Masters Degrees (Women's Studies)

The Master of Arts program in Women’s Studies at the University of Alabama is an interdisciplinary program working cooperatively with other departments to provide knowledge of the cultural history and status of women, and to conduct research on the forces which shape women’s role in society. In 1972 a group of University of Alabama students initiated a project to introduce courses in women’s studies into the curriculum. They identified faculty who would be willing to develop courses on women and, by the spring of 1975, a women’s studies minor had been created in the College of Arts and Sciences. That same year, an independent program in women’s studies–the first in the Southeast–was launched. The Master of Arts degree program was established, with the first graduate students enrolled, in 1988. The Women’s Studies program, part of the Department of Gender and Race Studies, includes a core faculty, a graduate adjunct faulty, and participating faculty from almost every discipline.

Master of Arts Program Description

The University of Alabama Master of Arts in Women’s Studies is a thirty (30) credit hour degree program which focuses on feminist research. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary and cross-cultural methodology, as well as analytical and theoretical perspectives on women. Students can specialize in feminist theory, the culture of southern women, women in the civil rights movement, or other areas of feminist and interdisciplinary research.

Requirements

The requirements of the program of study are as follows:

Plan I (thesis plan) requires at least 30 hours of coursework (including 9 hours of core courses, 15 hours of elective courses, and 6 hours of thesis research), and a thesis.

Plan II (comprehensive exam) requires 30 hours of coursework (including 9 hours of core courses, 21 hours of elective courses), and a comprehensive exam.

Admission Standards

Applicants must meet the admission standards of the Graduate School For current Graduate School admission requirements, consult http://www.graduate.ua.edu. In addition, applicants should have had at least an introductory women’s studies course or its equivalent, or take it before enrolling in the graduate program. International students must have a TOEFL score of 550 (or 213 on the computerized TOEFL).

Financial Aid

The University of Alabama Women’s Studies program is one of the few programs in the U.S. with a permanent number of graduate assistantships, which we award to qualified students on a competitive basis. (Several universities have graduate programs in women’s studies, but few have full-time assistantships in women’s studies; our graduate assistants teach Introduction to Women’s Studies or they perform research with a faculty member.) If you plan to apply for an assistantship or financial aid, your application should be filed by February 15.* Assistantships include a tuition scholarship for fall and spring sessions, doubling the value of the award. *(Applications for the program are accepted throughout the year. Check with the department for the current amount paid per assistantship.)

Courses

Core Courses
WS 530: Feminist Theory: Women in Contemporary Society (3)
WS 532: Issues and Problems in Women’s Studies Research (3)
WS 570: Gender, Race, and Class: Cross-Cultural Approaches (3)
WS 599: Thesis Research (6)

Elective Courses
WS 500/501: Independent Study in Women’s Studies
WS 502/503: Seminar in Teaching Women’s Studies
WS 510: Special Topics (i.e., Women and Utopia, Feminisms on Film etc.)
WS 520: Women and Work
WS 521: Women’s Studies Practicum
WS 525: Feminist Theory: Major Texts
WS 540/541: Seminar in Women’s Studies
WS 550: Women in America
WS 560: Women and Public Policy
WS 590: Women and Law
WS 592: Women in the Labor Force
WS 594: Sex Discrimination
AMS 525: Women in the Civil Rights
EH 635: Seminar in Feminist Literary Criticism
HY 500: Women in the Americas
SOC 529: Language and Social Analysis

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The MA in Gender and Women’s Studies and English combines teaching and scholarship in Gender and Women’s Studies and in English Literature. This is a unique MA for students interested in Gender and Women’s Studies who want to pursue literary studies or who have a particular interest in women’s literature or feminist literary theory.

Students take core courses in each of the disciplines and can choose from a range of optional courses in addition to these. This combination is administered from the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies - one of the largest centres in the UK for feminist research, gender studies and women’s studies.

Modules
Compulsory modules:
• Debates in Gender Research
• Gender, Sex and Bodies
• Independent Research Dissertation

Optional modules:
• Choose four from Gender and Women’s Studies and English modules. At least one option should be from English

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The MA degree can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years. In addition to the four compulsory modules (Difference, Diversity & Change; Work, Politics & Culture; Qualitative Methods; Interdisciplinary Methods in Women's Studies) and the 60 credit dissertation, students taking the MA in Women's Studies will select a a further two modules from a programme of research training modules and option modules to make up the remaining 40 credits. This programme should be agreed with the supervisor and submitted to Chair of Board of Studies. You will be allocated a supervisor for your dissertation which must be submitted towards the end of your final year.

Sara, a part-time MA student writes:
'I found CWS to be the most encouraging educational environment I have ever been in. The staff are very welcoming and interested in their students. My class developed a great sense of trust within the group, facilitated excellently, that meant people could speak freely and gain from other people sharing their life experiences. The curriculum is broad and so I felt we looked at women and their lives from many different angles. Some of the theory is challenging but taught well and with good reading lists to make life easier. I would actually recommend the course to anyone whether they thought it was their chosen discipline or not as the content was so interesting and relevant. I had had a ten year gap between my degree and masters and was nervous about " making the grade" but there was lots of 1:1 support, especially on the first module, which really helped.'

Programme aims

-To provide a solid grounding in interdisciplinary women's studies, emphasizing gendered aspects of social and cultural life, representation and textual enquiry
-To expose students to an interdisciplinary range of conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches to and debates within women's studies
-To familiarize students with the epistemological and philosophical underpinnings of research methodologies, the politics and ethics of research, the principles of research design and to enable them to evaluate and apply a range of methodologies to women's studies research questions
-To foster the development of a critical, self-reflexive and independent approach to research and scholarship, as well as the acquisition of transferable skills

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The MA degree can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years. The taught component of this programme consists of two compulsory core modules, Difference, Diversity & Change and Work, Politics & Culture; three social science methodology modules; and one research training module; Interdisciplinary Methods for Women's Studies. In addition you will be allocated a supervisor for your 60 credit dissertation which must be submitted towards the end of your final year.

Rachel, an MA (and now PhD) student writes:
'The MA Women's Studies (Social Research) gives you the chance to get to grips with a whole variety of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In that way it is very practical and useful, both for the MA dissertation and any possible further study/research work you may undertake. It is also a great chance to meet lots of people from all over the world and make some wonderful friends!'

Programme aims

-To equip candidates with the practical and intellectual tools necessary to undertake higher degree level social research on women and gender
-To provide a solid grounding in interdisciplinary women's studies, emphasizing gendered aspects of social and cultural life in relation -To other social divisions and inequalities
-To expose students to an interdisciplinary range of conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches to and debates within women's studies
-To familiarize students with the epistemological and philosophical underpinnings of research methodologies, the politics and ethics of research, the principles of research design and to enable them to evaluate and apply a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to women's studies research questions
-To foster the development of a critical, self-reflexive and independent approach to research and scholarship

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The MA in Women's Studies by Research is taken full-time over one calendar year. It provides an exciting opportunity for those who already have a particular research interest, and who wish to learn research skills in order to pursue an independent piece of work. The degree has been designed for students who wish to explore a Women's Studies topic in some depth and who already have substantial undergraduate knowledge and expertise in the field.

Stephanie, an MA by Research (and now PhD) student writes:
'My experience of studying an MA (by research) at the Centre for Women's Studies has been fantastic. I found all of the staff to be approachable and helpful in both personal and academic matters. My programme course was very well organised and ran smoothly from start to finish. The department is relaxed and friendly, and provided me with a really supportive environment to complete my research dissertation. I would love to return for a PhD in the near future! '

MA by research

The degree is examined solely via the submission of a 25,000 - 30,000 word dissertation. On the basis of the information included on their application form, each student will be allocated a supervisor who has knowledge relevant to their area of study. It is expected that students will have regular dissertation tutorials with their supervisor, during term time, and that they will regularly prepare written work.

