Applicable only to students admitted during the 2010-2011 academic year.

Women’s Studies

College of Letters and Science

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Women’s Studies offers the Master of Arts (M.A.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Women’s Studies.

Admission

Program Name

Women’s Studies

Address

1120 Rolfe Hall
Box 951504
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1504 

Phone

(310) 206-8101 

Email

women@women.ucla.edu  / jenna@women.ucla.edu  

Leading to the degree of

M.A., Ph.D.

The Women’s Studies department admits only applicants whose objective is the Ph.D., although students may be awarded the M.A. en route to the Ph.D. 

Admission Limited to

Fall 

Deadline to apply

December 15th 

GRE (General and/or Subject), TWE

GRE: General 

Letters of Recommendation 

3 

Other Requirements

In addition to the University’s minimum requirements and those listed above, all applicants are expected to submit a personal statement, departmental application, and writing sample. 

Master’s Degree

Advising

The master’s degree program is supervised by a faculty committee. Early in their first year, students are assigned a faculty adviser who assists them with planning their program of study. Students are expected to meet at least once a quarter with their faculty adviser, usually at the beginning of the quarter to have their enrollment plan approved. At the beginning of the second year, students are expected to nominate a three-person master’s thesis committee which requires approval of the program and the Graduate Division. This committee is chaired by the student’s faculty adviser and is responsible for supervision, review, and approval of the master’s thesis.  A staff adviser provides assistance with policy and procedure.

Areas of Study

Examples of areas of study include but are not limited to the following: feminist theory; women and health; sexuality; sexual orientation, comparative gender roles; critical studies in arts and media; advocacy, politics and public policy; global/transnational feminisms; and ethnic studies/women of color.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

At least 10 courses (40 units) are required, of which at least eight (32 units) must be graduate courses. Two (four or more units) upper division courses may be applied toward the 40 units required. Women’s Studies 375, 495, and all courses in the 500-series may not be applied toward the 40-unit minimum requirement for the degree.

Required courses:

Women’s Studies 201, 202, 204, and 210. Women’s Studies 204 is a one-unit seminar that must be taken for at least four quarters.

One four-unit course on methodology relevant to the student’s research, e.g., in research methods (in the Social Sciences), or critical theory (in the Humanities), or Women Studies 203. The course must be approved in advance by the faculty adviser or designee.

Twenty elective units (five courses), including 12 units (three courses) in a field of emphasis related to the student’s specialization, chosen from a discipline/department, or an interdisciplinary area of study/interdepartmental program.

Eight units (two courses) of additional specialization or training in research methods.

Teaching Experience

Not Required.

Field Experience

Not Required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

Doctoral students have the option of fulfilling the master’s comprehensive examination plan to receive an M.A. degree. The examination requirement is fulfilled through successful completion of the first written qualifying (breadth) examination for the Ph.D. degree and submission of a 20-page paper, ordinarily one written for a core course, that demonstrates independent thinking and critical and analytical skills. The paper is evaluated by the student’s adviser and either the chair or the graduate chair (or designee) of Women’s Studies. This option is available only to doctoral students.

Thesis Plan

Every master’s degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research.

Students complete a master’s thesis under enrollment in Women’s Studies 598. The thesis committee consists of three qualified faculty selected from a current list of designated members for the interdepartmental program. The committee must be appointed by the Graduate Division.

Time-to-Degree

Students who enroll full-time are expected to complete the M.A. degree within two years (six quarters) of registration.

Doctoral Degree

Advising

The doctoral degree program is supervised by a faculty committee. Early in their first year, students are assigned a faculty adviser who assists them with planning their program of study. Students are expected to meet at least once a quarter with their faculty adviser, usually at the beginning of the quarter to have their enrollment plan approved. In the third or fourth year, before taking the University Oral Qualifying Examination, the student submits a four-person doctoral committee that requires approval of the program and appointment by the Graduate Division. The doctoral committee is responsible for supervision, review, and approval of the doctoral dissertation.  A staff adviser provides assistance with policy and procedure.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Examples of major fields include but are not limited to the following: feminist theory; women and health; sexuality; sexual orientation, comparative gender roles; critical studies in arts and media; advocacy, politics and public policy; global/transnational feminisms; and ethnic studies/women of color.

Foreign Language Requirement

Reading proficiency in one foreign language is required. Students may fulfill this requirement either by passing a departmental examination given by an appropriate faculty member in the program, by passing an examination given by an appropriate faculty member in a language department, or by successful completion of one year of a college-level language course.

Course Requirements

Doctoral students are required to complete 60 units of coursework; two upper division courses may be applied toward the required total. Women’s Studies 375 and 495, and all 500-series courses may not be applied toward the 60-unit minimum course requirement for the degree.

Required courses:

Women’s Studies 201, 202, 204, 210 and 296. Women’s Studies 204 is a one-unit seminar that must be taken for at least two quarters. Women Studies 296 is a two-unit seminar that must be taken for at least one quarter.

One four-unit course on methodology relevant to the student’s research, e.g., in research methods (in the Social Sciences), or critical theory (in the Humanities), or Women Studies 203. The course must be approved in advance by the faculty adviser or designee.

Forty elective units (five courses), including 12 units (three courses) in a field of emphasis related to the student’s specialization, chosen from a discipline/department, or an interdisciplinary area of study/interdepartmental program.

Eight units (two courses) of additional specialization or training in research methods are highly recommended, will count toward elective units and may be required at the discretion of the student’s faculty adviser.

Teaching assistants may enroll in Women’s Studies 495 when they receive their first teaching appointment, and must enroll in Women’s Studies 375 each quarter they hold a teaching appointment.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

Two written qualifying examinations are required: (1) A breadth examination covering general knowledge of women’s studies, feminist theory, and contemporary issues. The examination is administered by a committee composed of the student’s adviser, and either the chair or the graduate chair (or designee, i.e., one core course instructor) of Women’s Studies. Students are expected to take the examination at the end of their first year, but no later than Spring Quarter of their second year; (2) A depth examination covering the student’s area of specialization. Students who fail either of the written qualifying examinations may retake it once without petition, in part or in whole, as early as the following quarter.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is required after completion of the written qualifying examinations, completion of a dissertation proposal, and appointment of a doctoral committee in accord with University regulations. The four-person doctoral committee is responsible for administering the examination. The oral examination is approximately two hours in length and is focused on the student’s dissertation proposal in relation to the selected specialization. Students who fail the oral qualifying examination may retake it once without petition.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student’s ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

Students who enroll full-time are expected to complete the Ph.D. degree within five years (fifteen quarters) of registration.

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

The Graduate Committee conducts an annual review of students’ progress toward the degree at the end of Spring Quarter and makes recommendations regarding continuance or termination. The faculty committee reviews all recommendations and formally approves or rejects any recommendation of termination. A student may appeal the Graduate Committee’s recommendation of termination to the faculty committee in writing prior to their review of the recommendation.