Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) is an interdisciplinary program that critically interrogates gender and sexuality as categories of inequality, difference, and identification. Gender (the social and historical meanings of distinctions across sexes) and sexuality (the domain of sexual practices, identities, discourses, and institutions) are studied as they intersect with class, race, indigeneity, nationality, religion, ability, and other axes of power, difference, and zones of experience. The introduction of these perspectives into all fields of knowledge necessitates new research paradigms, organizing concepts and analytics, and critique. The program offers a combined PhD in conjunction with five departments and programs: American Studies, Anthropology, Black Studies, English, and Sociology. Students pursuing the combined PhD in WGSS will determine their research and doctoral foci in coordination with the directors of graduate studies in WGSS and the partnering department or program.
- Terminal Degrees Offered
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- PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
- Combined PhD
- Program Website
- Programs and Policies
Dara Strolovitch
Director of Graduate Studies
Maureen Gardner
Departmental Registrar
Admission Requirements
Standardized Testing Requirements
GRE is optional.
English Language Requirement
TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic is required of most applicants whose native language is not English.
You may be exempt from this requirement if you have received (or will receive) an undergraduate degree from a college or university where English is the primary language of instruction, and if you have studied in residence at that institution for at least three years.
Combined Degree Program Application Deadline
*The deadline to submit an application to a combined program is always the earlier deadline of the two individual programs, or December 15, whichever comes first.
Academic Information
Combined PhD Information
Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies offers a combined PhD in conjunction with several other departments and programs including: American Studies, Anthropology, Black Studies, English Languages and Literature, and Sociology.
Advising
Academic Resources
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Academic Calendar
The Graduate School's academic calendar lists important dates and deadlines related to coursework, registration, financial processes, and milestone events such as graduation.
Financial Information
PhD Stipend & Funding
PhD students at Yale are normally fully-funded. During their programs, our students receive a twelve-month stipend to cover living expenses and a fellowship that covers the full cost of tuition and student healthcare.