In addition to regular meetings with their dissertation supervisor, students taking this degree will also be required to take the appropriate research training course in Women's Studies, alongside students on either the MA degree or the MA (Humanities) degree.

In certain circumstances, where appropriate and if it will enhance work being undertaken for the dissertation, a student may be required to take a module from the main course, Difference, Diversity & Change, or an option course from the taught MA degree.

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The MA degree can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years. The taught component of this programme consists of two compulsory core modules, Difference, Diversity & Change and Work, Politics & Culture; one compulsory research module, Interdisciplinary Methods in Women's Studies; the choice of three options from a range which is updated annually (including a further research module if so wished, Qualitative Methods) and the 60 credit dissertation. You will be allocated a supervisor for your dissertation which must be submitted towards the end of your final year.

Gilly, a part-time MA (Humanities) student writes:
'One of the most valuable aspects of being an MA student is having the opportunity to develop your own particular areas of interest in a creative and empowering environment. I felt like part of a wonderful international family where my ideas were always encouraged and supported.'

Programme aims

-To provide a solid grounding in interdisciplinary women's studies, emphasizing gendered aspects of cultural life, representation and textual enquiry
-To expose students to an interdisciplinary range of conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches to and debates within women's studies
-To familiarize students with the epistemological and philosophical underpinnings of feminist methodologies in the humanities
-To foster the development of a critical, self-reflexive and independent approach to research and scholarship, as well as the acquisition of transferable skills
-To provide candidates with a range of skills and competences appropriate to higher degree research in the Humanities

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The MA in Gender and Women’s Studies is a taught postgraduate degree which will deepen your perspectives on gender studies and feminism.

As a student on this programme you will gain a thorough knowledge of the key debates and authors within Gender and Women’s Studies as well as the opportunity to develop specialist interests and key research skills. Core modules will take you through the intellectual traditions, concepts and politics which have shaped the evolution of Women’s Studies inside and outside the academy, and will give you the methodological confidence to do your own research.

Modules
Compulsory modules:
• Debates in Gender Research
• Gender, Sex and Bodies
• Independent Research Dissertation

Optional modules:
Choose four; options may vary from year to year
• Feminist Media and Cultural Studies
• Feminist Technoscience Studies
• Gender and Violence
• Critical Debates in Media and Cultural Studies
• Consumer Society
• Contemporary Debates in Sociology

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This MA scheme is ideal for those who wish to study Gender and Women’s Studies in combination with empirical and theoretical developments in Sociology at an advanced level, and particularly suitable for those interested in social research and/or feminist sociological theory.

Students take core courses in each of the disciplines and can choose from a range of optional courses in addition to these. This combination is administered from the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies, one of the largest centres in the UK for feminist research, gender studies and women’s studies and part of one of the most highly regarded Sociology departments in the UK.

Modules
Compulsory modules:
• Debates in Gender Research
• Gender, Sex and Bodies
• Independent Research Dissertation

Optional modules:
Choose four; options may vary from year to year
• Capitalism and Crisis
• Debates in Feminist Research
• Gender, Sex and Bodies
• Feminist Media and Cultural Studies
• Feminist Technoscience Studies
• Mobilities, Society and Change
• Social and Cultural Theory

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Explore the dynamics that shape your everyday experiences as a gendered person in contemporary culture. In our courses you will learn how to develop a critical perspective that takes factors such as sex, gender, sexuality, race, class and disability into account. You might find your worldview transformed as you apply these perspectives to your study in other classes and to all aspects of your life.

Our courses reflect an expanding field of feminist research including feminist theory, health issues, philosophy, queer issues and sexuality studies, legal issues, violence against women, women and equity in the workplace, and women and the creative arts.

Visit the website: http://grad.uwo.ca/prospective_students/programs/program_NEW.cfm?p=149

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please see: http://grad.uwo.ca/prospective_students/applying/index.html

Financing your studies

As one of Canada's leading research institutions, we place great importance on helping you finance your education. It is crucial that you devote your full energy to the successful completion of your studies, so we want to ensure that stable funding is available to you.
For information please see: http://grad.uwo.ca/current_students/student_finances/index.html

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Our MRes programme provide a personalised and focused introduction to postgraduate research allowing you to develop as an independent researcher with the support of an expert in Modern Languages and Cultures. It provides a rigorous overview of the current state of scholarship in your selected field, guides you, through a programme of directed, individualised reading, to the selection of a feasible research project, and allows you to complete a substantial piece of research.

