The graduate certificate in women and gender studies is designed to complement a CU Boulder graduate disciplinary degree program—providing graduate students the opportunity to engage a variety of scholarly and methodological approaches to the study of gender and sexuality.

Students wishing to take part in the women and gender studies certificate program must be currently enrolled in a graduate disciplinary degree or professional degree program at CU Boulder. Students are encouraged to apply for the graduate certificate early in their course of graduate studies; students enrolled in the program will get priority if placed on a waitlist for a graduate-level women and gender studies course.

Requirements

Students must complete 9 credit hours of coursework in women and gender studies and one additional 3 credit hour course to be approved by the women and gender studies graduate director, for a total of 12 credit hours. 

The minimum acceptable grade for courses submitted for the graduate certificate is a B. Minimum GPA for all courses submitted for the graduate certificate is a cumulative 3.0.

Required Courses and Credits

Required Courses
At least three of the following four courses:9
Feminist Theories
Feminist Methodology
Queer Theories
Special Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies
Electives
One additional 3-credit course approved by the women and gender studies graduate director. This course should focus on issues related to women, gender and/or sexuality; take an interdisciplinary approach; and ideally be taken either outside of the student's home department or as an additional course in women and gender studies.3
Total Credit Hours12

None of the three required women and gender studies courses may be taken as independent study.

Independent study courses taken with faculty not affiliated with the Department of Women and Gender Studies will not count for the graduate certificate. Independent study courses taken with department faculty members may count only in exceptional circumstances as determined by the graduate committee.

For more details, including application instructions, visit the WGST Graduate Certificate webpage or email wgst@colorado.edu.