Admission Requirements
We’re delighted that you’re interested in applying to the dual-degree program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies! Everything that you need to know for applying should be listed below but feel free to contact us with further questions.
Prospective candidates for the dual-title program in WGSS must have excellent critical reading, writing, and research skills. In addition, they should be able to demonstrate the following abilities:
- To engage and analyze historical and contemporary feminist scholarship;
- To carry out research and scholarly activities that engage and contribute to feminist scholarship;
- To bring a WGSS perspective effectively to their professional work and workplace, whether through teaching in an interdisciplinary WGSS Department or other professional pathways; and
- To represent (or the potential to represent) the Department with a high level of professionalism.
Furthermore, all dual-title applications should clearly explain:
- How WGSS and their partner discipline are integrated within their own work; and
- Why the dual-title program would enrich their graduate education and career goals.
Requirements for Applicants who are new to Penn State
Students applying for the first time to a Penn State graduate program in one of our fourteen partner departments may apply simultaneously to the WGSS dual-title program:
- On the main online graduate application, indicate your interest in the WGSS dual-title option.
- After you are admitted into the disciplinary program, your application is forwarded to the WGSS dual-title Graduate Studies Committee for consideration.
- Your application should articulate your interdisciplinary focus. You may either:
- Include within your primary statement of purpose a discussion of how your research integrates your discipline with WGSS, or
- Submit a separate short statement (up to 500 words) dedicated to your feminist/gender studies interests, accompanied by a relevant writing sample.
- To ensure we are aware of your application, please contact the WGSS Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) after you submit your materials. The reason: Your application to Penn State does not automatically come to WGSS; contacting the DGS ensures we are aware of your application. It also facilitates coordination with your disciplinary unit.
- If your application is strong enough that the Graduate Committee feels you should be considered for immediate admission, the committee will email you and ask to set up with you a short interview over zoom.
Please note: External candidates with little or no prior background in women’s, gender and/or sexuality studies demonstrated through relevant coursework or scholarly research in the field, are unlikely to be admitted; in that case, the student is encouraged to take at least one graduate core course in WGSS upon matriculation, and then (re)apply as an “internal candidate” (see section on internal candidates) after completing at least one core WGSS course.
Students applying to WGSS concurrently with admission to Penn State
You will be applying online to the Fox Graduate School at Penn State. As you apply to a disciplinary major (which must be of our thirteen partner programs) you will see a list of dual-title degrees that particular department participates in. When you reach that list, mark your intention to apply also to WGSS. The initial admissions decision will come from the disciplinary-major department.
If and when you are admitted into a disciplinary major program (who is also a partner with WGSS), our admissions committee will review your file when it is received from the admitting department. You can use the same materials you submitted in that application. HOWEVER, you must also submit to wgssgradprogram@psu.edu a statement of purpose (up to 500 words). In that statement, please summarize your academic experience in women’s and gender studies (course work, theses, research positions) as well as any gender-centered outreach you may have done. In addition, explain why you wish to enter the dual-title at the outset of your program at Penn State: why are feminist theory and methods essential to your projected thesis project(s)? We are looking for how/why you will be integrating feminist analysis to your work.
Our admissions committee follows the timetable of our partner departments. You will likely receive an acceptance from that major program before receiving our decision. WGSS does try to move as quickly as possible after we receive the partner department’s final list of acceptances. We will communicate our department’s decision to the disciplinary major department’s Director of Graduate Studies, and you will hear from one or both of us at that point.
As noted in the previous section, if the admissions committee does not feel your application is strong enough for entry into the WGSS graduate program at that time, you will be encouraged to take one or two of our core courses and reapply. An optimal time to reapply is in the second semester of your first year, or even early in your second year.
Requirements for Students Currently Enrolled in a Co-operating Graduate Program at Penn State
There are two deadlines for “internal” application to the WGSS Dual-Title program: October 15 and February 15.
As an enrolled student in one of our fourteen partner departments at Penn State, you can apply as an “internal candidate” for the dual-title program. The admissions committee meets once per semester to review internal applications. The application deadlines for enrolled Penn State graduate students in partner departments are October 15 and February 15. Master’s degree students can apply at any point in their program, provided they are able to fulfill all requirements before graduation.
Please note: Timing is critical! PhD students must apply and be admitted before taking their qualifying exams and no later than the end of the fourth semester. We strongly recommend that prospective applicants take one of our required courses before applying (or during the semester they plan to apply). If this is not possible, please explain the circumstances in your personal statement.
You can apply to the MA/MS and PhD dual-title programs by submitting the following in a single PDF file via email to wgssgradprogram@psu.edu:
- A curriculum vitae.
- A list of in-progress and completed WGSS coursework at Penn State.
- A confidential email (sent to wgssgradprogram@psu.edu) from a Penn State WGSS instructor providing a brief, one-paragraph overview of your performance and abilities in their course.
- A writing sample of at least 10-12 pages (ideally from a WGSS-related graduate course).
- A personal statement describing how your research plans and professional goals reflect an interest in interdisciplinary feminist research. Explain how you plan to integrate your disciplinary graduate major with the interdisciplinary WGSS graduate major; and why/how the dual-title program will enrich your graduate education and professional goals.
- One detailed letter of recommendation from a member of the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality. This faculty member can be the same person who assesses your performance in class, but you may prefer to ask another faculty member who is able to speak more specifically or differently about your qualifications.
Any letters of recommendation from faculty should be submitted directly to wgssgradprogram@psu.edu