Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, JD/MA
Master's Candidacy
To earn a master’s degree at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; fulfill all academic and residence requirements; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of master’s degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Master’s Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
The Doctor of Laws/Master of Arts in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (JD/MA in WGSS) is a dual program in which students, under close mentoring by advisors in both Law and WGSS, take a carefully selected set of courses at WashULaw and in Arts & Sciences that have been tailored to the student's interests. Course work in Arts & Sciences provides students with advanced training in issues of gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class, and more. Whether students come from a gender and sexuality studies background already or are looking to supplement their JD with a gender and sexuality studies perspective, this program is designed to prepare lawyers with a deep understanding of the cultural impacts of gender and sexuality in the workplace, in policy, and in law.
Students entering this four-year program spend their first year taking the required 1L courses at WashULaw. Applications for the JD/MA are accepted from students who are applying to the Law School and those who are in their first year at WashULaw. Students will only be admitted to the dual program after they have been accepted into WashULaw.
Note: The MA in WGSS is conferred only on students in this dual program. WGSS does not offer a standalone MA.
JD/MA Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 32 (for MA)
- Degree Length: 4 years
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their course work, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
Students in the program fulfill the usual JD requirements, including one ethics course, one upperclass writing course (seminar), 6 units of experiential credits in designated courses, and 67 units of law classroom credits. Because the upperclass JD curriculum may vary from year to year, students should choose their electives in consultation with their WashULaw advisors.
The MA requires 32 credit units, including at least 21 units from specific categories, with the remainder satisfied through elective courses in the student’s area of interest. A 2-credit master’s thesis is optional, in which case the student would complete 30 units of course work as well as the thesis. Electives may be drawn from 5000-level courses in WGSS or from specific courses in the upperclass JD curriculum. To count toward the 32 credits required for the MA in WGSS, courses must be taken for a grade, with the exception of Law School externships approved by the WGSS JD/MA program director and Supervised Instruction: Law, Gender & Justice.
Students in the dual JD/MA program may take Arts & Sciences courses during their second through fourth years. They must earn grades of B or higher in those courses in order to count them towards the JD/MA program. Students who do not complete the MA portion of the dual degree program are not eligible for the graduate certificate in WGSS.
For students pursuing the master’s thesis option: Students who choose to write a thesis should determine a subfield of focus early in the program, preferably during the first year of study in Arts & Sciences. The following year, in collaboration with their advisors, students will develop a thesis project or a practicum with a substantial writing component.
Thesis Requirements/Details
Students who choose to write a thesis will determine a subfield of focus during the first year of study. During the second year, in collaboration with their advisors, students will develop a thesis project or a practicum with a substantial writing component. Students who complete the MA portion of the dual degree program are not eligible for the graduate certificate in WGSS. Students must earn grades of B or higher in graduate Arts & Sciences courses for those courses to count toward the MA in WGSS.
Required Courses
Note that any particular course can count only toward one required category.
Advanced Theory and Research (9 required units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGSS 5000 | Advanced Feminist Theory | 3 |
| WGSS 5142 | Feminist and Queer Research Methodologies | 3 |
| WGSS 5150 | Feminist Literary and Cultural Theory | 3 |
| WGSS 5200 | Feminist Political Theory | 3 |
Advanced Seminars in Race/Ethnicity (3 required units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGSS 5014 | Queer of Color Critique | 3 |
| WGSS 5165 | From Mammy to the Welfare Queen: African American Women Theorize Identity | 3 |
| WGSS 5401 | Intersectionality | 3 |
Advanced Seminars in Gender/Sexuality (3 required units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGSS 5006 | Advanced Topics in Trans Theories: Femme | 3 |
| WGSS 5085 | Everyday Unruliness: Feminist and Queer Resistance | 3 |
| WGSS 5135 | The Politics of Pleasure | 3 |
| WGSS 5150 | Feminist Literary and Cultural Theory | 3 |
| WGSS 5370 | Reformers and Radicals: Feminist Thinking Through History | 3 |
Advanced Seminars in Transnational Feminist and Gender Analysis (6 required units):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| WGSS 5090 | Gender, Sexuality, and Change in Africa | 3 |
| WGSS 5200 | Feminist Political Theory | 3 |
| WGSS 5245 | Transnational Feminisms | 3 |
| WGSS 5370 | Reformers and Radicals: Feminist Thinking Through History | 3 |
Electives in the Student's Area(s) of Interest (9-12 units):
These electives can be chosen from any 5000-level WGSS courses and/or from the following WashULaw courses that must be taken for a grade (with the exception of LAW-W74 802B/802C or an externship approved by the WGSS advisor).
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| LAW 5614 | Adoption and Assisted Reproduction | 3 |
| LAW 5663 | Employment Discrimination | 3 |
| LAW 5736 | Regulating Sex: Historical and Cultural Encounters | 3 |
| LAW 5750 | Sexuality and the Law: Theory and Practice | 3 |
| LAW 5758 | Supervised Instruction: Law, Gender and Justice | 3 |
| LAW 5764 | The Law of the Fourteenth Amendment | 3 |
| LAW 7026 | Implicit Bias, Law & the Legal Profession Seminar | 3 |
| LAW 7517 | Semester in Practice Externship | 3 |
Contact Info
| Phone: | 314-935-5102 |
| Email: | wgss@wustl.edu |
| Website: | http://wgss.artsci.wustl.edu |