Graduate Studies Academic Stages to Degree
Graduate Studies General Examination (Ph.D.)
The general exam list includes readings from WMST 601, 602 and 621 for the prior two years, as well as other books and articles the faculty consider basic to our field. The list may change annually, and will be made available mid March to students taking the exam. The cohort of students taking the exam may add a limited number of additional materials (maximum of 20 by the entire cohort, not by an individual). The exam is administered in early fall. The exam is usually the 3rd or 4th weekend of August. A three-person faculty committee makes up, administers, and grades the exam.
The exam is a written take-home examination that students have 72 hours to complete. Exam grades will typically be "pass", " fail, " or "conditional pass." Students who fail will be permitted one make-up. Students will meet with the examining committee after taking the exam to obtain feedback and their grade within 45 days from submission of the exam.
Graduate Studies Major Field Examination
Students in the Ph.D. program are expected to take their major field exam within two years of successfully completing their general exam requirement. The major field committee will assist the student in designing and articulating a broad major field, advising on appropriate courses, and preparing the reading list for the exam. The student will select the major field committee. The committee must include one departmental faculty (who will serve as chair), one affiliate faculty and one scholar of the student's choice. Students can either use one of the major fields recommended below or self-design a field using the broad areas as a guide. In the examination, students will be expected to give evidence of competency in at least two methodologies germane to their research interests. The major field committee will approve the reading list as well as prepare and evaluate the exam. The committee serves as a mechanism to guide the student's progress towards completion of the Ph.D. The format for administering the exam will be determined by the committee in consultation with the student.
The exam must be in an area that complements the strengths of the research faculty (departmental and affiliate). Examples of possible fields are: Race and Racialization: Black Women's Studies, and Ethnic and Diaspora Studies (Asian, Latina, and Jewish); Art, Culture, and Social Change: Global and Local (Literature and Arts Activism; Feminist, Human Rights, and Civil Rights Movements; and Political Economy and Social Justice); Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities (The Politics of Women's Health; Lesbian and Queer Theory; Masculinities; and Technoscience); Gendered Labor, Households, and Communities.
Graduate Studies Interdisciplinary Paper
All students are required to work with a core faculty member on their interdisciplinary paper. The core faculty member may or may not be the student’s advisor. The faculty will read and approve the final paper and indicate approval by signing the appropriate section on the advising form. These papers are due in March of a student's sixth semester and become part of the portfolio review. All students are required to produce a 25-40 page (including reference list) interdisciplinary research paper. The paper is theoretical and based either on original research and/or the analytical synthesis of the literature relevant to the topic from at least two modes of inquiry: historical sources, literary analyses, cultural studies (representation, visual culture, discourse analyses), qualitative social science methods, and/or quantitative methods. Students are expected to examine a topic and draw from multiple disciplinary perspectives to illustrate their disciplinary knowledge and their ability to critically interrogate these perspectives to arrive at a more informed and profound lens of understanding a topic central to the field of Women’s Studies. The interdisciplinary paper is one component of the evaluative criteria used to determine a student's progress and retention in the program.
The IDP is the final step before writing and presenting the prospectus for the Ph.D. dissertation. Refer to the WMST Handbook for specific details.