About the Program
The Master of Arts in Women's and Gender Studies offers an interdisciplinary and transnational approach to the exploration of key feminist issues and debates in understanding gender relations and women's lives. This program provides advanced training in feminist scholarship. Students will acquire the skills to do applied gender based research and the foundational graduate degree upon which to build their expertise in order to pursue research at the PhD level.
The program has core faculty members in the Institute and also draws from a number of disciplines including human rights, history, sociology, political science, philosophy, english, and anthropology. With its interdisciplinary and community-based foci, the Institute of Women's and Gender Studies at Carleton University provides students with access to a strong and diverse and established research networks across campus and with the broader community. Access to government agencies such as the Canadian International Development, the International Development Research Centre (Women's Rights and Citizenship Program), Health Canada and the Department of Justice are among the unique resources available to students at Carleton.
Academic Regulations
- See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
- Academic standing of B- or higher must be obtained in each course counted towards the fulfillment of the degree requirements. Candidates must also maintain a CGPA of 9.0 or higher and achieve Satisfactory or better on the MA thesis and its oral defence.
Admission Requirements
The minimum requirement for admission to the MA program in Women's and Gender Studies is a BA Honours degree in Women's and Gender Studies or related areas with high honours standing. Students who have completed a degree with a significant focus on gender and gender-related coursework from disciplines including Sociology, History, English, Philosophy, Anthropology, Canadian Studies and Political Science, for example, will be considered for admission to the program. Applicants without the requisite background may be required to take a maximum of 2.0 credits from designated courses at the undergraduate level in Women's and Gender Studies in addition to their normal MA program requirements.
Qualifying Year Program
Applicants without a B.A. Honours degree in Women's and Gender Studies but who have a three year degree with a Women's and Gender Studies major, minor or a degree in a related discipline with a minimum average of B+ will be required to complete successfully a qualifying year of full-time study, before proceeding to apply to the Master's program. At this time, the Institute will determine the student's eligibility to enter the program.
Program Requirements
The MA degree in Women's and Gender Studies requires the satisfactory completion of 5.0 credits, distributed according to one of the following two options (students are not required to choose one option over the other until the end of the first year of study):
Option I: Course work + Thesis
- 2.0 credits of required course work:
- 1.0 credit in WGST 5905 [1.0]
- 0.5 credit in WGST 5906
- 0.5 credit in WGST 5907
- 1.0 credit of additional course work chosen from available elective courses (see below)
- 2.0 credits WGST 5909 [2.0] MA Thesis
Option II: Course work + Research Essay
- 2.0 credits of required course work:
- 1.0 credit in WGST 5905 [1.0]
- 0.5 credit in WGST 5906
- 0.5 credit in WGST 5907
- 2.0 credits of additional course work chosen from available elective courses (see below)
- 1.0 credit WGST 5908 [1.0] Research Essay
Elective courses
Electives may be taken from a selection of courses offered outside the program in a related discipline, subject to the approval of the Graduate Supervisor.
Elective courses may include but are not limited to:
- PHIL 5350, PHIL 5304, PHIL 5800, PHIL 5500
- HIST 6903, HIST 5708, HIST 5803, HIST 5804
- PADM 5213, PADM 5701
- PSYC 5001, PSYC 5201
- PSCI 6301, PSCI 5200, PSCI 5506, PSCI 5607, PSCI 5205
- SOCI 5809
- WGST 5000, WGST 5001
Progress through the program
The first year of study is essentially the same for all full-time students entering the program regardless of whether their intention is to pursue the thesis or the research essay option (a schedule for part-time students is outlined below): all full-time students will be expected to complete the core feminist theory and methodologies courses in the first year (typically WGST 5906 will be offered in the fall term and WGST 5907 in the winter); WGST 5905 ; and, a further 1.0 credit chosen from among those electives on offer that year.
At the end of the winter term of the first year of study, and in consultation with the Graduate Supervisor, full-time students will be required to declare their intention to pursue the thesis option or to complete additional courses and a research essay. The deadline for this decision will normally be in writing on or before April 1st. In the fall of the second year of study, all full-time students will be expected to submit a research proposal that has been approved by their thesis or research essay supervisor or committee. The deadline to submit the proposal is September 15. Students pursuing the research essay option will also be required to complete two additional half-course electives. Typically, these courses will be completed in the fall term of the second year. Students will be expected to maintain regular contact with their thesis/research essay supervisor throughout the year to ensure steady progress and a timely completion of their research and writing.
