The Graduate Programme in Women's Studies offers an MA and a Ph.D. in Women's Studies to full-time and part-time students.  The Programme provides an environment for scholars to pursue a developing branch of knowledge which is focused on women and gender as they intersect with sexualities, race, ethnicity, class, ability, age.  Our goal is to further the integration of this knowledge at an abstract theoretical level, and to engage the Programme with developments in the larger society.

The Programme draws widely from the humanities, social sciences, environmental studies, fine arts, education and law.  It has over 80 affiliated faculty members and typically offers about 30 courses each year. There are about 100 students enrolled in the programme. 

Our work is characterized by interdisciplinarity, and by attention to diversity. We apply and develop gender-sensitive and cross-cultural methodologies for the study of both Canadian and global issues.  The following seven fields of specialization identify the strengths of the Programme and its unique character:

•  Gender, political economy, public policy, work, law

•  Culture, cultural production, representation, identity, sexuality

•  Feminist history

•  Feminist theories and methodologies

•  Feminist pedagogy, the development of Women's Studies

•  Gender, social institutions and social change

•  Global feminist issues, ethnicity and race.

We currently offer Core Courses in five areas: Women's History, Feminist Theory, Women and Culture, Feminist Methodology, Gender and Public Policy.  These separate but overlapping components constitute the organizing structure for interdisciplinary scholarship in Women's Studies. 

GWS will do its best to accommodate French-speaking students.  To that end, we will make every effort to enable French-speaking students to write their assignments, including course papers, MRPs, theses, comprehensive examinations and dissertations in French.  However, at this time, this is contingent upon the availability of faculty members able to evaluate such assignments.  The following faculty members have identified themselves as able and willing to accept written work and, or, conduct oral examinations in French:  Bettina Bradbury, Elizabeth Cohen, Jane Couchman, Barbara Godard, Ruth King, Gertrude Mianda and Jacinthe Michaud.

GWS fera de son mieux pour accommoder les étudiant/e/s francophones.  Nous ferons tout notre possible pour permettre aux étudiant/e/s francophones d’écrire leurs travaux, y compris leurs dissertations de cours, leur projet de recherche, leur mémoire ou leur thèse, ainsi que leurs examens compréhensifs, en français.  Ceci dépendra pourtant de la disponibilité de membres de la faculté capables d’évaluer de tels travaux.  Les members de la faculté suivants se sont identifées comme capables d’évaluer des travaux écrits et/ou de participer à des examens oraux en français:  Bettina Bradbury, Elizabeth Cohen, Jane Couchman, Barbara Godard, Ruth King, Gertrude Mianda and Jacinthe Michaud.

The Graduate Programme is part of the School of Women's Studies at York University. Over 200 faculty members offer 150 courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in a variety of interdisciplinary women's studies programmes. The School of Women's Studies provides a base and resource for teachers, students, and researchers.  In addition to the women's studies programmes, it includes the Centre for Feminist Research, the Nellie Langford Rowell Library, and the quarterly journal Canadian Woman Studies/les cahiers de la femme.