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» Master of arts in Gender/cultural studies

The Gender Cultural Studies (GCS) program offers a supportive, stimulating environment with small classes, faculty mentors, and a flexible curriculum. With guidance from the program director, each student designs a personalized plan of study. In addition to three required GCS seminars, students choose electives from Africana studies, education, English, sociology, modern languages, history, economics, political science, and women’s studies. Course topics range from issues of nation and identity, to material culture, film and literary criticism, pedagogy, economics, and queer theory. In addition, many students do a capstone project, which may take the form of an internship, field research, or a thesis.

Above all, the GCS program allows students to explore contemporary theory as it relates to their specific interests and professional goals. Some students seek intellectual enrichment to enhance existing careers or to change direction in their professions, in fields such as education, social work, health care, and communications. Others seek Ph.D. programs in fields as diverse as English, history, law, political science, women’s studies, and sociology. All find that the strong theoretical background supports and informs their chosen areas of practice.

Curriculum and Courses

The 32-credit GCS program leads to a Master of Arts in Gender/Cultural Studies. A full course load is three courses per semester. Although the program may be completed in one academic year, including summer study, most students choose to complete the program over three or four semesters, in order to explore their interests more thoroughly. Part-time students may take up to five years to complete the degree.

Sample Courses
  • Feminism and Literature
  • Women, Work, and Mental Health
  • Re-envisioning the Third World
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Society and Health
  • History of Women and Gender
  • Law and Philosophy
  • Cultural Foundations of Education
Recent Capstone Projects
  • Challenging Hollywood's Master Narrative: Deconstructing Film and Critical Pedagogy
  • True Love Waits: The Christian Right and Adolescent Sexuality at the Local, National, and Transnational Levels
  • The Woman Who Almost Wasn't, and Other Tall Tales: An Exploratory Mission Into Queering Fatness
  • Recipes for the Legitimate Housewife: Gender, Nation-ness, and Ethnicities in World War II and Post-War American Cookery Texts
  • Fighting for Gender Identity and Expression: Legislation and Activism in the Boston Transgender Community

See our Program Fact Sheet for more information on the curriculum.

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Simmons Success

“The GCS program was so theoretical I struggled at first. For me, it was a process of stepping back and opening my mind to all that theory and then realizing what pertains to my interests and how I want to use it in my activism. The program changed how I see the world.”
— Megan Renfrew ’04 M.A. (GCS)

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