Best PhDs in Gender Studies

Some doctoral programs require a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 GPA from an accredited institution while others ask for a master's degree. You may also be expected to submit your GRE scores (although many programs are no longer requiring the test) or TOEFL scores if you are an international student. Many programs may require prospective students to submit the following:

• An admissions application and fee
• An academic statement of purpose that indicates your goals for graduate school
• A personal statement of your background and experiences
• A copy of your resume or CV
• A copy of your undergraduate and graduate transcripts
• A master's degree
• Letters of recommendation
• Diversity statement
• Matching of research interests with faculty expertise and interests
• Second language(s) proficiency
• A writing sample

The writing sample is a crucial part of the application because it demonstrates your research interests, your ability to communicate effectively, think critically and write effectively (most gender studies programs are very writing intensive). Some programs ask that you submit a well-polished term paper or an excerpt from a thesis.

Depending on the doctoral program you apply to, you may be required to have already completed or in the process of completing a master's degree. Other programs may only require a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 or 3.5 GPA. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of gender studies, gender studies doctoral programs do not typically require applicants to have completed a gender studies BA or BS, but prospective students should have some academic background in women, feminist, queer, sexuality, or gender studies. Prospective students are encouraged to use their statement of purpose, personal statement, and/or writing sample to engage with some of the scholarship and theoretical frameworks of gender studies and demonstrate a record of coursework or activism with regards to feminist or queer theory, race, class, sexuality, and gender.

Additionally, some doctoral programs offer teaching assistant positions that may carry a stipend and/or full-tuition scholarship for prospective students. These programs may ask students to describe any special qualifications or present past teaching experiences for consideration.

Pursuing a PhD is a major commitment. It requires time, money, and an enormous amount of intellectual labor from students, so it is imperative that applicants search for accredited doctoral programs. Accredited programs have been held to vigorous education standards, which are set by accrediting agencies. They are focused on quality and rigor, rather than profit. In other words, accredited programs are not commercially driven diploma mills, where people simply pay for a degree without completing any coursework. Without accreditation, programs do not qualify for financial aid programs, which are essential for most graduate students.

Within the United States, the Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation oversee all of the independent accrediting bodies. You can search institutions, programs, and accrediting agencies here and here.

At this time, there are no organizations that specifically accredit gender studies programs.

The amount of time it takes to earn your doctorate varies; some students may enter programs with credits that transfer from a previously earned master's degree, which can obviously shorten the time spent doing coursework. Other time variabilities might include the types of research a student engages with for their dissertation, or how often certain courses are offered. Coursework can take 2-4 years, and the dissertation process can take another 2-4 years on average.

Programs can require anywhere from 36 to 66 credits in coursework, though some may be as much as 90 credits beyond a bachelor's degree. This coursework might involve core courses in theory and history of thought, methodology or skills training, and seminars both within and outside of the major. In addition to this coursework, students are usually required to take dissertation workshops. Some programs require students to complete a comprehensive oral and written exams for doctoral candidacy before they submit their dissertation for defense.

Doctoral coursework in gender studies is generally comprised of intensive reading and writing in gender studies/feminist/queer theory and history, research and methodologies, and feminist pedagogy. Research and methodology courses teach students how to methodically conduct investigations into their research. These research methods might be ethnographic, sociological, qualitative, quantitative, or historical. Because of the interdisciplinarity of gender studies, students can access the same research methodologies used in social and cultural anthropology, English and literature, communications, cultural studies, media studies, and linguistics. Core courses in feminist pedagogy are essential to most gender studies doctoral programs because the expectation is that students are interested in pursuing teaching as a part of their careers.

Other coursework might include:

• Transnational feminism
• Black feminism
• Masculinity studies
• Cultural studies
• Post-colonial theory
• Critical race/ethnic studies
• Indigenous studies
• Black studies
• Asian studies
• Chicana/o studies
• Diaspora studies
• American studies
• Historiography

Additionally, many programs offer students the opportunity to design their own independent study.

Preparing Your Gender Studies Dissertation

Students should consider all of the coursework offered within their program, as well as their outside or elective courses, as a process to investigate and enrich their future dissertation. Seminars are also opportunities for students to familiarize themselves with instructors who they might like to work with on their dissertation committee. Class assignments can be utilized to better understand research methodologies and applied towards dissertation chapters.

Some, but not all, programs require students to take comprehensive exams before they advance to doctoral candidacy. The exams usually occur no longer than one year after the completion of coursework and can be both oral and written. In some cases, students must assemble an exam committee and choose an exam advisor. This advisor and committee usually serve as the dissertation advisor and committee as well.

