GWST Post Bac Certificate

Earning a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies

The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies provides students with a knowledge base in the field and with intellectual skills that can be used across the disciplines and in diverse professions. The program can be readily adapted to a variety of career paths in business, education, psychology, sociology, public policy, and public service, in regional, national, and international contexts.

The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate is designed to be completed in conjunction with an M.A. or Ph.D. program. You must be a current UMBC graduate student in order to declare this certificate. Students must complete four Gender and Women’s Studies courses consisting of two core courses that focus on feminist theories and research practice, and two electives from a list of cross-listed courses within related humanities and social science departments. Both elective courses may be taken in the same department in which the student completes a M.A. or Ph.D. Only one course can be an independent study course.

Two core courses are required for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate. They are:

  • GWST/LLC 680: Theories of Feminism
  • GWST 695: Research Seminar in Women’s Studies

In addition, students must complete two additional courses from those listed below, with additional course information available in the Graduate Catalog

  • GWST 601: Directed Independent Study (may substitute independent study in home department)
  • GWST/LLC/MLL 613: Language, Gender and Culture
  • GWST/SOCY 633: Gender, Work and Family in Cross-cultural Perspective
  • GWST/SOCY 634: Gender and the Life Course
  • GWST 690: Advanced Topics in Women’s Studies

What will a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies do for you?

  • Provide you with a coherent and interdisciplinary grounding in current Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies scholarship at the graduate level.
  • Supply you with the theoretical, methodological, and data tools to analyze, understand, and develop solutions to meet the needs of a diverse workforce and world.
  • Expand your intellectual horizons about women’s issues and gender equity.
  • Introduce you to a community of scholars dedicated to the study of gender and its intersection with such issues as race, ethnicity, class and sexuality.

How to Apply:

If you are already a student in the UMBC Graduate School, to enroll in the Gender and Women’s Studies Post Baccalaureate Certificate, please complete the Application for Enrollment in a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate and email it to the department.

When you are about to complete the requirements for the Gender and Women’s Studies Post Baccalaureate Certificate, you must apply to the Graduate School for the certificate diploma. For deadlines and the “Application for a Post Baccalaureate Certificate Diploma” form, please go to the Graduate School webpage.

For more information, please contact the Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies Office at 410-455-2001 or e-mail gwstudies@umbc.edu.