Certificate in Gender and Women's Studies at the Graduate Level

Aimed at students enrolled in master's and professional degree programs, the Graduate/Professional Certificate in Gender and Women's Studies is designed to provide students with gender expertise that they can apply in a variety of fields. The requirement of a foundational course provides grounding in the major concepts, theories, and research approaches related to the study of gender and women. This foundation provides the necessary theoretical tools to allow students to analyze gender and its relationship with other socially meaningful categories such as class, race, ethnicity, disability, and sexuality in a variety of contexts. Two additional courses allow students to deepen their empirical knowledge of women and/or gender in a specific area or areas. Choice in these courses allows students to tailor their study to areas related to future career or study ambitions.

1. Demonstrate interdisciplinary understanding of major theories, methods, and debates in Gender and Womens Studies.
2. Demonstrate the practical skills related to Gender and Womens Studies, such as critical thinking and intersectional analysis, critical literature review; research methods, and written and oral communication.
3. Understand the interdisciplinary nature of Gender and Womens Studies and the ways these relate to theoretical and methodological shifts in the field as well as to the institutions that shape everyday life.
4. Develop Gender and Womens Studies knowledge, skills, and social engagement and demonstrate how these ideas can be applied to new settings, ideas, and understandings.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school.

A minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. Applicants from an international institution must demonstrate strong academic achievement comparable to a 3.00 for an undergraduate or master’s degree. The Graduate School will use your institution’s grading scale. Do not convert your grades to a 4.00 scale.

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically via ETS. IELTS scores can be submitted electronically or by paper.  Our office address is: UW-Madison Graduate School, Office of Admissions, 232 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706.  Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

Applicants are exempt if: