Graduate
Women's and Gender Studies Certificate Program
The Graduate Certificate offered by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program provides students with the foundational tools to complete gendered analyses in their respective research endeavors, as well as critical lenses that intersect with other axes of identity—race, class, sexuality, etc. The WGS Graduate Certificate is structured around a group of interdisciplinary courses offered each semester at Boston College in the social sciences and humanities, and also provides students with access to the courses, resources, and academic networks offered by the Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies (GCWS) housed at MIT. Participation in the WGS Graduate Certificate program provides students with a vibrant interdisciplinary community of scholars coming together across campus to engage with one another.
Required Courses
To earn the WGS Graduate Certificate, students must complete four graduate-level courses selected from the list of approved Women’s and Gender Studies Courses. These course offerings draw from various departments within the Morrissey College Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) as well as the Graduate Consortium for Women’s Studies (GCWS) housed at MIT and are thus subject to change from semester to semester.
Every approved course can also be used to fulfill requirements for the student’s M.A. or Ph.D. program. Students should contact the director of their program's department to confirm the requirements for the WGS certificate.
Cross Registration
Students seeking the WGS Graduate Certificate may, at any point in their program of study, choose to take seminars offered by the Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies (GCWS). These courses will count towards the WGS Graduate Certificate. For more information on cross-registering as a Boston College student, please visit the GCWS website.
If you have any questions, please contact us at gender@bc.edu or 617-552-4198.
Courses
Please visit the EagleApps Course Information and Schedule site for up-to-date course descriptions, faculty, meeting times, and room assignments.
FAQ
Students must complete four graduate level courses selected from the list of approved Women’s and Gender Studies Courses. These course offerings draw from various departments within the GSAS of Arts and Sciences and are subject to change each semester. It is up to a student’s home department to decide which courses they will allow to be double-counted for the graduate certificate and the student's home department.
Any student who is currently completing a Master's or Ph.D. graduate program in the Boston College Graduate School of Morrissey Arts & Sciences is eligble to complete the Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies.
You can register for the certificate by filling out and submitting the Certificate Registration Form.
You may register at any time during the year and at any point during your program of study.
Courses that fulfill the certificate requirements are listed above. If you believe a course should count toward the certificate but it is not listed, please e-mail gender@bc.edu. We cannot guarantee that these courses will satisfy the requirements for your overall M.A. or Ph.D. program. Contact your respective graduate program director for specific information.
If you have taken graduate courses at Boston College that you believe might count towards the graduate certificate, please E-mail gender@bc.edu to set up a meeting with one of our program directors.
Each graduate department has specific requirements about which courses taken outside of the department will count towards their graduate students' programs of study. We highly recommend that you contact your respective graduate director to discuss the how the graduate certificate fits in with your M.A. or Ph.D. program.