Graduate Certificate Requirements

Required courses for graduate certificate students (pursued with an MA, PhD or professional degree in another department or as a free-standing certificate for non-matriculated graduate students).

Graduate Certificate Program

Graduate Students with Professor Lind

Although the Graduate Certificate can be completed over one semester or several, we recommend completing it within one to three years if possible to sustain momentum and/or effectively contribute to research directions for other graduate and professional degrees. Moreover, courses and requirements may shift over longer periods of time. Students should regularly consult with the WGSS Graduate Director for their course advising and on their progress.

  • WGS 7012 Feminist Theory: Foundations (4 cr., offered only in Fall semester)

One of following:

  • WGS 7013 Feminist Theory: Race/Class/Sexuality/Nation (4 cr.)
  • WGS 7014 Feminist Theory: Contemporary Issues (4 cr.)
  • WGS 7015 Feminist Theory: Transnational (4 cr.)
  • WGS 70121: Contemporary Black Feminisms (3 cr.) + WGS 7002/7003 (1 cr.)

Two WGSS Department-offered graduate electives (3 cr. each minimum)

Total Graduate Credits: 14 semester credits minimum

Note: Students who began their graduate certificates during quarters and wish to complete them under semesters must achieve a minimum of 14 semester credits between quarter and semester credits, with 1 quarter credit equaling about .6 semester credit. To receive the certificate, they must also have taken Feminist Theory: Foundations and one of the other Feminist Theory courses above as well as two other courses offered by WGSS during quarters or semesters, unless they receive a special waiver from the WGSS Graduate Director to count one course offered by another department but approved by WGSS.

Special note germane to all UC WGSS graduate programs:

Only 9 semester credits (or 15 quarter credits) can be transferred from one program into another for advanced graduate standing (whether from outside UC or within it). This means that students who wish to shift from the Graduate Certificate to the MA or the MA to the Graduate Certificate must do so (by withdrawing from one and applying to the other) before they accrue more than 9 WGS semester credits (or 15 quarter credits). This also means that students who are taking WGS courses at UC (or at another institution) but have not yet applied for either the MA or the Graduate Certificate at UC should submit an application before they accrue more than 9 WGS semester credits (or 15 quarter credits) as only this amount will transfer. Failure to apply and be admitted into the desired UC WGSS program in a timely fashion can result in having to take more courses or even repeat courses over again. Students must also avoid "double-counting" required credits for separate degree programs (as in the case of dual-degree MA/PhD programs), unless enabled by a joint-degree arrangement (as in the case of the MA/JD). This can be avoided through advisement by the program directors involved.