Within Modern Language and Cultures, we offer pathways in:

- Latin-American Studies
- Hispanic Studies
- Spanish Studies
- Portuguese Studies, Catalan Studies
- Basque Studies
- French Studies
- German Studies
- Italian Studies
- Film Studies
- Chinese Studies.

As an MRes student you will benefit from your membership of the university research community, both students and academic staff. You will also have access to facilities available to doctoral students e.g. free Interlibrary loans, a print allowance and a research allowance.

Why Department of Modern Languages and Cultures?

We are a smaller department than many, but manage at the same time to maintain a variety of very distinctive areas of strength in research. As a result we are uniquely placed to offer taught programmes which are tailored to the individual in a friendly, supportive atmosphere and, for research students, close contact with your supervisors from the outset.

There is a high degree of interdisciplinary activity, with students and staff from all disciplines interacting through institutional research centres, cross-School reading groups, research groups and seminars.

We offer an MA in Latin American Studies and an MA in Modern Languages (French / German / Hispanic Studies/Italian) and supervision on a wide range of topics for both MPhil and PhD study.

Applications are welcome for both full-time and part-time study. Postgraduate students form an integral part of our research culture, and are encouraged to become involved in conference, workshops and seminar series, in addition, we have postgraduate reading groups and a regular programme of postgraduate workshops involving leading scholars visiting the institution. We have an active and vibrant research community, with staff engaging in research covering eight language areas consisting of French, German, Italian, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Portuguese and Corsican. Research interests range from medieval manuscripts to contemporary cyber literature, and cover a wide geographical remit, with staff working on American, Latin American, and Caribbean, African and Indian contexts as well as European ones.

We are home to three scholarly journals: Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, Bulletin of Latin American Research, and Migrations and Identities as well as a number of prominent book series.

Research Overview

Our research activities are broadly organised around four research groups in addition to the Research Institute of Latin American Studies. The groups are engaged in interdisciplinary work, taking in literary, visual and historical sources, and collaborating across the language areas.

French Studies

Research interests in French Studies cover all areas of French literature, culture and history, including Medieval studies, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century studies, French theatre, French cinema, travel literature, francophone postcolonial studies (including French language representations of India),modern and contemporary France, and sociolinguistics. Colleagues are actively involved in interdisciplinary research centres, namely the Research Centre in Eighteenth-Century Studies, the Centre of International Slavery, the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the India in the World Research Centre.

German Studies

Postgraduate teaching and supervision in German Studies covers the full range of modern (post 1750) German literary and cultural studies, including German cinema. It also offers tuition and supervision in many areas of social history, where staff specialisms include gender and women’s history since the eighteenth-century, twentieth-century labour history, Holocaust studies, issues of race and ethnicity (Afro-German and Gypsy studies), the culture and politics of East and West Germany and contemporary Berlin. The University Library’s Special Collections include uniquely rich holdings on German and European Gypsy studies. Research contacts exist with numerous universities and institutes in Germany and the United States.

Hispanic Studies

The University has the oldest chair of Spanish in the country (established 1908). It has a distinguished tradition of excellence within an extensive area of Hispanic Studies teaching and research which includes not only the Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), but also Latin America (Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, etc). Among the section’s achievements and publications in research are the Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, a quarterly journal of international influence (published by Liverpool University Press), Hispanic Textual Research and Criticism (TRAC) and a scholarly series of books and editions. Postgraduate supervision and courses are offered in diverse specialist subjects within the broad range of Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan and Latin American Studies. This reflects the varied research interests and publications of members of staff in the section. Postgraduate students have at their disposal in the Sydney Jones Library large holdings in Hispanic books and periodicals, which are among the most comprehensive in the country.

