Joint Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) is a truly joint program in which students, under close mentoring by advisors in both Law and WGSS, take a carefully selected set of courses in the Law School and in Arts & Sciences that are tailored to the students' interests. Course work in Arts & Sciences provides students with advanced training in issues of gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class, and disability. Whether they come from a gender and sexuality studies background already or they 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.
Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Our graduate certificate program allows students in PhD programs to enhance their disciplinary studies with a concentration in gender studies.
This program offers graduate certificate students an opportunity to meet and work with graduate students in other departments. Graduate certificate students are on the program's mailing lists and are invited to participate in a variety of events, including special guest lectures, conferences, faculty searches, and informal gatherings.
In WGSS, graduate certificate students may engage in a teaching pedagogy opportunity. The teaching pedagogy opportunity in WGSS takes place over two semesters. During the first semester, students undergo teaching preparation in which they observe the class that they will teach. They are mentored by the instructor, and they attend instructor meetings devoted to examining content and pedagogy. In addition, they develop a syllabus — often in consultation with their WGSS teaching mentor and their department advisor — that is reviewed carefully by WGSS faculty. These students may be undergoing mentored teaching experiences in their own departments during this first semester. During the next semester, students teach the WGSS course, and they are observed by WGSS faculty and, in some cases, by faculty in their own departments. These faculty use a rubric for the student's assessment that is made available to the student. Students receive a written assessment that they then discuss with the observing WGSS faculty member. Sometimes, students are observed and assessed more than once. Participation in this program broadens students' teaching experiences and their credentials for future job opportunities. The following departments are involved in this program: Anthropology, Art History, Education, English, German, History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Romance Languages and Literatures.
Chair
Rebecca Wanzo
Professor, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
PhD, Duke University
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
Core Faculty
Marlon M. Bailey
Co-Director of Graduate Studies and Professor
PhD, University of California, Berkeley
(African and African American Studies; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
Heather Berg
Co-Director of Graduate Studies and Assistant Professor
PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Feminist Studies)
Rachel Brown
Assistant Professor
PhD, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Political Science)
Ivan Bujan
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, Northwestern University
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Performance Studies)
Shefali Chandra
Co-Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; History)
Amy Cislo
Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies and Teaching Professor
PhD, Washington University
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; German)
René Esparza
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; American Studies)
Tamsin Kimoto
Assistant Professor
PhD, Emory University
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
Allison S. Reed Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD, University of Chicago
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
Professors Emeritas
Mary Ann Dzuback
Associate Professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Education, and History (courtesy)
PhD, Columbia University
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Education; History)
Linda Nicholson
Susan E. and William P. Stiritz Distinguished Professor of Women's Studies
PhD, Brandeis University
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; History)
Additional Program Faculty
Jami Ake
Senior Lecturer
PhD, Indiana University Bloomington
(Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
Cynthia Barounis
Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies and Senior Lecturer
PhD, University of Illinois Chicago
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies)
Andrea Nichols
Lecturer
PhD, University of Missouri-St. Louis
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Criminology)
Trevor Sangrey
Lecturer
PhD, University of California, Santa Cruz
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; History of Consciousness)
Elisabeth Windle
Lecturer
PhD, Washington University in St. Louis
(Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; English)
Affiliate Faculty
Jean Allman
J.H. Hexter Professor in the Humanities
PhD, Northwestern University
(History)
Susan Frelich Appleton
Lemma Barkeloo and Phoebe Couzins Professor of Law
JD, University of California, Berkeley
(Law)
Nancy Berg
Professor
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
(Modern Hebrew Languages and Literatures)
Elizabeth Childs
Etta and Mark Steinberg Professor of Art History
PhD, Columbia University
(Art History)
Caitlyn Collins
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Texas at Austin
(Sociology)
Marion Crain
Wiley Rutledge Professor of Law
JD, University of California, Los Angeles
(Law)
Adrienne Davis
William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law
JD, Yale University
(Law)
Tonya Edmond
Associate Professor
PhD, University of Texas at Austin
(Social Work)
Vanessa Fabbre
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Chicago
(Social Work)
R. Marie Griffith
John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor
PhD, Harvard University
(Director, John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics)
Stephanie Kirk
Associate Professor
PhD, New York University
(Romance Languages and Literatures)
Rebecca Lester
Associate Professor
PhD, University of California, San Diego
