The history of the Study of Women & Gender at Rice goes back to the early 1980s, when existing feminist faculty helped host a series of public lectures by noted feminist scholars, and the university created its first faculty postion in women's studies.  Soon after, the relevant courses already offered on campus were organized into a curriculum for a minor.  Then in 1991, the Program for the Study of Women & Gender became a full-fledged undergraduate major.  Today. over 47 faculty from 17 humanities and social sciences departments are part of the program, and regularly offer a wide range of coruses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. In fall 2004, the graduate certificate program was launched, fostering interdisciplinary research at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Certificate Requirements for Doctoral Students in Study of Women & Gender

In addition to completing requirements for the Ph.D. in a home department, students enrolled in the Study of Women & Gender (SWG) Graduation Certificate Program must complete three courses, including two core courses and one elective course.

• The first core course, WGST 501 "Feminist Debates," is to be taken during the semesters in which other graduate course work requirements are being fulfilled.
• The second core course, WGST 502 "Gender, the Disciplines, and Interdisciplinarity," is to be taken after completion of other course requirements, during a final precandidacy semester in which the student also writes the dissertation prospectus.
• The elective course is to be chosen from list Study of Women & Gender courses (these cross-listed courses carry the abbrievation WGST in the course schedule), may be in the student's home department or another department, and may be taken at the graduate or 400 level.
• The student must particiipate in an annual colloquium.

Stipend Support

• Semester-long stipends for the last semester before entering candidacy
• Semester-long teaching assistant stipends for students who have achieved candidacy (usually in the fourth or fifth year)

Intellectual Support

• Sustained interdisciplinary work in scholarly literature and in students' dissertation plans
• Rapid acquaintance with faculty and resources across campus related to gender studies
• Through the annual colloquium, personal contact with leading scholars in gender studies
• Strengthened intellectual community for students writing gender-related dissertations
• Formal certification of interdisciplinary and gender-related work - which is vital for a wide range of academic, counseling, and advocady careers.

Updated December 9, 2004  AWW

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