TWU Home > College of Arts & Sciences > Women's Studies Program >The Master of Arts Degree

The Master of Arts Degree

Students pursuing the Master of Arts Degree will work with a faculty advisor and mentor in developing a personalized degree plan. The degree will consist of the following:

• Fifteen Hours from Five Core Courses
  • WS 5343 Feminist Theories
    • Explores the diversity of feminist theories and applications to various disciplinary areas of interest. Emphasizes major theoretical perspectives and their originating contexts. Critique and application of theoretical stances.
  • WS 5353 Feminist Pedagogy
    • Explores the historical development of feminist writings on the education of women and the pedagogical uniqueness of teaching from a feminist perspective both inside and outside the classroom. Orients students to distance learning and on-line technologies for classroom, community, and corporate presentations.
  • WS 5363 Feminist Epistemology
    • Examines the origins and representations of knowledge formation, cognitive authority, and a range of "ways of knowing" as they relate to gender, race, sexuality, and class. Epistemological questions have significant relevance to questions across the disciplines concerning canon formation, methodological structure, and representations of human subjects/subjectivity.
  • WS 5663 Women of Color
    • Examines the cultural/historical differences/similarities of women of color in the United States. Integral components of this course include examination of the interplay of race/ethnicity, gender and social class; how these are shaped by social forces; how women of color shape society. Applies feminist theories and scholarship to current issues surrounding women of color.
  • WS 5663 Women's Studies Seminar
    • A topical course based on currency in feminist thought and faculty interest. Designed to focus student knowledge and scholarship into an integrated, interdisciplinary body of knowledge relevant for theory and praxis.
• Nine Hours of Courses in Women's Studies or Approved Cross-Listed Courses
  • These hours will represent a concentrated area of interest individualized to student interest and career pathways.
• Six to Nine Hours of Recommended Courses
  • These hours will be drawn from courses designed to further develop student research, writing, and analytical abilities and may include an internship or work cooperative arrangement. (Revised 10/02)
• Three to Six Hours of Professional Paper or Thesis
  • Students are required to write a professional paper or thesis under the direction of an appropriate member of the Graduate Studies Faculty in Women's Studies