Italian Studies

Postgraduate supervision in Italian is provided in the following areas: sociolinguistics, Italian dialectology, Italian cinema and crime/detective fiction. Postgraduate students benefit from the remarkable digitised collections and resources available in the Sydney Jones Library and the personalised services provided by library staff.

Latin American Studies

Latin American Studies is one of Modern languagesa dn Cultures' major research specialisms. The six permanent members of staff have research interests in the following domains of Latin American Studies: anthropology, cultural studies, history, literature, politics, and sociology and extend to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Central America, the Caribbean and southern USA. The Sydney Jones Library is an acknowledged centre of excellence for collections in Latin American Studies. Additional facilities for all postgraduates include access to regular seminars and short conferences, language tuition, and use of the University’s networked computer facilities.

Career prospects

Former postgraduates in French, German and Hispanic Studies are currently employed in senior positions at the universities of: Aberdeen, Sussex, Leeds, Sheffield, Kings College London, Loughborough, Salford and Liverpool, as well as in a variety of careers.

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The only graduate program in Cultural Studies in Western Canada, the University of Winnipeg's multidisciplinary Master of Arts in Cultural Studies is an innovative, 12-month, course-based program that offers specializations in Texts and Cultures or Curatorial Practices. Bringing together instructors from across the university and from the city's vibrant arts and culture community, the MA in Cultural Studies provides students with strong methodological and theoretical training in order to pursue further postgraduate studies or careers in a range of fields, including education, publishing, arts management, art curation, and journalism.

What is Cultural Studies?

Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field, drawing on theories and practices from a range of humanities and social sciences disciplines, that seeks to investigate the ways in which cultures produce and are produced. At the centre of Cultural Studies sits a host of questions, such as what constitutes a text, how some texts, visual images, and cultural artifacts come to be valued over others, and how questions of value relate to the distribution of power and authority.

Rather than concentrating exclusively on the group of elite texts that make up so-called "high culture," Cultural Studies takes as its focus the whole complex of changing beliefs, ideas, feelings, values, and symbols that define a community’s organization and sense of itself. Culture in this sense is often understood to be a primary vehicle of globalization in the contemporary world and deeply enmeshed in particular social, economical and political environments. As such, when we study culture, we are studying the world we live in and how we function in it.

Cultural Studies MA at the University of Winnipeg

Small seminars, individual attention from dedicated instructors, and strong academic development are just some of the benefits of being a student in the MA in Cultural Studies. Students specialize in one of two areas: 1) Texts and Cultures, which emphasizes theoretically-grounded cultural analysis and 2) Curatorial Practices, which focuses on museum studies.

Students in the MA in Cultural Studies take a total of 24 credit hours (the equivalent of 4 full-year courses) in a range of topic areas, including Cultural Theory; Visual Cultures; Curatorial Practices; Cultures of Childhood; Gender, Sexualities and Culture; Local, National and Global Cultures; and Manuscript, Print and Digital Cultures.

What is a multidisciplinary degree?

A multidisciplinary degree is one that allows you to study courses in a variety of subject areas. The Cultural Studies MA degree incorporates theories and methods from a variety of disciplines, including Literary Studies, History, Art History, Women’s and Gender Studies, Politics, and Rhetoric and Communications. In the Cultural Studies MA program at the University of Winnipeg, instructors from these disciplines regularly teach courses in the program and are available for Special Studies courses in which they direct the research projects of individual students.

How to prepare for an MA in Cultural Studies?

Cultural Studies is an academic field that uses critical and cultural theories to study cultural phenomena. Therefore, it is recommended that a student choose classes that use feminist theory, social theory, political theory, literary theory, and/or media theory while pursuing their undergraduate degree in order to prepare for an MA in Cultural Studies.

