WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES (MA)
Explore how gender, race and class are constructed in society
DePaul’s Women’s and Gender Studies MA program emphasizes critical theory and analysis in examining women’s lives, conditions and contributions within their historical, social, cultural, national and transnational contexts. Take a critical look at how gender, race, class and other systems of power are constructed in society.
The curriculum
- Focuses on the interconnectedness of local and global and feminist theories, methodologies, research, public policies and social movements
- Addresses issues of power, resistance and social transformation
- Connects feminist theories to activism and social justice
- Engages communities through research, advocacy and service
Courses are offered in the evening at the Lincoln Park Campus and the program can be completed in two years.
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Study in the diverse and vibrant city of Chicago
Experience activism in the heart of the city, both on the streets and in the classroom. Develop your advocacy skills with local community-based organizations like the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance and About Face Theater.
Application Deadlines
The annual application priority date is February 15. Applications received after February 15 will be considered on a space-available basis.
Admission Requirements
Submit an online application, admission essay, two letters of recommendation, a writing sample and official transcripts.
Required Courses
You’ll complete 48 credit hours: five core courses, five or six elective courses, and a capstone project.
95%
of Women’s and Gender Studies graduates were employed, continuing their education or pursuing other goals within six months of graduation.
Faculty with a wide range of research expertise
You’ll study with Heather Montes-Ireland, whose interdisciplinary specializations include economic violence, racial capitalism, and the global economy. She is currently working on a book that examines the ways in which Latinas and Black women struggle for intersectional economic justice: “As an interdisciplinary research project, it includes a diverse data archive of historiography, visual culture, and political economy.”
“DePaul taught me what intersectional feminism was and how to apply it in my everyday life and career. Now, I teach my students to become more critical thinkers and confident academic writers. This program highly encourages an anti-racist, anti-ableist, and anti-classist approach to feminist studies. Students can expect to be immersed in a social justice and community-driven environment when earning their degrees.”
Andi (BA ’15, MA ’16)
Assistant Instructor, University of Texas at Austin
Alumni Network
Alumni of the MA in Women’s and Gender Studies program have followed a number of trajectories. Some go on to PhD programs, while others are leaders in education, media and communications, social service, human rights, law and legal advocacy, public policy, community-based organizing, creative arts and social justice.
Scholarships & Aid
The department offers yearly graduate assistantships that include a stipend. Learn more about the opportunities available to you.
Admission Requirements
?The MA in Women’s and Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary program that begins its sequence of classes in the Autumn quarter; we therefore only admit students to begin in the Autumn quarter of each year. Each cohort of students will take the core and capstone courses together, thus enabling a community of scholars to develop.
The annual application priority date is February 15. Applications received after February 15 will be considered on a space-available basis. Applications for the MSW-MA Program must be submitted no later than April 1.
The Online Application is available at www.depaul.edu/apply. Most application materials can either be uploaded through the application or e-mailed to the Office of Graduate Admission at GradDePaul@depaul.edu. If available from your undergraduate institution(s), official electronic transcripts can be emailed to Gradtranscripts@depaul.edu. Otherwise, hard copies of your transcripts should be mailed to the DePaul University College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Office of Graduate Admission, 2400 N. Sheffield, Chicago, IL 60614. Please make sure your name is on all documents.
Have you already applied? You can check the status of your application online using the login information that will be sent to you by email a day or two after you apply. You also may contact the LAS Office of Graduate Admission at (773) 325-7315 or GradDePaul@depaul.edu.
ADMISSION PROCEDURE AND REQUIREMENTS:
For full admission consideration, students must submit their application online and submit the following supporting credentials. Applications will not be forwarded to Women’s and Gender Studies for review until all application materials are received:
(1) One official transcript from a regionally accredited institution that shows successful completion of a Bachelor’s Degree with at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and official transcripts from all other colleges and universities attended. Please note: international students should visit the LAS international admission website? for information about submitting official academic credentials.
(2) Two letters of recommendation, with at least one of the letter from an undergraduate professor. Letters can be uploaded through the online application or submitted (on letterhead in PDF format) directly to the Office of Graduate Admission at GradDePaul@depaul.edu. If letters are e-mailed, the recommender must include the Letter of Recommendation Form that indicates applicant’s choice regarding right of access to the recommendation. This form is available on the WGS website.
(3) Admission Essay (750 words) in which you discuss your background and interests, situate yourself within the field of Women’s and Gender Studies, and explain your interest in DePaul University’s graduate program. If you are applying for the dual MSW-MA in Women's and Gender Studies Program, please be sure to indicate this in the first paragraph of the essay and explain your interest in the dual degree.
(4) A writing sample (e.g., an upper-level undergraduate paper from a relevant course that indicates your preparedness for graduate study in our program).
(5) If you completed your undergraduate education outside of the U.S. and you are not a native speaker of English, an English language proficiency exam is required. We accept TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo.