(Anthropology)
Erin McGlothlin
Associate Professor
PhD, University of Virginia
(Germanic Languages and Literatures)
Rebecca Messbarger
Professor
PhD, University of Chicago
(Romance Languages and Literatures)
Melanie Micir
Associate Professor
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
(English)
Patricia Olynyk
Florence and Frank Bush Professor of Design and Visual Arts
MFA, California College of the Arts
(Art)
Shanti Parikh
Associate Professor
PhD, Yale University
(Anthropology; African and African-American Studies)
Julie Singer
Associate Professor
PhD, Duke University
(Romance Languages and Literatures)
Peggie Smith
Charles F. Nagel Professor of Employment and Labor Law
JD, Yale University
(Law)
Gaylyn Studlar
David May Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities
PhD, University of Southern California
(Film and Media Studies)
Lynne Tatlock
Hortense and Tobias Lewin Distinguished Professor in the Humanities
PhD, Indiana University
(Germanic Languages and Literatures)
Karen Tokarz
Charles Nagel Professor of Public Interest and Public Service Law
JD, Saint Louis University
LLM, University of California, Berkeley
(Law)
Akiko Tsuchiya
Professor
PhD, Cornell University
(Romance Languages and Literatures)
Anika Walke
Associate Professor
PhD, University of California
(History)
Gerhild Scholz Williams
Barbara Schaps Thomas and David M. Thomas Professor in the Humanities
PhD, University of Washington
(Germanic Languages and Literatures)
Colette Winn
Professor
PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia
(Romance Languages and Literatures)
Joint Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
The Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (JD/AM in WGSS) is a truly joint program in which students, under close mentoring by advisors in both Law and WGSS, take a carefully selected set of courses in the Law School and in the Office of Graduate Studies, 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 in the School of Law. Applications for the JD/AM are accepted from students who are applying to the Law School and those who are in their first year at the Law School. Students will only be admitted to the joint program after they have been accepted into the Law School.
Note: The AM in WGSS is conferred only on students in this joint program. WGSS does not offer a stand-alone AM.
JD/AM Program Requirements
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 Law School advisors.
The AM 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 500-level courses in WGSS or from specific courses in the upperclass JD curriculum. To count toward the 32 credits required for the AM in WGSS, courses must be taken for a grade, with the exception of Law School externships approved by the WGSS JD/AM program director and Supervised Instruction: Law, Gender & Justice.
Students in the joint JD/AM 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/AM program. Students who do not complete the AM portion of the joint 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.
During their final semester of courses, students take a comprehensive written examination that will test their competence in the field of study. The examining committee will consist of the director of graduate studies, the student's advisor, and one other faculty member who is either core or affiliated with WGSS.
Course Requirements
Note that any particular course can count only toward one required category.
Advanced Theory and Research (9 units):
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
Advanced Seminars in Race/Ethnicity (3 units):
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
Advanced Seminars in Gender/Sexuality (3 units):
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
Advanced Seminars in Transnational Feminist and Gender Analysis (6 units):
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
Electives in the Student's Area(s) of Interest (9-12 units):
These electives can be chosen from any 500-level WGSS courses and/or from the following Law School courses that must be taken for a grade (with the exception of LAW 802B/802C or an externship approved by the WGSS advisor).
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Units |
| | var.; max 8 |
| | 2 |
| | 3 |
| | 4 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| | 2 |
| | 2 |
| | 3 |
| | 3 |
| var.; max 12 |
Thesis Procedures
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 do not complete the AM portion of the joint 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 AM in WGSS.
Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Graduate students interested in the graduate certificate in WGSS should first apply for admission to the Washington University department in which they wish to obtain an advanced degree. After being admitted, each student should notify their department advisor and the WGSS program director of their plans to obtain the WGSS certificate. In addition, each student should submit an "Application for Admission to Certificate Program" form to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, with a copy also given to the WGSS office. The earlier that the WGSS department knows who these students are, the earlier these students can be included in mailings about program activities, lectures, conferences and other events. Certificate application forms are available from the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
The graduate certificate in WGSS requires the completion of five courses, at least two of which must be drawn from 500-level or above home-based WGSS courses. The other three required courses must be drawn from 500-level or above home-based or cross-listed WGSS courses or from other program-approved, gender-based courses; students will consult with the program director for approval. Since the certificate requires three courses beyond those required for a student's home degree, participation in the certificate program may require an extra semester of graduate courses. Those students who are not interested in the certificate but who want to concentrate on gender within their disciplines to enhance their credentials and enrich their training may do so in accordance with the policies of their individual departments. Other students may participate in WGSS courses without commitment to a concentration.