Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, MA

Admission Requirements

Application Website

To be considered for admission to graduate studies in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, all applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a suitable overall grade point average and with a high average in a major field appropriate for study in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. In addition, they must submit the following:

1. B.A. or M.A. degree from a recognized institution in a suitable area of study
2. An official graduate application including a statement of purpose and 3 letters of recommendation can be completed online. Guidance on how to choose recommenders for letters and how to write an effective statement of purpose is available on the department website.
3. One official copy of any transcript from any undergraduate college or university attended, from which a degree was conferred. Applicants must submit one official copy of any transcript relating to any graduate level work undertaken, regardless of whether or not a degree was earned. (If transcripts are in a foreign language, authoritative English translations are required in addition to the original documents. See Academic FAQs under Transcripts for a list of acceptable translation services.)
   Note: Educational systems that cannot be compared to the United States must be evaluated by a US credentials evaluation service before admission can be finalized.
4. For international students, proficiency in English as demonstrated by a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper) or 213 (computer) or 90(iBT) OR an IELTS total score of 6.5. In order to teach, any graduate student whose native language is not English must score 55 or above on the TSE or SPEAK test OR obtain a score of 7.0 or better in the speaking component of the IELTS test. The website for ETS(TOEFL) is www.ets.org;
5. One research or term paper in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies or a related field of approximately 20-25 pages. Please consult the department website for information about choosing a good writing sample.
6. An application fee of $100.

Any deficiencies in these requirements shall not automatically bar admission, but it is understood that inadequacies in undergraduate preparation will normally require the student to take additional work, the amount to be determined by the graduate program committee and not to be used to fulfill any specific degree requirements.

In all cases, admission is by action of the graduate studies committee of the department under guidelines established by the Graduate School.Applicants are admitted on the basis of their total records, and no predetermined quantitative criteria by themselves ensure a positive or a negative decision.

Admission to the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Graduate Program

The graduate programs in Women’s and Gender Studies at Stony Brook creates a space within the academy for critical thinking across disciplines about the explanatory categories of gender, race, class, sexuality, nation, and disability. Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies explores how these categories come into being and operate across different cultures and historical periods, and how they shape social, political, economic and institutional organizations as well as personal experience and perception. The program is particularly strong in four key areas: transnational social movements and globalization; the politics of representation and media analysis; gender and health; and the critical analysis of sexuality.

Along with the core faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, the graduate programs draw from an extensive network of Graduate Associate Faculty from across Stony Brook University, including in the social and behavioral sciences, humanities, and health sciences.

As an institution, Stony Brook is committed to increasing the opportunities for interdisciplinary activity crucial to the programs in Women’s,Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The University’s Humanities Institute and the Center for the Study of Inequalities, Social Justice, and Policy are the most visible expressions of a broad university commitment to bringing diverse scholars together for a common intellectual enterprise.

Applicants to the graduate programs in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies are required to fulfill the minimum admission requirements of the Graduate School. In addition, applicants are ordinarily required to hold a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate field from a recognized institution.

Any deficiencies in these requirements shall not automatically bar admission, but it is understood that inadequacies in undergraduate preparation will normally require the student to take additional work, the amount to be determined by the graduate program committee and not to be used to fulfill any specific degree requirements.

In all cases, admission is by action of the graduate studies committee of the department under guidelines established by the Graduate School.Applicants are admitted on the basis of their total records, and no predetermined quantitative criteria by themselves ensure a positive or a negative decision.

Applicants holding the M.A. degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Stony Brook may, upon the advice of the graduate studies committee, be admitted to the Ph.D. program after review of their qualifications.

Degree Requirements

In addition to the minimum requirements of the Graduate School, the following are required: