Graduate Certificate: Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies
About the Certificate
Students in the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies (GSWS) graduate certificate program acquire and develop methodological and theoretical expertise in the interdisciplinary field of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. The certificate can be pursued by graduate students already enrolled in a Temple University graduate degree program. They complete the certificate requirement while simultaneously fulfilling the graduate requirements for their degree-granting department.
The GSWS graduate certificate program can also be undertaken as a freestanding certificate by persons who are not enrolled in a Temple University graduate degree program. In addition, students who are not enrolled in a Temple graduate degree program but are enrolled in a graduate degree program at another university may apply for the GSWS graduate certificate by completing an external application form.
All students complete the same course requirements to earn the certificate. And all certificate students join and benefit from a community of graduate students and faculty committed to the study of gender and sexuality in a wide range of disciplines.
Time Limit for Completion of Certificate Coursework: 3 years
Temple graduate students typically take GSWS 8001 Introduction to Feminist Studies and GSWS 9991 Seminar in Feminist Research in their first year of graduate study. Each year, GSWS 8001 is offered in the Fall term and GSWS 9991 is offered in the Spring term. Students may take GSWS 9991 in the Spring term of their first year and GSWS 8001 in the Fall term of their second year, as well as their graduate-level GSWS-related electives during the first two years of their degree program, but exceptions can be made for taking one of the courses in the third year. Certificate students who are not enrolled in a Temple University graduate degree program may take the required coursework in any order they wish within a 3-year period.
Campus Location: Main
Full-Time/Part-Time Status: The graduate certificate is completed on a part-time basis. Students undertaking the GSWS graduate certificate while enrolled in a graduate degree program at Temple complete the certificate while fulfilling the requirements for their graduate degree program.
Job Prospects: The GSWS graduate certificate is a credential that enhances students’ prospects in today’s highly competitive academic job market by signaling a demonstrated interest in and commitment to diversity and inclusion. Students are able to apply the expertise gained in the certificate program to their scholarly research and teaching interests. Many colleges and universities are looking for job candidates who can both teach mainstream courses in academic departments as well as teach courses that focus on gender and/or sexuality within those departments. All of these factors make the certificate both intellectually enriching and practically useful.
Non-Matriculated Student Policy: Non-matriculated students may take up to 9 credits of coursework before applying to the graduate certificate program.
Admission Requirements and Deadlines
Application Deadline:
Fall and Spring: Applications must be submitted by the end of the add/drop period.
Students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at Temple University apply on the GSWS graduate certificate internal application webpage. Questions should be directed to Heath Fogg Davis, GSWS Program Director, at hfd@temple.edu.
Students not currently enrolled at Temple apply via an external application form, which is available on the GSWS graduate certificate external application webpage.
Bachelor's Degree in Discipline/Related Discipline: Applicants already admitted to a graduate degree program at Temple University have demonstrated that they possess the required bachelor's degree. Applicants not currently enrolled in a Temple University graduate degree program and applicants enrolled in a graduate degree program at another university must submit official transcripts for all coursework taken since high school, whether or not a degree was earned from the institution(s). Evidence of the award of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university with an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale must be shown.
Additional Requirements for Students Not Currently Enrolled in a Graduate Degree Program at Temple University:
- Two letters of recommendation from persons in a position to evaluate the applicant’s academic ability and accomplishments
- A personal statement of no more than 250 words indicating interests, plans, and objectives within the field of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
Certificate Requirements
Number of Credits Required to Complete the Certificate: 12
Required Courses:
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GSWS 8001 | Introduction to Feminist Studies | 3 |
| GSWS 9991 | Seminar in Feminist Research | 3 |
| Electives 1 | 6 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 12 | |
| 1 | Students take 6 credits of approved courses focusing on gender and/or sexuality from their own department, if enrolled in a graduate degree program at Temple, or any academic department at Temple University, as identified in the list below. Note that the following list is not exhaustive, and students may request permission to take other gender/sexuality-themed courses on a case-by-case basis. |
Approved Electives with a Gender and/or Sexuality Theme
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Seminar in the African American Woman | ||
| Anthropology of Sexuality and Gender | ||
| Race and Class in North America | ||
| Corrections | ||
| Multicultural Counseling | ||
| Seminar in Race, Culture, and Gender in Psychotherapy | ||
| Educating Dance | ||
| Dance and the Gendered Body: Historical Perspectives | ||
| Gender Issues in Education | ||
| Social Epidemiology | ||
| Race, Class, Gender in Cities | ||
| Gender Issues in Education | ||
| Gender and Sexuality in Asia | ||
| Comparative Women's History | ||
| Women and Gender in the American South | ||
| Jewish History | ||
| History of Sexuality | ||
| Sociology of Kinesiology | ||
| Topics in Gender Studies | ||
| Feminist Epistemology and the Philosophy of Science | ||
| Play and Development | ||
| Religion and Sexuality | ||
| Race, Gender, Class and Ethnicity in Ancient Near East | ||
| Sexuality and Gender | ||
| Sexuality and Gender | ||
| Gender and Body | ||
| Advanced Human Behavior and the Social Environment - Gender and Sexuality through the Lifespan | ||
| Advanced Policy - Gender and Sexuality |
Culminating Event:
Research Requirement:
A research requirement must be fulfilled to earn the GSWS graduate certificate:
- Students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at Temple fulfill this requirement by writing a thesis or dissertation that considers gender and/or sexuality in some way. The entirety of the student's thesis or dissertation might be focused on gender and/or sexuality, or these themes may be central to a single chapter or section.
- Students not enrolled in a Temple University graduate degree program write a research paper as part of their coursework in GSWS 9991 Seminar in Feminist Research that considers gender and/or sexuality in some way.
Courses
GSWS 5000. Topics in Women's Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
GSWS 8001. Introduction to Feminist Studies. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
GSWS 9082. Independent Study. 3 Credit Hours.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
GSWS 9991. Seminar in Feminist Research. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
Contacts
Certificate Program Web Address:
https://www.cla.temple.edu/gender-sexuality-and-womens-studies/graduate/
Submission Address for Applications for Currently Enrolled Temple University Students:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeZNCauCEq-rYfC6-O_T6D6gfnSNBpyR71NT1e7LujMcjBzOg/viewform