Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Program Learning Outcomes for the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Upon completing the certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of historical and contemporary approaches to the study of women, gender, and sexuality across diverse disciplines.
- Engage through their intellectual production feminist concepts and methodologies, and features of women’s studies, gender studies, and/or sexuality studies as academic fields.
- Incorporate critical debates in the study of women, gender, and sexuality in their oral presentations and written analyses, including work for publication and/or use in a thesis.
Requirements for the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
The certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality is a graduate certificate. For general university requirements, please see Certificates: Graduate-Level. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Students pursuing the certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality must complete:
- A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) of graduate-level study (graduate semester credit hours, coursework at the 500-level or above) to satisfy certificate requirements.
- Attendance at a minimum of 12 CSWGS Graduate Colloquium events1,3.
- A thesis (for the PhD program in which they have been admitted) that in some way features the study of women, gender, and/or sexuality2,3.
- All course requirements met with Rice University coursework (transfer credit not permitted). For additional program guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
- A minimum overall GPA of 2.67 or higher in all Rice coursework.
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A minimum program GPA of 2.67 or higher in all Rice coursework that satisfies requirements for the graduate certificate with a minimum grade of B- (2.67 grade points) in each course.
This certificate is not a freestanding degree program; in addition to fulfilling the certificate requirements outlined below, candidates will be required to complete successfully the degree program to which they have been admitted in order to receive this certificate. Upon completion, the certificate is awarded at the same time as the conferral of the student’s Rice degree, along with a formal notation on their academic transcript.
The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this certificate. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the certificate’s academic advisor or, where applicable, the Program Director. Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the certificate's Official Certifier. Additionally, these course substitutions must be approved by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality | 9 | |
Certificate Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| SWGS 501 | FEMINIST DEBATES | 3 |
| SWGS 502 | WRITING WORKSHOP: WOMEN, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY | 3 |
| Elective Requirement 4 | ||
| Select 1 course from the following: | 3 | |
| SOCIAL LIFE OF DNA | ||
| QUEER ARCHAEOLOGY | ||
| MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| BLACK FEMINIST SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES | ||
| FEMINIST SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES | ||
| BLACK ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| RACE, CLASS, GENDER IN EDUCATION | ||
| GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN FILM | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 5 | ||
| WOMEN AND REPRESENTATION | ||
| GENDER SEMINAR | ||
| DIRECTED READING | ||
| SEEING SEX IN EUROPEAN ART, 1400-1700 | ||
| VICTORIAN FICTION | ||
| POSTCOLONIALISM AND BEYOND | ||
| CSWGS Graduate Colloquium (minimum of 12 events) 1, 3 | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 9 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | Students also attend, at their own pace, 12 Graduate Colloquium events. Most of these events come in pairs and count as 2 events (i.e. a visiting scholar holds a lecture and a lunchtime seminar). Some of the Center's public lectures are Graduate Colloquium events, and are designated as such. All CSWGS lunchtime seminars are Graduate Colloquium events and are dedicated specifically to our graduate certificate students. At those seminars, either visiting scholars share their work or Rice faculty present a methodology. For more information about the Graduate Colloquium, see the Opportunities tab. |
| 2 | CSWGS must verify that a student's thesis (for the PhD program in which they have been admitted) in some way features the study of women, gender, and/or sexuality. Students are strongly encouraged to include a member of the CSWGS faculty on their thesis committee and to consult regularly with the faculty member as they pursue their thesis work. |
| 3 | Participation in the CSWGS Graduate Colloquium and the thesis that in some way features the study of women, gender, and/or sexuality together comprise the experiential learning opportunity requirement for the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. |
| 4 | New courses often emerge, and CSWGS invites students to bring possible new electives forward for approval to fulfill the elective requirement. |
| 5 | PHIL 670 is a special topics course. Therefore, this course only counts toward the certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality when the topic is related to the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. For questions regarding a specific instance of PHIL 670, consult the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (CSWGS) Director of Graduate Studies or the Center's Director. |
Policies for the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Advising
In most cases, students will be able to complete the certificate requirements within the normal time limits for coursework in their PhD program. All students must work out their individual courses of study with the SWGS graduate advisor and the graduate advisor in their home departments. Each student’s course of study must be pre-approved by the SWGS graduate advisor. Please note that not all courses listed as certificate requirements will be offered every academic year.
Thesis Work
Students pursuing the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality are strongly encouraged to include a faculty member affiliated with CSWGS on their thesis committee and to consult regularly with the faculty member as they pursue their thesis work.
Program Restrictions and Exclusions
Students pursuing the certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality should be aware of the following program restriction:
- Graduate students may declare their intent to pursue this university certificate only after they have first been admitted into a graduate-level Rice degree-granting program.
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content) and by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Program Transfer Credit Guidelines
Students pursuing the certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guideline:
- Transfer credit coursework cannot be applied or used to meet any of the program’s course requirements.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality website: https://cswgs.rice.edu/.
Opportunities for the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Graduate Colloquium
Students in the Certificate in the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality program participate in a colloquium consisting of a series of seminars and public lectures over the course of a year, organized by the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (CSWGS). Graduate Colloquium topics are determined by the CSWGS steering committee with a view to highlighting emerging knowledge in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies. The Graduate Colloquium provides graduate students with the opportunity to engage in intellectual exchange with leading scholars and to participate in producing cutting-edge work in the field.
Graduate Colloquium attendance constitutes an official requirement for the certificate (for more information, see the Requirements tab). Attendance beyond the required minimum is highly encouraged.
Competitive Graduate Certificate Fellowships
Students who have completed the requirements for the certificate and who have achieved candidacy are eligible for competitive Graduate Certificate Fellowships. Successful applications will identify the ways that the study of gender and/or sexuality feature in their dissertations. The Center will contact eligible students with application procedures.
Teaching Assistants
Certificate students are eligible to work as teaching assistants for an undergraduate SWGS course. In some cases, certificate students may be eligible to serve as an instructor of record for a SWGS course.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality website: https://cswgs.rice.edu/.