Gender Studies

10 courses (40 units) are required, of which at least eight (32 units) must be graduate courses (200 or 400 series). A maximum of two (eight units) upper division undergraduate courses may be applied toward the degree. Gender Studies 375, 495, and all 500-series courses may not be applied toward the degree. All core and elective courses that count toward the degree must be taken for a letter grade.

Required courses: Gender Studies 201, 202, and 203 (three core courses; 12 units), plus 28 elective units (seven courses).

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

Doctoral students have the option of fulfilling the master's capstone plan to receive an M.A. degree. The capstone requirement is fulfilled through successful completion of the first written qualifying (breadth) examination for the Ph.D. degree. Possible exam outcomes:

This option is available only to doctoral students.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

Students complete a master's thesis under enrollment in Gender Studies 598. The thesis committee consists of three qualified faculty selected from a current list of designated members for the interdepartmental program. The committee must be appointed by the Graduate Division.

Time-to-Degree

Students who enroll full-time are expected to complete the M.A. degree within two years (six quarters) of registration.

MAXIMUM TTD

Advising

The doctoral degree program is supervised by a faculty committee. Early in their first year, students are assigned a faculty adviser who assists them with planning their program of study. Students are expected to meet at least once a quarter with their faculty adviser, usually at the beginning of the quarter to have their enrollment plan approved. In the third or fourth year, before taking the University Oral Qualifying Examination, the student submits a four-person doctoral committee that requires approval of the program and appointment by the Graduate Division. The doctoral committee is responsible for supervision, review, and approval of the doctoral dissertation. A staff adviser provides assistance with policy and procedure.

With a focus on responsible research skills, student’s research needs are guided by the faculty adviser to successfully complete their dissertation. These could include a foreign language, quantitative and other methods of collecting data, IRB, computer technology skills, and/or any other skills that are necessary before advancing to candidacy.

Areas of Study

The degree in Gender Studies is intensively interdisciplinary. Students develop areas of specialization in consultation with their faculty advisers. Our students and faculty engage in research on women, gender, and sexuality that intersects with a broad range of fields of knowledge, and the Gender Studies Department maintains formal links to faculty and courses in other departments, programs, and research centers, including African American Studies, American Indian Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Asian American Studies, Center for the Study of Women, Chicana and Chicano Studies, Classics, Communication Studies, Comparative Literature, Disability Studies, Education, English, Film and Television, French and Italian, Geography, German, History, Honors Collegium, Institute for Society and Genetics, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Labor and Workplace Studies, Latin American Studies, LGBTQ Studies, Music, Near Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Social Welfare, Sociology, Urban Planning, and World Arts and Cultures.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Doctoral students are required to complete 56 units of course work. Gender Studies 375 and 495, and all 500-series courses may not be applied toward the degree. A maximum of eight units may consist of upper division undergraduate course work and/or graduate transfer credits from previous graduate course work that did not result in a degree.

Required courses:

Teaching assistants must enroll in Gender Studies 375 each quarter they hold a teaching appointment.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

Two written qualifying examinations are required:

(1) A first-year breadth examination covering general knowledge and current debates in the field of gender studies. This examination is administered by a committee composed of faculty designated by the chair or the graduate chair of Gender Studies. The first-year exam is due the first day of the student’s second year of study. Possible exam outcomes:

(2) A depth examination covering the student's area of specialization. Students are expected to have completed the depth exam by Fall Quarter of their third year. Students who fail the depth exam may be permitted to retake it once as determined by the faculty committee.

The University Oral Qualifying Examination is required after completion of the written qualifying examinations, completion of a dissertation proposal, and appointment of a doctoral committee. The oral exam should be taken no later than fall quarter of the student’s fourth year. The four-person doctoral committee is responsible for administering the examination. The oral examination is approximately two hours in length and is focused on the student's dissertation proposal in relation to the selected specialization. Students who fail the oral qualifying examination may be permitted to retake it once as determined by the doctoral committee.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

Not required.

Time-to-Degree

Students who enroll are expected to complete the Ph.D. degree within six years (eighteen quarters) of registration.

MAXIMUM TTD

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

The faculty advisers conduct an annual review of students' progress toward the degree at the end of spring quarter and make recommendations regarding continuance or academic disqualification. The department Chair and Vice Chair review all recommendations and formally approves or rejects any recommendation of academic disqualification. A student may appeal an academic disqualification according to the guidelines for appeals outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

UCLA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by numerous special agencies. Information regarding the University's accreditation may be obtained from the Office of Academic Planning and Budget, 2107 Murphy Hall.