Women's Studies (WGS)- 2013 Applications, Offers, Discussion

[jedimasterD]

ZacharyBinks- Most people say that. This is due to the fact that WGS programs (grad programs esp.) are fairly recent and have been made up of profs in various departments (sociology, poly sci, english, philosophy, etc...). However, apparently there is a shift occuring where WGS departments are hiring more people with WGS PhDs. Regardless, it's what I love and I can't imagine I could commit to another discipline enough to earn my doctorate in it.

 

natapumpkin- They haven't informed anyone yet; all letters are going out this week. The people I've talked to in the program have been very rude on hte phone though, so I'm totally turned off to the program haha. I've been accepted to programs that are better fits anyway.

 

Now on to my question. Is there any way to find out the reputation of various MA programs? Now that I've been accepted to more than one program, I'm trying to decide which is the best fit for me and what will get me into a tpp PhD program later.

[natapumpkin]

jedimasterD- thank you so much for your response. I feel the same way- I think it was sort of rude not to call me back, I did the same for another program who called me back right away and was super nice about it. Doesn't make me feel to favorably about the program...

 

To answer your question, one of my professors told me that the reputation of the MA program does not matter that much- the Ph.D. program is way more important in the longer run. I think what is really important is the funding that they give you and the research/teaching experience you get from the program. Not all MA programs offer assistantships, from what I understand, so if you can find one that can provide you with the experience, that would be what Ph.D. programs are looking for. That is just what one person told me though, so it may not be 100% accurate.

 

You can also look at the faculty you will be working with, if there are notable faculty members, working with them might look good to a Ph.D. program. It's always a good idea to see what sort of publications they have put out in the past few years.

 

Hope that helps!

[Sijae]

I agree, I have been told to get my Ph.D. in a discipline rather than interdisciplinary women studies. However, I believe that WS is bevoming disciplined and that by the time I get my Ph.D. most departments will prefer degrees in the discipline. I also love WS and can't imagine committing to something else for 6 years only to try to work in the WS field. I don't want to work in another field with a feminist leaning, I want to work in feminism with leanings into other fields if you know what I mean. 

[jedimasterD]

Thanks natapumpkin, that's very helpful! I'm trying to decide between UNC Greensboro and DePaul. Both would suit me really well, but each have their pros and cons.

 

Sijae- I know exactly what you mean. Traditional programs are too constraining and thus don't suit my needs and interests.

[natapumpkin]

Those schools both have good reputations (at least as undergrad programs, although the reputation of undergrad does not always correspond with the prestige of a grad program). Regardless, I think you have some good options either way

 

Still nothing from UW-Madison...

[Sijae]

Just received an offer to the Ohio State M.A. program (I applied for the Ph.D.). Of course I already accepted an offer for Ph.D. from UCSB so I turned it down. I guess that means that someone else will be getting a last minute opportunity in the next day or so. Anyone else receive a last minute offer?

 

Laura

[tdf511]

Hi all,

 

It's been a while since anyone has posted in here, but I figured I'd see if anyone who received admittance/funding for a Gender Studies PhD could give me some advice.

 

I'm an undergraduate going into my senior year in the fall and want to apply directly for PhD programs. I know not having a Master's may hurt my chances, but I really know what I want and hope I can get straight to it. I ultimately want to be a Gender Studies professor. I basically want to maximize my chances of getting into a program by making everything else in my application outstanding.

 

I'm a triple major in Gender Studies, English Literature, and Film Studies and I have a 3.99 GPA.

 

I just took the GRE and got 165Q and 165V. Are these competitive enough scores? If people wouldn't mind sharing their scores with me--scores that either got them accepted or not--it would be so helpful. I want to know if I need to try to take them again.

 

Also--on a somewhat "getting ahead of myself" note--does having high school teaching experience strengthen a PhD application? If I don't get into the PhD program right away, I'm thinking about getting my teaching license and teaching high school English for a few years to gain some experience with students.

[hj2012]

Hi all,

 

It's been a while since anyone has posted in here, but I figured I'd see if anyone who received admittance/funding for a Gender Studies PhD could give me some advice.

 

I'm an undergraduate going into my senior year in the fall and want to apply directly for PhD programs. I know not having a Master's may hurt my chances, but I really know what I want and hope I can get straight to it. I ultimately want to be a Gender Studies professor. I basically want to maximize my chances of getting into a program by making everything else in my application outstanding.

 

I'm a triple major in Gender Studies, English Literature, and Film Studies and I have a 3.99 GPA.

 

I just took the GRE and got 165Q and 165V. Are these competitive enough scores? If people wouldn't mind sharing their scores with me--scores that either got them accepted or not--it would be so helpful. I want to know if I need to try to take them again.

