Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies 4+1 Program of Study

Students intending to pursue the WGSS 4+1 program must meet the following requirements:

·         A minimum 3.0 GPA when they enter the WGSS major;

·         A minimum 3.0 GPA in all WGSS undergraduate course work and overall, and

·         International students who must show English language competency must present a minimum score of 100 on the TOEFL iBT (or 600 for paper-based TOEFL) or 7 on the IELTS.

- Students applying for this fast-track MA follow most of the same procedures as those applying for our two-year MA. They must submit to the UC Graduate School an online application for Graduate Admissions and pay the application fee. An official transcript from all degree-granting institutions attended since high school and three letters of recommendation from instructors familiar with their work are also required as are some additional materials (see Application Instructions for Graduate Programs on the WGSS Department website here).

- Prospective students eligible for the WGSS 4+1 program should declare themselves as 4+1 students to the WGSS Undergraduate and Graduate Directors by the end of their junior year (prior to taking Feminist Methodologies and completing their capstone project) and should apply for the 4+1 MA by January 15  of their senior year.

-WGSS majors who do not declare themselves as 4+1 students prior to taking Feminist Methodologies and completing their capstone project may still be eligible to apply for the 4+1 MA if they meet the qualifications and their capstone paper is revisable for graduate-level work, but they must consult the WGSS Graduate Director no later than their final undergraduate semester and, if given permission, must apply no later than early summer for the upcoming fall semester.

- Admitted 4+1 students are eligible for the 25% tuition remission offered to all full-time (taking a minimum of 10 graduate credits per semester) students during their one-year MA. 4+1 students are ineligible for departmental graduate assistantship and scholarship awards.

- If admitted, students must also complete their BA with a WGSS major under WGSS 4+1 major guidelines before enrolling in this fast-track MA, required coursework for which must begin in the Fall semester and should be completed in the following Spring semester.

- Like all MA students, 4+1 students  must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA during their graduate studies. 

4+1 students complete the same credit requirements (30 semester credits) and most of the same course requirements for the WGSS major as non-4+1 majors with the exception of different requirements for open electives and for Feminist Methodologies and WGSS Capstone.  As a result, it is critical for majors to declare their intention to be 4+1 students with the WGSS Undergraduate and Graduate Directors by the end of their junior year (ideally prior to choosing open electives and taking Feminist Methodologies and WGSS Capstone).

4+1 WGSS Major Requirements (33 semester credits)

Required Courses (5 @ 3 semester credits each = 15 semester credits):

·         Introduction to WGSS (WGS 2002)

·         Feminist Theory (WGS 4000)

·         Feminist Methods and Methodologies (WGS 7004)

·         Feminist Research (WGS 8000): 4+1 students will prepare a draft MA Project proposal by the end of this course

·         WGSS Capstone (WGS 5030): 4+1 students will undertake research based on their draft MA Project proposal under the supervision of a WGSS core or affiliate faculty member to produce an annotated bibliography rather than write a Capstone paper

Note: WGSS majors who wish to pursue the 4+1 after they have completed Feminist Methodologies and a Capstone paper may still be eligible to do so. They must see the WGSS Graduate Director prior to graduating to determine if they have the qualifications to apply for the 4+1 MA year (and in time) and a capstone paper that is revisable for graduate-level work.

Required Elective Distributions (3 @ 3 semester credits each = 9 semester credits):

One WGSS Department-offered and WGS numbered course in each of the following areas chosen under advisement by the WGSS Undergraduate Director, only one of which can be below the 3000-levell:

·         Feminist Cultural Studies

·         Feminist Political Studies

·         Feminist Science Studies

Required Open Electives or Track Electives (3 @ 3 semester credits each = 9 semester credits):

Open electives can include WGSS Department- and other department-offered courses that carry a WGS-cross-listed number or are approved by the WGSS department, which should be at the 4000- level and one of which must be at the 6000- or 7000-leve. These can include the WGSS internship course and/or the WGSS independent study course.

4+1 MA Requirements (22 semester credits minimum)

Fall (3 @ 4 graduate semester credits each = 12 semester credits)

·         Proseminar: Professional Development (WGS 7000)

·         Feminist Theory: Foundations (WGS 7012)

·         Individual Directed Research I (WGS 8010) or Graduate Internship I (WGS 7050)

·         Feminist Theory: Race/Class/Sexuality/Nation (7013) OR Contemporary Issues (7014) OR Transnational (7015) OR Comparative Black Feminisms (7021) OR Queer Theory (7037)

Spring (2 with variable credit; 10 credits minimum constitutes full-time status)

·         Individual Directed Research II (WGS 8011; completion of MA Project) OR Graduate Internship II (WGS 7051; completion of Applied MA Project)

·         Comprehensive Analysis (WGS 8020; culminating MA Oral Exam)

·         Open graduate elective offered by WGSS Department selected under WGSS Graduate Director advisement: 3 graduate credits

Undergraduate Students

The confirmation deadline for first-year students planning to enroll for the fall 2020 semester has been pushed back one month to June 1st, 2020.

Graduate Students

The WGSS Graduate Program is accepting applications for fall 2020 until August 3rd, 2020. Dr. McGowan will consider applications from UC WGSS majors who are graduating in Spring 2020 or Summer 2020 for the 4+1 program if they meet the WGSS major and GPA requirements for admission to the 4+1 program and their WGSS Capstone project is revisable for graduate-level work.

For questions regarding our 4+1 program please contact our Undergraduate Program Director Carolyn Peterson or, our Graduate Program Director Dr. Valerie Weinstein.