Women's Studies (WMST)

Abstract

Women's Studies offers an interdisciplinary and integrative program of study leading to the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Students will be expected to develop a thorough grounding in the new scholarship on women; acquire an understanding of gender as a category of analysis; analyze and assess theories about the role of gender in systems of hierarchy and its intersection with other categories of difference, such as race, ethnicity, religion, class, sexuality, physical and developmental ability, and age; develop competence in women's studies theories, research methods, and pedagogy, including issues related to women's diversity nationally and globally; and achieve competence in a selected area of specialization.

Admissions Information

Applicants are required to send to the Graduate School an application, application fee, official transcripts, GRE scores, (3) letters of recommendation with rating sheets, scholarly writing sample with footnotes approximately 10 pages in length, personal statement of purpose, CV or resume. Students are encouraged to submit the application online and send a copy of all required documents to the Women's Studies Department (2101 Woods Hall, College Park, MD 20742). If you must send hard copies of documents to the Graduate School, please mail all supporting documents together in one single packets to this address: University of Maryland College Park, Enrollment Services Operations, Application for Graduate Admission, Rm 0130 Mitchell Building, College Park, MD 20742. Additional requirements for International students can be found at the following website: http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/admission.html.

Application Deadlines

Fall

Spring

Domestic Applicants:
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

Domestic Applicant Deadlines

Applications must be received by December 15 (December 15 preferred) .

This program does not accept applications for this semester.

International Applicants:
Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials

IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.

Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas

February 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1

June 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants

May 1
If Domestic Deadline is after May 1

October 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials

May 15
If Domestic Deadline is after May 15

October 31
If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Application Requirements

GRE General
3 Letters of Recommendation with ranking sheets
10 page Writing Sample
personal statement of purpose and experience
C.V. or resume

	Fall	Spring
Domestic Applicants: U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
Domestic Applicant Deadlines	Applications must be received by December 15 (December 15 preferred) .	This program does not accept applications for this semester.

International Applicants: Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.
Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas	February 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1	June 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants	May 1 If Domestic Deadline is after May 1	October 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials	May 15 If Domestic Deadline is after May 15	October 31 If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts (M.A.)
Women's Studies does not have a stand-alone M.A. program. However, on the way to a Ph.D., students who have completed the appropriate coursework may request conferral of a master's degree. Students will begin the graduate program with a sequence of courses that include the required core interdisciplinary courses for a total of 31 credits and finish with either the completion of a thesis or the 'general' examination. This portion of the program stresses interdisciplinary Master's courses offered in the Department of Women's Studies.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Students' continued participation in the doctoral program is dependent upon the quality of their coursework, research and writing, and successfully passing exams. After successfully completing the M.A. portion of the program, students will meet with a committee of advisors to determine the balance of their program of coursework. A full complement of courses is oriented toward two enterprises: 1) developing a major field, i.e. an interdisciplinary topical inquiry, that will support the dissertation; and 2) developing the research skills of two methodologies. In addition, students must also demonstrate reading competency in a language other than English, relevant to their course of study. Students entering with a bachelor's degree are required to complete a minimum of 54 credits, including 12 dissertation research credits. Students entering with a graduate certificate in Women's Studies or a master's degree are required to take a minimum of 34 credits, including 12 dissertation research credits.

Facilities and Special Resources

Resources for research in the College Park and Washington D.C. are unsurpassed. The University's libraries hold around 2,500,000 volumes. In addition to the outstanding holdings of the Library of Congress, the area also offers the specialized resources of the National Archives and Archives II (located on the grounds of the University of Maryland); the Smithsonian Institution; the National Museum of Women in the Arts; and a broad array of public policy organizations and "think-tanks," such as the Institute for Women's Policy Research, Women's Legal Defense Fund, National Organization for Women, American Association of University Women, Women's Research and Education Institute, National Women's Law Center, American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher Education, Business and Professional Women's Foundation, Center for Policy Alternative's Women's Policy and Programs, Center for Women's Policy Studies, Feminist Majority, General Federation of Women's Clubs International's Women's History and Resources Center, International Center for Research on Women, National Association for Women in Education, Program on the Studies and Education on Women of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and the Union Institute Center for Women, plus the many research and policy institutes with include gender issues as part of their agenda.

The National Women's Studies Association, the professional association of the discipline, and one of the leading scholarly journals in our field, Feminist Studies, are both located on or near our campus. Some graduate students may be able to broaden their experience and enhance the applicability and marketability of their coursework by undertaking internships in these two organizations.

Most recently a University of Maryland Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity has been established to further the grant-getting potential and otherwise support the research endeavors of faculty in these fields. Grants funded through the Consortium will provide additional funding for women's studies graduate students and invaluable research experience. High enrollment demand in Women's Studies introductory CORE courses provide yet another opportunity for funding graduate student's programs of study with teaching assistantships.

Financial Assistance

The Women's Studies Department awards a small number of recruitment fellowships to selected candidates. Women's Studies also awards teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and administrative assistantships, are the primary forms of financial aid. These assistantships carry a stipend, benefits, and remission of tuition up to ten credit hours each semester.

Contact Information

Additional information on admission, degree requirements, and financial aid can be obtained from:

Director of Graduate Studies
2101 Woods Hall
MD 20742
Telephone: (301) 405-6877
Fax: (301) 314-9190
womensstudies@umd.edu

http://www.womensstudies.umd.edu