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The MA degree can be taken full-time over one year, or part-time over two years. In addition to the four compulsory modules (Difference, Diversity & Change; Interdisciplinary Methods in Women's Studies; Gender, Violence & Justice; Women, Citizenship & Conflict) and the 60 credit dissertation, students taking the MA Women Violence and Conflict will select a programme of research training modules to make up the remaining 40 credits, or opt to take Work, Politics & Culture and a further 20 credits of research training methods from the available selction. This programme should be agreed with the supervisor and submitted to Chair of Board of Studies. You will be allocated a supervisor for your dissertation which must be submitted towards the end of your final year.

Natalie, an MA Women, Violence and Conflict student writes:
'Welcome! I'd encourage students to take advantage of all the resources available to them - don't be shy! Everyone is the department is wonderful and more than willing to help. I'd encourage you to get to know your classmates - the beauty of this department is how amazingly interesting and diverse the students and professors are. I've learned more from my classmates than I ever anticipated. I'd say, frankly, READ. Read as much as you can on as many topics as you can - it's not often that you'll have the opportunity to engage these topics in depth in such a supportive environment with some of the greatest resources right in the department! Don't be afraid to not know, or to ask questions. Everyone is here to support you both academically and otherwise. Challenge yourself and appreciate the opportunity to feel uncomfortable sometimes! I'm sad my time here is almost over!!'

Programme aims

-To provide a solid grounding in interdisciplinary women's studies, emphasizing gendered aspects in relation to violence and conflict in inter/national contexts
-To expose students to an interdisciplinary range of conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches to and debates violence against women and in contexts of violent conflict
-To familiarize students with the epistemological and philosophical underpinnings of research methodologies, the politics and ethics of research, the principles of research design and to enable them to evaluate and apply a range of methodologies to research questions related to issues of violence against women
-To foster the development of a critical, self-reflexive and independent approach to research and scholarship, as well as the acquisition of transferable skills

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Take advantage of one of our 100 Master’s Scholarships to study Latin American Studies at Swansea University, the Times Good University Guide’s Welsh University of the Year 2017. Postgraduate loans are also available to English and Welsh domiciled students. For more information on fees and funding please visit our website.

Research in Latin American Studies at Swansea is interdisciplinary with strong links to American Studies through the Centre for the Comparative Study of the Americas (CECSAM). Our focus is twentieth-century Latin American fiction and testimonial writing with particular expertise in Argentinian Studies.

Key Features of MA by Research in Latin American Studies

An MA by Research in Latin American Studies gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia (typically in the private sector, the Civil Service, or education).

Latin American Studies research programme will give you the freedom to explore a topic of your own choosing and develop a methodology under the close supervision of two experienced academics but without attending regular classes as required in taught programmes.

As a student enrolled on the MA by Research in Latin American Studies, you will be supervised closely by two experienced academics in your field. Typically, you will meet them fortnightly in the first term and at regular intervals thereafter. Meetings are logged and goals agreed each time.

All research students in Latin American Studies are required to attend skills and training courses at College and Institutional level. They give presentations to other research students and staff at departmental seminars and the annual departmental postgraduate symposium in June and the College of Arts and Humanities conference in October. Advanced research students may have opportunities to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars. You have a budget (currently £200 per year) to attend conferences outside Swansea.

MA by Research in Latin American Studies degree typically lasts from one year (full-time study) to two years (part-time study).

The MA by Research in Latin American Studies is ideal for those who want:

- an MA qualification in niche areas where taught programmes are not offered;
- the experience of a research degree without committing to a PhD, while retaining the option of upgrading to MPhil or PhD.

Research proposals are invited on any topic in Latin American Studies for which staff can provide supervision. It is advisable to email a member of academic staff in the appropriate area before applying.