A campus visit is optional for all students. For information, or to set up a visit, contact Dr. Sanjukta, Graduate Director, Women’s and Gender Studies at smukher8@depaul.edu.
Learn more about Graduate Admission.
Degree Requirements
Course Requirements
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| WGS 400 | FEMINIST THEORIES | 4 |
| WGS 415 | FEMINIST GENEALOGIES IN WOMEN'S AND GENDER STUDIES | 4 |
| WGS 465 | GLOBALIZATION, TRANSNATIONALISM, AND GENDER | 4 |
| WGS 491 | METHODS AND SCHOLARSHIP IN WOMEN'S & GENDER STUDIES | 4 |
| WGS 473 | SEMINAR IN GRADUATE PROPOSAL WRITING | 4 |
| WGS 485 | WOMEN, GENDER, AGENCY, AND SOCIAL CHANGE | 4 |
| WGS 493 | FINAL PROJECT INDEPENDENT RESEARCH | 4 |
| Select five WGS and WGS-approved electives | 20 | |
Elective courses will be chosen by the student in conjunction with a faculty advisor in order to tailor a coherent program of study to the individual student’s particular academic and/or professional objectives while ensuring that the student sustains a strong interdisciplinary focus at the graduate level. Elective courses may be offered by Women’s and Gender Studies or by other departments/programs at DePaul, provided that such courses meet the criteria for inclusion within the Women’s and Gender Studies curriculum (with permission).
Capstone/Final Project Requirements
All students must complete an MA Final Project, selecting one of the following options:
Thesis
The Thesis Option requires that the student plan, execute, and defend an independent and original analytical research project that makes a contribution to current scholarship in the field of women’s and gender studies and related subfields. The thesis should show accomplishment in methods of research, critical judgment, and, if appropriate, praxis that characterizes feminist research. Thesis research must be grounded in interdisciplinary scholarship as well as feminist and/or gender theories, and must reflect considerable engagement with relevant literature and methodology in the field. The thesis consists of approximately 50 pages of text with a substantial bibliography.
Students who select the Thesis option will complete, in addition to required Core Courses in the MA Program, a five-course elective focus, and one course of WGS 493 focused on researching and writing the thesis. You are required to present and defend the thesis to an MA Final Project Committee. The student is also required to present their final project to a public audience at a WGS Graduate Student Final Project Presentation event.
Practical Project
The Practical Project Option requires that the student plan, develop, and defend a practical project that is grounded in interdisciplinary scholarship, feminist and/or gender theories, and that has a direct and practical application to community service, advocacy, and/or education. Practical projects take a variety of forms; for instance, it could be a participatory action research project with an organization, or a curriculum to be taught in community-based or educational setting, or a public policy or human rights related educational or advocacy project, or any project created for implementation with a broader community. In general, the MA Practical Project in WGS consists of the project itself (e.g., the curriculum, the participatory action research report) and a Framing Paper (minimum 25 pages) in which you frame the mission, goals, methods, components, and expected outcomes of the project you have undertaken.
Students who select the Practical Project option will complete, in addition to required Core Courses in the MA Program, a five-course elective focus, plus an additional one course of WGS 493. They will also be required to present and defend the Practical Project to an MA Final Project Committee. The student is also required to present their final project to a public audience at a WGS Graduate Student Final Project Presentation event.
Creative Project
The Creative Project Option requires students to create an artistic and/or literary project that gives voice to issues or questions in Women’s and Gender Studies. It should be informed by feminist theory and scholarship, and it should address a significant theme or question within the field. A Creative Project may be a play, an art exhibit, a memoir, a novel, a collection of short stories, a collection of non-fiction essays, a mixed-media work, a dance or musical performance, a film, a website—to name just a few of the multiple possibilities open to students choosing this option. In general, the MA Creative Project in WGS consists of the creative project itself and a Creative Project Framing Paper (minimum 25 pages) in which you describe and frame the creative project.
Students who select the Creative Project Option will complete, in addition to required Core Courses in the MA Program, a five-course elective focus, plus an additional one course of independent study and research as WGS 493.
Portfolio
The Portfolio Final Project Option requires that the student conduct a comprehensive analysis of their learning while a graduate student in WGS. The student must prepare and submit (1) a collection of at least six seminar papers, practical or creative projects, and/or other research products that are the outcomes of core and elective courses; and (2) a Portfolio Essay (minimum 25 pages) that offers a reflective and critical analysis of how the papers/projects reflect the students intellectual, creative, and analytical development over the course of their graduate studies.
Students who select the Portfolio Option will complete, in addition to required Core Courses in the MA Program, a five-course elective focus, plus an additional course WGS 493 – during which they will write the Portfolio Essay. They will also be required to present and defend the portfolio project to the Chair of their Final Project and one additional faculty member, who must both be appointed in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies at DePaul. The student is also required to present their final project to a public audience at a WGS Graduate Student Final Project Presentation event.
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