Why get a graduate certificate in feminist studies?

The interdisciplinary feminist studies graduate certificate is designed for professionals and graduate students in other disciplines at UNH to pursue feminist scholarship and bring a feminist perspective to bear on research in their own field. You’ll be introduced to major conversations and methodologies in feminist theory, and you’ll discuss gender in relation to sexuality, race, class, nation, disability and religion.You’ll have the opportunity to study and conduct research in areas that support your own interests and career goals, such as social justice, literature, political theory and aging.

Why get your graduate certificate in feminist studies at UNH?

As a member of a relatively small department in the College of Liberal Arts,you’ll have excellent opportunities for finding faculty mentors and participating in research. Our faculty are from departments across the university, including education, human development and family studies, political science, public policy, sociology and social work. The Family Research Laboratory and the Prevention Innovations Research Center, both associated with the university, address issues of violence, both in families and against women.

Potential career areas

Academia
Business
Education
Government agencies
Healthcare
Journalism
Law
Social work
Victim advocacy
Writing

Curriculum & Requirements

Program Description

The Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies at the University of New Hampshire is designed to provide students with an opportunity to pursue feminist scholarship within a structured, interdisciplinary curriculum. The Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies can be earned by students enrolled in a Graduate Degree Program, or as a stand-alone certificate for those who have completed their Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution.

The Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies enables students to develop specific skills for use in their own personal and professional development by providing tools such as feminist theoretical frameworks and an understanding of contemporary feminist activism. The Feminist Studies Graduate Certificate also enables students to conduct research in the areas of critical Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and centrally relies on analyses from such fields as critical race, ethnicity, nationality, class, age, religion, and disability studies.

Faculty in the Department of Women's and Gender Studies will act as advisors to students pursuing the certificate, helping to plan and facilitate an individualized course of study that fulfills student's academic, professional, and research needs. The certificate provides students a concentrated inquiry in advanced Feminist Studies that is supplemental to their disciplinary training, thereby qualifying them for positions requiring such expertise. In addition, it is an added component to graduate studies that informs and enriches careers, activism, and professional networks.

Requirements for the Program

This graduate certificate program requires 4 courses and at least 12 total credits.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required Courses
WGS 832	Feminist Theory	4
WGS 898	Colloquium in Feminist Studies	4

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Elective Courses ¹
Select two courses (4 credits total) from the following:
EDUC 818	Critical Social Justice in and Beyond Education	4
ENGL 897	Special Studies in Literature	4
ENGL 914	Special Topics in Composition and Rhetoric	4
ENGL 922	Advanced Topics in Literacy Instruction	1-6
ENGL 974	Seminar: Studies in 20th Century British Literature	4
HDFS 857	Race, Class, Gender, and Families	4
HIST 865	Themes in Women's History	4
HIST 897	Colloquium (Queer Theory)	4
MGT 720	Topics in Management II	4
PPOL 902	Strategy and Practice of Public Policy	3
SPAN 897	Topics in Hispanic Literature and Cultural Studies	3
SPAN 898	Topics in Hispanic Linguistics and Cultural Studies	3

¹: Students will be advised by the certificate program director and other participating faculty members about which electives might be most appropriate and consistent with their interests and career goals. The list of approved electives affords students opportunities to focus on particular areas of feminist or to seek the acquire additional methodological skills and disciplinary approaches in areas such as policy analysis or economics. Other electives offered by the University of New Hampshire graduate programs may be approved by the Feminist Studies certificate program director.

Application Requirements & Deadlines

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Deadlines

Applications must be completed by the following deadlines in order to be reviewed for admission:

Fall: July 1
Spring: Dec. 1
Summer: April 1
Special: N/A

Application fee: $25

Campus: Durham

New England Regional: No

Accelerated Masters Eligible: No

New Hampshire Residents

Students claiming in-state residency must also submit a Proof of Residence Form. This form is not required to complete your application, but you will need to submit it after you are offered admission, or you will not be able to register for classes.

Transcripts

If you attended UNH or Granite State College (GSC) after September 1, 1991, and have indicated so on your online application, we will retrieve your transcript internally; this includes UNH-Durham, UNH-Manchester, UNH Non-Degree work and GSC.

If you did not attend UNH, or attended prior to September 1, 1991, then you must upload a copy (PDF) of your transcript in the application form. International transcripts must be translated into English.

If admitted, you must then request an official transcript be sent directly to our office from the Registrar's Office of each college/university attended. We accept transcripts both electronically and in hard copy:

Electronic Transcripts: Please have your institution send the transcript directly to grad.school@unh.edu. Please note that we can only accept copies sent directly from the institution.
Paper Transcripts: Please send hard copies of transcripts to: UNH Graduate School, Thompson Hall- 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824. You may request transcripts be sent to us directly from the institution or you may send them yourself as long as they remain sealed in the original university envelope.

Transcripts from all previous post-secondary institutions must be submitted and applicants must disclose any previous academic or disciplinary sanctions that resulted in their temporary or permanent separation from a previous post-secondary institution. If it is found that previous academic or disciplinary separations were not disclosed, applicants may face denial and admitted students may face dismissal from their academic program.

Letters of Recommendation: 2 Required

Recommendation letters submitted by relatives or friends, as well as letters older than one year, will not be accepted.

Personal Statement/Essay Questions

Prepare a brief but careful statement regarding:

Reasons you wish to do graduate work in this field, including your immediate and long-range objectives.
Your specific research or professional interest and experiences in this field.

Important Notes

All applicants are encouraged to contact programs directly to discuss program-specific application questions.

International Applicants

Prospective international students are required to submit TOEFL, IELTS, or equivalent examination scores. English Language Exams may be waived if English is your first language. If you wish to request a waiver, then please visit our Test Scores webpage for more information.