Description: Whether pursuing an academic career path, a career in law or social justice, industry, government, or the nonprofit sector, a graduate certificate in women’s and gender studies offers students knowledge and research skills well-suited to employment and citizenship in an increasingly diverse and global world.

The University of Oregon’s WGSS graduate certificate program is interdisciplinary, intersectional, and international in its orientation. The certificate provides graduate students enrolled in UO departments with training in intersectional feminist scholarship and theory, as well as opportunities to teach undergraduate courses in WGSS (enrolled certificate students will receive preference in their applications for WGSS GTFs and summer teaching) and to explore research opportunities with UO’s Center for the Study of Women in Society.

Learning objectives:

• Training in intersectional and interdisciplinary feminist scholarship and theory
• Introducing students to theories and practices of feminist pedagogy
• Providing a professional credential for students interested in pursuing
  work in WGSS or WGSS-related fields

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How to Declare the Graduate Certificate

1. Reach out to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for WGSS to schedule a preliminary advising meeting.
   Current Director: Yvette Saavedra
2. Bring these 3 forms to the advising meeting. They do not all need to be
   filled out at the time of the meeting:
   • WGSS Graduate Certificate Application
   • WGSS Graduate Advising Worksheet
   • Declaration of Graduate Certificate
3. If you choose to declare the graduate certificate, please turn in your forms to the DGS, who will sign and submit them to the WGSS office.
4. The Division of Graduate Studies will formally declare your certificate in 2-3 weeks.

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NEW Requirements – Effective Fall 2019

Effective Fall 2019 students declaring a graduate certificate will follow
the new requirements listed below. Students declaring a certificate prior
to Fall 2019 have the option to follow the old requirements.

Please meet with our Director of Graduate Studies to map out the best plan for you.

24 credits

Take onerequired course: WGS 615 (5 credits total)
WGS 615: Contemporary Feminist Theories
Take threeor four*: WGS core courses (12-16 credits total)
WGS 510 Experimental Course	WGS 511 Feminist Praxis	WGS 521 Bodies and embodiment
WGS 522 Sexuality Studies	WGS 532 Gender , Environment and Development	WGS 550 Literature and World-making
WGS 551 International perspectives on gender	WGS 601 Research	WGS 605 Reading
WGS 607 Topics in Feminist Studies
Take twoor one*: WGS or approved courses from other departments (4-8 credits total)

* Students taking 4 courses in WGSS core courses should take 1 course in cross-listed course. Students taking 3 WGSS core courses should take 2 cross-listed courses.

Additional requirements:

1. No more than 8 credits may be taken pass/no pass without specific approval.
2. No more than 4 credits of Reading & Conference (WGS 605) can be applied to the certificate.
3. No more than 4 credits of Reading & Conference (605) from the student’s degree-granting department can be applied to the certificate.
4. If a course is not officially cross-listed or if your major project for the course was a gender studies project, you should discuss with the WGSS Director of Graduate Studies or you can petition to have it count toward the certificate. The process for petitioning can be found on the forms area of our website.

Required course:

WGS 615, Contemporary Feminist Theories [5 credits]: This course examines the development of feminist theory over the past forty years, exploring key concepts such as class, race, sexuality, intersectionality, transnationalism, and ability. This course provides an introduction to thinking theoretically about issues of feminism within multiple contexts and intellectual traditions. Although the specific focus may change each year, students should expect the course to center discussions of gender and its crucial links to productions of race, class, sexuality, and national identity. We strongly encourage graduate students to take this course before applying for teaching positions in WGSS.

For applications and worksheets, please see the Forms & Applications page.

To learn the latest about Graduate School policies regarding satisfactory progress toward your degree, go to Satisfactory Progress in Division of Graduate Studies.

The Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Graduate Certificate was
established in the 1983-1984 school year.