by the end of the programme in September.
You’ll also have the opportunity to work collaboratively with partner organisations, such as the West Yorkshire Archive Service, by studying the ‘Making History: Archive Collaborations’ optional module
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.
These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
Independent study is an important part of this degree, allowing you to develop your own ideas and improve your skills in research and analysis. You’ll then come together with tutors and other students for weekly seminars where you’ll discuss issues and themes in each of your modules.
All of the modules on this programme are assessed by coursework. This can take a range of forms, including essays, discursive writing, bibliographies, reviews and presentations among others. Optional modules are usually assessed by two 3,000-word essays.
This MA will give you a deeper understanding of how conceptions of race have shaped and been shaped by the world we live in, as well as the ways in which individuals and communities have employed different strategies of resistance. Crucially, it will equip you with sound intercultural awareness and allow you to look at situations from different points of view, as well as advanced skills in research, analysis, interpretation and written and oral communication.
Graduates have found success in a wide range of careers where they have been able to use their knowledge. These have included teaching and education, research and policy work for NGOs, think tanks and the charity sector. Many others have pursued PhD level study in related fields.
We offer different forms of support to help you reach your career goals. You’ll have the chance to attend our career groups, meeting students with similar plans, or you could become a paid academic mentor to an undergraduate completing their final-year dissertation. You could also apply for one of the internships we offer each year.
Edinburgh College of Art: Postgrad study in Art, Design, Architecture, Music, History of Art
