HAVE YOU CONSIDERED COMBINING YOUR GRADUATE WORK IN SOCIOLOGY WITH A CERTIFICATE IN WOMEN'S STUDIES?

A graduate degree in Sociology with a certificate in Women's Studies is a great combination for students interested in pursuing a variety of careers. Sociology students typically go on to careers in human resources, health and social services, probation, parole, other criminal justice occupations, research and teaching. In each of these areas, the skills and knowledge acquired in Women's Studies courses can provide students an edge in finding a job and excelling in it. Women's Studies courses emphasize the analytical, critical, and communication skills that employers seek. The interdisciplinary nature of Women's Studies prepares students to understand such areas as work and family issues; social policy legislation (e.g., wage discrimination, sexual harassment); communication between the sexes; racial and ethnic cultural differences; and differential treatment of the sexes within the criminal justice system. The ability to identify, comprehend, and analyze such complex connections is a key quality in each of the careers listed above.

A graduate certificate in Women's Studies provides students with substantive knowledge that complements their critical analysis of social structures and institutions. Courses in Women's Studies prepare students to understand and evaluate social phenomena as they are influenced by the historical and contemporary social, economic, and legal status of women, both in the United States and globally. Graduate concentrators in Women's Studies also explore the cultural and cohort diversity among women; the complexity of gender-based power relations in the public and private realms; and the ways that the social construction of gender influences daily human interactions, including the norms and values of modern society.

To earn a graduate certificate in Women's Studies, students should take at least twelve hours of approved courses, including two core classes--WOMS 520, Feminist Theory, and WOMS 530, Research in Women's Studies. In WOMS 520, students examine the relevance and importance of feminist scholarship across disciplines; in WOMS 530, they have an opportunity to design a project in their own discipline that accounts for sex and/or gender as variables. Many students find that this research design is a useful starting point for a thesis or other major research project. Independent study and prestigious internship options are available as well as occasional graduate assistantships.

Additional courses from a list of approved electives that may be of particular interest to Sociology students include:

CAHC 595 Women and Careers
CAHC 666 Human Sexuality Counseling
COMS 540 Seminar in Communication and Gender
EPFE 603 Foundations in Feminist Educational Thought
FCNS 500B Seminar: Family and Child Studies
FCNS 516 Nutritional Factors in Obesity and Eating Disorders
HIST 413 Family, Sexuality, and Society since 1400
HIST 473 Topics in Women's History
ILAS 550 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies (3)
MGMT 498 Equal Opportunity and Employment
SOCI 563 Women’s Health Issues
WOMS 434 Women, Men, and Language
WOMS 502 Internship in Women’s Studies
WOMS 510 Special Topics in Women's Studies
WOMS 539 Independent Study

A complete list of electives is available in the graduate catalogue.

For additional information about the graduate certificate in Women's Studies, please call 753-1038.