GRADUATE
M.A. Program and Graduate Certificate
Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Georgia State University contributes to the university’s broader mission of encouraging critical thinking through a focus on feminist and womanist interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching and community participation.
Our M.A. program and Graduate Certificate in WGSS are path-breaking interdisciplinary approaches to the study of gender, sexuality, race and class. As the interdisciplinary practice of feminist scholarship, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies interrogates and envisions alternatives to social structures, institutions, ideologies, and perceptions of gender in traditional academic disciplines. Our current Graduate Director is Dr. Maura Bernales.
The M.A. program and Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies have three interrelated areas of concentration: globalization, sexuality studies, and social change. Globalization and transnationalisms are themes that run throughout many of our courses as well as our faculty research.
Some of our faculty’s current projects include: institutionalization of feminism and Women’s Studies in post-dictatorship Chile, sexuality and gender within folk narratives and mass media representations of ghosts and spirits in Thailand, and sexuality and gender within the African Diaspora.
Our sexuality studies curriculum stands out in its emphasis on race, ethnicity and globalization. We have a strong emphasis on queer theory and LGBTQ studies as well as the theory and practice of activism and the study of gender and class.
Our graduate students come from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, including humanities (such as English and history), social sciences (such as psychology, sociology and anthropology) and professional fields (such as social work and education).
You can track your progress through the program by consulting the Graduate Student Journey page on the College of Arts & Sciences website. This website will have information about the "non-course milestones" that you will have to record with the office of graduate services. You will need to fill out an online form when you have formed your committee, defend your proposal, and defend your final thesis.
In fact, one distinction of our program is that students may complete one of three different kinds of theses — a research thesis, a creative thesis, or an action research thesis.
Thesis Options
- Research Thesis – an originally researched topic that contributes to a new area of WGSS scholarship. Examples: Queer Feelings, Political Potential: Tracing Affect in Performance Spaces, by Dylan McCarthy Blackston; Mexican/Migrant Mothers and ‘Anchor Babies” in Anti-Immigration Discourses: Meanings of Citizenship and Illegality in the United States, by Margaret E. Franz.
- Creative Thesis — a creative project, which may be a play, an art exhibit, a novel or collection of short stories, a collection of nonfiction essays, a mixed-media work, a dance or musical performance, or a film or video (to name a few possibilities). This project is accompanied by a detailed, documented essay both describing the purpose, approach, theory, methods, techniques, and process of creation, and situating it within a women’s, gender, and sexuality studies framework. Example: A Story of One’s Own: Creative Narratives about Muslim Women in Turkey, by Mirkena Ozer.
- Action Research Thesis – an internship with a local social justice-oriented organization or other approved form of community and/or activist engagement. This work is accompanied by a detailed, documented essay both describing the purpose, approach, theory, and methods used, and situating it within a women’s, gender, and sexuality studies framework. Example: A Feminist Action Research Project: Creating a Practical Support Program for the Georgia Reproductive Justice Access Network, by Melinda McKew.
Three Main Concentrations
Courses include:
- Gender and Globalization
- Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora
- Gender, War, and Militarism in/and the Middle East
- Sexuality and Gender in Asia
- Africana Women and Sociopolitical Change
Courses Include:
- Feminism and Queer Theory
- Feminism and Foucault
- Youth and Sexualities
- Thinking the Body
- Sexuality and Nationalism
- Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora
Courses Include:
- Activism: History and Theory
- Class Matters
- Gender and Sexuality in the African Diaspora
- Black Feminist Thought
Graduate students can either earn an M.A. in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, or a Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Contact Us
Street Address
Institute for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Georgia State University
25 Park Place
Suite 2201
Atlanta, GA 30303
Mailing Address
Institute for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3969
Atlanta, GA 30302-3969