 

Also--on a somewhat "getting ahead of myself" note--does having high school teaching experience strengthen a PhD application? If I don't get into the PhD program right away, I'm thinking about getting my teaching license and teaching high school English for a few years to gain some experience with students.

 

Your GRE scores are great! I don't think you need to do the master's route, though I do encourage you to think about taking some time off between undergrad and grad school. The reasons are twofold. 1) Your application will likely be stronger after you graduate, as you would have taken all your upper-level courses, finished a senior thesis, graduated with honors, won a Best Thesis prize or something equivalent, etc etc. 2) It might be wise to give yourself a break from the academy instead of jumping into another 5-6 year program. Burnout is real. 

 

Depending on the specifics of your research interests, you may also want to look at programs in Literature and Film departments as well, as gender studies departments hire across disciplines (or require their faculty to have an affiliate "traditional" department). 

 

From my experience, I don't think that teaching high school would necessarily help you as a line on your CV (i.e., it won't boost your application significantly in the eyes of the admissions committee). However, teaching experience is valuable for those considering a career as a professor, IMO. I've worked as a secondary school teacher, and I think the skills learned (lesson planning, time management, classroom management, dealing with bureaucracy and paperwork, etc) will be invaluable to my future career. 

[tdf511]

Thanks for the reply, hj2012!

 

That is very helpful advice about taking time before applying to grad school--I had only ever considered it in terms of taking a break (like you said, avoiding burnout) but I had never considered how my application might be much stronger after graduation.

I have considered some Literature and Media Studies programs that allow some overlap with Gender Studies, because I'm pretty sure I could study within my research interests in any of these programs, but I thought a more specialized PhD may make me more "marketable." Although i know there are less positions available teaching in Gender Studies, there are also less people pursuing PhDs in it than Literature or Film. But I go back and forth on which is the better option all the time! My research interests are mainly in media/entertainment representations of gender, specifically horror film.

I had a feeling that teaching experience would be valuable in my growth as an individual and an educator, and I'm glad you can confirm that. A lot of people suggest that the teaching styles/goals for university are so different from high school that it might hinder my performance, but I never spoke to someone who had secondary teaching experience and then went for their PhD.

 

Thanks again for your help! What are you researching and writing about?

[hj2012]

I applied with a stated interest in ethnic literatures, transnationalism/diaspora and racial identity. I'm really interested in the gendered dynamics of diasporic experience, but my primary lens is race/ethnicity. Others may chime in here to the contrary, but I've heard that interdisciplinary PhD programs are usually a disadvantage on the market *unless* you take great care to prove that you could also teach in a traditional field. In the program I'm starting in Fall, we must choose an allied field and take core classes and take core classes in that field in order to give ourselves a better chance on the job market. So that's something to keep in mind!

 

It does sound like you could pursue your project in a number of different departments, so I would consider applying to places where your favorite scholars located, regardless of which department they are in. Good luck!

[anotherapplicantanotherapp]

Hey y'all. I thought I'd try to revive this thread, since we don't have an active thread for women's studies this year. I'm applying to a ton of PhD programs and was really disheartened when I found out that my first was was rejected ten days after the deadline and received a letter saying that I had not "met the requirements for admission to the Graduate School." So, I'm started to freak out a little bit about my chances at all my other programs now and thinking about throwing some MA applications into the mix for this year, too.

 

I mean, I'm wondering, though, if I have a chance at PhD programs at all, after such a fast and confusing rejection. I have an undergrad degree in English from a top 50 university--overall GPA 3.75, major GPA 3.7 (not too impressive, I guess.) My GRE's are pretty good, though: V168, Q162, AWA 4.5. Also, I have an MFA from program with a really heavy teaching and academic coursework requirement. So I've taken three graduate-level classes in women's studies plus some graduate literature and history classes--and I have a 4.0 in all of that.

 

So, I'm a bit surprised that I didn't meet the Graduate School's minimum requirements for graduate study at my first program and that my app was thrown out so early--and just wondering if there's any hope for my app this year.... :-/

Edited January 6, 2015 by anotherapplicantanotherapp

[Lorelai_Gilmore]

^ Hi, you may want to check out the thread "Women's Studies - Fall 2015" (in Interdisciplinary Studies as well). I'm sorry about your rejection. It was only one, though, and it sounds like you still have plenty of schools to hear from. Don't lose hope. Your GRE scores are excellent and with high grades in graduate level WS courses, you're not out of the running.

[tdf511]

anotherapplicantanotherapp, what schools did you apply to? And which one is the one that sent the rejection so quickly? It may just be a bad fit for the program, don't lose all hope!!