In Fall 2024 the Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies introduced a new interdisciplinary graduate certificate to students at WSU! This certificate is designed to ensure a blended learning experience for students through coursework and attending symposia that WGSS sponsors annually or biannually. The combination of interactive learning sessions supports diverse learning styles, encourages deeper engagement, and provides opportunities for both collaborative and individual work for students interested in the critical understanding of gender equity and social justice.
Students who fulfill the certificate requirements will develop a variety of skills including interdisciplinary knowledge in feminist and queer studies, the ability to apply an intersectional analysis in research and teaching about social justice, and an understanding of how historical contexts shape local, national, and global political movements which also paves way for personal and intellectual growth. The interdisciplinary nature and collective spirit of WGSS encourages collaboration, making graduates effective in team-based environments. These skills provide a valuable qualification for professional careers, both within and beyond academia, specifically preparing students to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in workplaces.
The certificate entails a total of nine credits of coursework: six credits of interdisciplinary coursework to gain understanding of feminist and queer qualitative research (WGSS 541) and frameworks and theories connected to gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, nationality, ethnicity and religion (WGSS 581); and three credits of topics in feminist and queer studies (WGSS 561) or a topics elective course outside a student’s home unit. Students must also participate in one WGSS seminar series. It will typically take two to three semesters to complete all credit requirements for the Graduate Certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Current graduate students at WSU in any discipline as well as non-degree seeking WSU enrolled students may participate in the WGSS graduate certificate program.
Both Ash Plummer and Madelyn Fodor, WSU graduate students who have taken or are currently taking WGSS seminars, highlight how pursuing a WGSS Graduate Certificate has enriched their research by integrating feminist and queer perspectives, deepening their analytical approaches, and expanding their understanding of social inequalities within their respective disciplines.
A graduate student in Sociology, Ash shares that, “Pursuing the WGSS graduate certificate alongside my graduate work in sociology has allowed me to further intertwine my love for feminist and queer studies into my research. Last semester I was able to take Feminist and Queer Theories and Frameworks (WGSS 581), and I would recommend it to graduate students in any field! I was exposed to a wide variety of literature that continuously guide my approach to research and ongoing social inequalities.” Fodor, a graduate student in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, observes that, “ a WGSS graduate certificate … allows me to take queer and feminist coursework to complement my degree in prevention science. The program has been receptive and welcoming, and faculty have gone above and beyond to share resources, provide support, and expand my ways of thinking…. WGSS perspectives are deeply enriching my work, adding nuanced perspectives from queer and feminist scholars, and helping me to synthesize and contextualize data into meaningful contributions to my field.”