PhD in Global Gender Studies

Global Gender and Sexuality Studies attracts a wide range of PhD students into a welcoming and diverse community. Students work on their dissertations in close collaboration with hands-on faculty mentors who represent a diverse array of disciplines, and take advantage of opportunities outside the classroom such as conferences, community activism, and writing workshops.

PhD students experience a competitive doctoral program with particular strengths in the areas of literary analysis, gender and global citizenship, gender and public policy, art and cultural production, sexuality studies, and feminist and queer theories. Our department has successfully placed PhDs in Global Gender Studies in academic careers as well as jobs in public policy, the non-profit sector, government, and more.

All of our graduate programs' applications require a personal statement, which is both a life narrative and a statement of research interests.  On our application, you will be asked to respond to this essay prompt:

Please tell us about yourself, your history, and your academic interests. Describe your motivations and preparation for pursuing this graduate degree. Outline the questions, areas of specialization, and/or methodologies that you intend to pursue. How would our department help you to achieve your goals?

Your statement should describe how your education (both inside and outside of the classroom) has prepared you to undertake this graduate degree, and the kinds of questions, subjects, and angles of approach you would like to focus on in your graduate studies.  You should also give your reasons for applying to UB and to this department; what resources are here that would support your scholarly and professional goals?

This statement of your academic interests does not commit you to this specific project or specialization in any way; rather, it should give a sense of your intellectual trajectory--where you're coming from, and where you intend to go next.  We want to see that you can articulate a field (or fields) of academic inquiry, and how you situate yourself within and among the different disciplinary methdologies that make up the diverse inter-discpline of feminist, gender, and sexuality studies.

Coursework
A total of 72 credits are required for the PhD degree in Global Gender Studies, out of which at least 36 credits must be taken in the Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies. Students usually take between five and seven years to complete the doctoral program.

Core Requirements
All doctoral students are required to complete the following:

• One 3-credit theory course such as GGS 518 – Readings in Feminist Theory
• One 3-credit quantitative methods (Quantitative Research Methods) or one 3-credit qualitative methods (Ethnographic Methods)
• An additional six seminars in Global Gender Studies
• Comprehensive exams, a dissertation prospectus, and an oral defense of the written dissertation

Major Concentration
The PhD program requires a student to design, in consultation with their academic advisor(s), a coherent interdisciplinary program. Students can take courses from a wide range of other UB departments and schools.

For additional guidelines and specific information regarding academic planning, doctoral students should consult the GGSs Graduate Student Handbook and their academic advisors.

With questions about the PhD program, please contact: