Ph.D. Degree Plan

For the Ph.D. degree program, the Department of Women's Studies will require a set of core courses, research tools, and several sets of guided electives, designed to enhance knowledge of disciplinary and interdisciplinary practices.  Specific courses will be selected under the guidance of the student's graduate committee, in accordance with the following requirements:

• Foundation courses and/or courses from previous master's degree - up to 42 semester credit hours
• Required core courses (including dissertation) - minimum of 27 semester credit hours
• Guided electives - minimum of 15 semester credit hours
• Research Methods courses - minimum of 6 semester credit hours
• Other electives selected in consultation with the student's graduate committee 

Total Semester Credit Hours beyond the baccalaureate degree (minimum) -
90 semester credit hours

More information can be found in the Women's Studies Ph.D. Student Handbook.

Foundation Courses (up to 42 semester credit hours)

• WS 5843, Feminist Theories (3 credits)
• WS 5463, U.S. Women of Colors (3 credits)
• WS 5353, Feminist Pedagogies (3 credits)
• WS 5363, Feminist Epistemologies (3 credits)

Required Courses (27 semester credit hours)

• WS 6103, New Directions in Feminist/Womanist Theories (3 credits)
• WS 6203, Women's Studies Disciplinary/Interdisciplinary Knowledges (3 credits)
• WS 6303, Transdisciplinary Feminist Research Methods (3 credits)
• WS 6403, The Politics of Publications and Writing (3 credits)
• WS 6601, Transdisciplinary Studies Colloquium (3 credits)
• WS 6983, Dissertation (6 credits)
• WS 6993, Dissertation (6 credits)

Guided Electives (15 semester credit hours)

Students will select one of the following options:

• American Studies (15 graduate credits from a specific list of courses)
• Health Studies (15 graduate credits from a specific list of courses)
• Multicultural Studies(15 graduate credits from a specific list of courses)
• Rhetoric (15 graduate credits from a specific list of courses)
• Sociology (15 graduate credits from a specific list of courses)

Research Tools (6 semester credit hours)

Students will select one of the following options:

• Qualitative Research Methods (a minimum of 6 graduate credits, including WS 5773 Qualitative Research Methods)
• Quantitative Research methods (a minimum of 6 graduate credits)
• Electronic Information Retrieval (a minimum of 6 graduate credits)
• Rhetorical Criticism and Discourse Analysis (a minimum of 6 graduate credits)
• Holistic Research Methods (a minimum of 6 graduate credits)
• Foreign Language (a minimum of 6 graduate credits or 12 undergraduate credits in the same foreign language or equivalency)
• American Sign Language (a minimum of 6 graduate credits or equivalency)

Comprehensive Examinations

A set of qualifying written and oral exams will be required in the following areas:

• Feminist/Womanist Theories and Pedagogies - an exam developed from a specific reading list of "classics" and ground-breaking works compiled by the core faculty in Women's Studies
• Transdisciplinary Knowledges and Praxis - an exam requiring students to reflect on feminist epistemologies and holistic knowledge production in relation to disciplinary/interdisciplinary knowledges, especially as they intersect with Women's Studies and their specialized research areas
• Critical Literature Review - a 30-40 page critical literature review on the student's anticipated dissertation topic
• The written examinations normally must be completed within nine months of completing course work, and may be repeated once.  The Graduate Committee will consist of a minimum of one core faculty member in Women's Studies, another core or affiliate faculty member in Women's Studies, and a faculty member from the area represented by the student's (inter)disciplinary concentration. 

Dissertation

All students will complete a dissertation, directed by a core or affiliated faculty member in Women's Studies.  An oral defense of the dissertation is required.