Research Interests

Areas of special interest within Latin American Studies include:

• Twentieth century prose and poetry
• Women’s writing and feminist theory
• Contemporary Spanish American film
• Spanish American nation building
• Afro-Latin American Studies
• Twentieth century Argentine literature and culture
• Welsh Patagonia
• Twentieth century Colombian literature and culture
• Twentieth century Cuban literature and culture
• Wilderness and Eco Literature

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The MA in Gender, Globalisation and Rights is a flagship programme of the Centre for Global Women’s Studies at NUI Galway. It offers a unique opportunity for in-depth study of the gender dimensions of globalisation and global issues, through an interdisciplinary programme that combines the fields of: gender and women’s studies, international development, human rights, and peace and conflict studies. Students acquire the theoretical, conceptual and practical tools needed to apply a gender perspective and undertake gender analyses in relevant domains of practice and employment at local, national and international levels, as well as for advanced research at doctoral level and beyond. In addition to modules on globalisation, development, human rights, gender and feminist theory, health and sexuality, women in agriculture, historical perspectives, and peace and conflict, skills-based modules are offered in research methods, applied gender analysis and empowerment. Students also have the opportunity to undertake an accredited, two-month professional placement with a relevant organisation working on issues related to programme themes.

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Who is this programme for?:

The MA Gender Studies and Law at SOAS caters for students with a variety of backgrounds and objectives:

- those coming from Women’s Studies or Gender Studies who wish to engage more deeply with gender theory in relation to regional specialisation and to connect this with legal knowledge, especially, but not exclusively, the societies of Asia, Africa and the Middle East;

- those coming from Asian, African or Middle Eastern Studies who wish to incorporate the study of gender and law into their own areas of expertise; and

- those having previously trained in particular disciplines, such as Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, History, Politics, Religious Studies, Sociology, Refugee/Diaspora Studies etc.

This programme provides:

- specialised research training in Gender Studies, in addition to focused study of feminist legal theories and a particular area of law. This pathway is suitable for students considering advanced postgraduate research in Gender Studies with a regional specialisation;

- a broad MA programme for students with some background in Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, and Area Studies etc. who wish to enhance their knowledge of gender in relation to cross-cultural legal issues;

- a special interest MA, which enables students to study gender issues in depth in relation to a particular regional or disciplinary specialisation alongside the acquisition of knowledge of feminist legal approaches and a study of a legal sub-discipline.

The MA Gender Studies and Law at SOAS is a unique programme, its principal aim being to re-focus issues prioritised in western Gender Studies and Legal Theory on the complex specificities of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East. Jointly housed by the Centre for Gender Studies and the School of Law, the programme offers the specialised study of gender and law in relation to the cultures of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, together with rigorous training in, and questioning of, contemporary gender theory. In terms of gender theory, it offers a solid foundation with sufficient breadth and depth to facilitate a range of specialist pathways. In terms of specialisation, it draws on the expertise of internationally recognised scholars of Asian, African and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 020 7898 4367

Visit the website http://www.soas.ac.uk/genderstudies/genderlaw/

Structure

Students take courses to the value of four units and complete a dissertation (which is also the assessment for the fourth course Feminist Legal Theory).

All students take the Preliminary course in law, legal reasoning and legal methods. This is a compulsory component which runs as an intensive two-week course in September, prior to the start of term.

All students take the compulsory core courses Gender Theory and the Study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and Feminist Legal Theory (Dissertation). Further options include a wide range of gender and gender-related courses from a comprehensive list. Students also choose one Law option from the general MA in Law list (subject to course convenor approval).

Upon completion of coursework and written examinations in May/June, students will write a 10,000 word dissertation based on material acquired from Feminist Legal Theory.

- Programme Specification 15/16 (pdf; 175kb) - http://www.soas.ac.uk/genderstudies/genderlaw/file101845.pdf

Materials

Students will have access to a wealth of study resources available in the SOAS Library and in nearby institutions such as the British Library, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University College London Library and Senate House Library.

Teaching & Learning

Courses are taught by a combination of methods, principally lectures, tutorial classes, seminars and supervised individual study projects.

Each taught course has its own approved methods of assessment, designed to address the particular learning outcomes of that course. Assessment methods may include essays, weekly reaction papers, unseen, seen or take-home examinations, research projects, individual or group presentations, translations, learning journals, oral examinations etc., as appropriate.

Students are also required to attend regular seminars organised by the Centre for Gender Studies, details of which are included in the handbook and further details of which are advertised on the Centre’s website and notice board.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.soas.ac.uk/admissions/pg/howtoapply/

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