Ideally, by the time coursework has been completed, students have a general idea regarding their dissertation subject, perhaps even some early versions of dissertation chapters, and a plan for their dissertation committee and advisor. PhD candidates choose an advisor and a committee to shepherd them through the dissertation process. Dissertations go through several revisions with the help of the advisor and committee, and eventually, the PhD candidate defends their dissertation to this committee. Dissertation defense simply means that your committee asks questions and offers feedback regarding your project and then deliberates over approval for the dissertation.

Doctoral students are often encouraged to find a research focus in their studies, cultivating an in-depth area or areas of expertise, familiarity with fields of study related to gender studies, and to help with preparation for qualifying exams and dissertation work. Current scholarship is focused on issues of intersectionality, and many programs offer courses that consider how gender intersects with other markers of identity, such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, disability, nation, citizenship status, religion, life experiences, and access to resources.

Black Studies Concentration

Many gender studies programs encourage students to consider the intersection of race and gender. Specifically, black studies as a concentration explores social justice approaches to race and gender inequities, interrogates the operations of social hierarchies, and analyzes the contributions of black intellectual, cultural, and political productions. This concentration looks at structures of power that make the processes and practices of colonialism, slavery, criminalization, globalization, and racial profiling possible as well as how gender impacts these experiences. Black liberation, history, representation, feminism, and self-determination are also integral to this area of emphasis.

Gendered Borders/Changing Boundaries Concentration

Gender studies programs are increasingly offering courses and concentrations that analyze the diverse experiences of women around the globe. This concentration looks at histories and theories of race and colonialism as they constitute sex/sexuality and gender. This is often a much-needed corrective for the ways that the academy has prioritized the experiences of white, western women. Transnational feminism or post-colonial feminism considers diasporas, borders,historical implications of colonization and geopolitical situations that impact gendered experiences. The gendered realities of immigrants, refugees, indigenous people, and displaced persons are examined and the idea that women around the world experience the same oppressions, dangers, and privileges is challenged.

Gaining an understanding of gender studies as an academic discipline does not require students to only enroll in doctoral programs. Academic institutions offer various levels of degree programs for students to gain basic, foundational knowledge of gender studies. Additionally, because of the interdisciplinary nature of gender studies, students may encounter gender studies in anthropology, sociology, literature, media studies, theater, art, and history courses. As a result, students in gender studies doctoral programs are likely to bring diverse academic experiences and degrees with them.

Gender Studies Associate Degrees

An associate degree in gender studies requires students to earn around 60 credits, although on average, only about 18 of these units are gender studies courses. The remaining credits are general education requirements, and most of these programs are constructed for students to transfer to four-year higher learning institutions. At the associate degree level, students can expect to explore notions of gender in various social, political, and economic positions within different cultures at different historical moments. They will be introduced to the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, nationality, citizenship, and gender and will learn to critically analyze power relations on a personal level as well as on a social level.

Gender Studies Bachelor's Degrees

Students who are interested in a bachelor's degree in gender studies can expect that most programs will require about 120 units of coursework for completion. The majority of this coursework may be in gender studies, and the general education requirements might be completed during the first two years of study. Students will develop knowledge of the field of gender studies, research methodologies, theoretical approaches, and historical and transnational implications around gender and inequality. This degree level requires students to cultivate analytic and writing skills.

Gender Studies Master's Degrees

A gender studies master's degree requires around 30-36 units to complete. The majority of these units will be coursework and will finalize with some of these units as practicum or thesis work. Coursework and thesis work will be very writing-intensive, and students will be expected to engage in rigorous research and scholarship in feminism, critical race studies, and queer theory. Intersectionality will be emphasized throughout programs. While many programs offer a master's degree in gender studies as precursors to a doctoral degree, some programs offer master's that are professional, terminal degrees.

Gender Studies Graduate Certificates

The study of women, gender, and sexuality is central in every field of knowledge today, from the study of politics and society to biology and medicine. Students enrolled in graduate programs outside of gender studies but within the same higher education institution have the option of enrolling in graduate certificate programs in gender studies. This option especially benefits students studying disciplines that may not include a gender studies component, such as medicine, law, business, science, technology, or engineering. The graduate certificate can expand career opportunities, broaden perspectives on gender and sexuality, and facilitate discourse around disparities and inequalities in these fields.

Similar to career options for women's studies graduates, graduating with a doctorate in gender studies can afford you the opportunity to work in a range of occupations, including academia, human services, social work, public administration, non-profit organizations, private businesses, advocacy, public policy, public health, and the arts.

Because a PhD in Gender Studies is interdisciplinary and useful in understanding systems of power, labor, politics, culture and inequalities, it can be used in a broad range of occupations. Many doctoral graduates become professors, but the skill set that you cultivate as a result of the work on and research for your PhD can also be transferable to more activist-oriented work in nonprofits or NGOs as well as advocacy groups.

Become a Professor of Gender Studies

Many doctoral students will continue their careers in academia, seeking tenured and non-tenured faculty positions in colleges and universities. In addition to their teaching duties, faculty, especially those hired at flagship universities, are often required to continue researching, publishing work, presenting their research at conferences, and engaging in outside projects or activism. Faculty are also expected to mentor students, especially on the graduate level, serving as advisors for student projects and sitting on various committees. Teaching loads vary across institutions, and often reflect the mission of the institution. Flagship universities and research-focused institutions might require faculty to teach fewer courses per semester but tend to expect faculty to publish more. Conversely, faculty at a community college or part-time adjunct faculty may be responsible for more classes per semester but the expectations to publish and present are not as demanding.

According to 2020 numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for post-secondary teachers is $80,790, and job growth for the period of 2019-2029 was projected to be at 9%, which they note is 'much faster than average.' Of course, this figure varies depending on academic discipline.

Become a Grant Writer

Graduates might consider grant writing work in the non-profit world or with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that specialize in areas of sexuality, gender identity, or other areas where gender disparities exist like health, law, and access to resources. This might be appealing to individuals who are activist-oriented and looking to address practical issues of sexuality and gender identity. The gender studies PhD can be useful in causes like gender inequality and labor, LGBTQ health issues, and women and international development.

A PhD in gender studies prepares grant writers for the large amount of research they must engage in, both in terms of searching for grants and developing grant materials.

Become a Policy Analyst

Another career option for those with doctoral degrees in gender studies is policy analyst. Policy analysts work for think tanks, government, or other advocacy groups. Their goal is to raise public awareness around issues and to influence change via government action. Like grant writing, this career option might appeal to individuals looking to engage on an activist level. They might help to create government policies around issues like workplace inequality, access to healthcare for the LGBTQ community, stopping gender violence and sex trafficking, or the gendered refugee experience.

Policy analysts' work is research-heavy. Their work consists of one (or all) of the following areas: gathering information (especially statistical data); determining problem areas, crafting solutions, and evaluating these solutions; determining the effectiveness of existing policies; and sharing information with public officials, lawmakers, and the public. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics salaries for policy analysts vary widely ($30,000-$145,000) and are dependent on the type and size of the entity and individual qualifications.

The National Women's Studies Association (NSWA) was established in 1977 and is one of the most well-known and largest networks of feminist scholars, activists, and educators in the field of women and gender studies. Their focus is on scholarship and increasing awareness of issues of gender both inside and outside of the academy. Membership is offered on an individual basis or institutional basis. Individual fees are income-based on a sliding scale and allow members admittance to the member directory and employment database, access to the annual conference on a reduced registration rate, application to scholarships, grants, and awards, and participation in constituency group discussions.

The costs associated with earning a doctorate in gender studies varies from student to student and program to program. Variables include in-state vs out-of-state tuition, private vs public universities, cost of living issues, technology and book costs, transportation, and availability of affordable housing. The most accurate way to assess the costs of a doctoral program is to contact the programs directly as well as to talk to current doctoral students enrolled in each program. On average though, tuition can range anywhere from $30,000-$66,000 per year for a doctoral program.

Most doctoral programs are well aware of the prohibitive costs associated with earning a doctorate in gender studies, and many of these programs offer funding packages for doctoral students. Funding packages differ from program to program, but many offer tuition reimbursement, health insurance, and stipends. These offerings may take the form of graduate assistantships, teaching assistantships, and graduate fellowships. The National Women's Studies Association provides a list of women and gender studies PhD programs and associated funding packages here. NSWA also offers a list of student awards and scholarships here.

Additionally, some doctoral programs offer teaching assistant positions that may carry a stipend and/or full-tuition scholarship for prospective students. These programs may ask students to describe any special qualifications or present past teaching experiences for consideration.

Institutions may also offer opportunities for grants and fellowships that are dependent on graduate status in their programs. For instance, UCLA maintains a Graduate & Postdoctoral Extramural Support (GRAPES) Database, Gradfellowships-L LIST, and other funding opportunities for study, travel, and research.

If programs do not offer any of these options, students might also consider federal assistance by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.