MA in Public Policy with concentration in Women's Studies

The Master of Arts in the field of public policy with a concentration in women's studies was established in 1982 as "first-of its-kind" graduate degree combining women's studies and public policy. Students take required women's studies courses and electives with other women's studies graduate students and required and elective public policy courses with students in other policy graduate programs. This program provides students with a professionally-oriented degree, the MA in Public Policy, including training in the conventional social science components of that degree-economics, quantitative methods, and policy analysis. The program provides students with a gender analysis and the tools to critique conventional ways of thinking about and studying public policy. It offers opportunities to gain expertise in specific policy issues important to women and to participate in Washington women's policy networks and organizations, including the Institute for Women's Policy Research which is affiliated with The George Washington University.

Required: the general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, and 36 credit hours of course work, with or without a thesis. Policy-oriented students take WStu 221, 240, and 220, plus four courses in the public policy core (PSc 203, 229; Econ 217;) and 9 hours of electives.

All students take a final 6 hours chosen from WStu 299–300, or 283 and 295.

Core Curriculum

Theory:
WStu 220 Fundamentals of Feminist Theory (3 credits) or
WStu 225 Contemporary Feminist Theory (3 credits)

Methods:
WStu 221 Research Issues in Women's Studies (3 credits)

Women's Studies and Public Policy:
WStu 240 Women and Public Policy (3 credits)
Econ 217 Survey of Economics (3 credits)
PPol 202 Research Methods and Applied Statistics (3 credits)
PPol 206 Approaches to Public Policy Analysis (3 credits)
PPol 201 Politics and Public Policy (3 credits)

Six credit hours from among the following three options:

A. WStu 283 Practicum in Women's Studies (6 credits)

B. WStu 283 Practicum in Women's Studies (3 credits) and WStu 295 Independent Research in Women's Studies (3 credits)

C. WStu 299 Thesis Research (3 credits) and WStu 300 Thesis Research (3 credits)

Electives

Students take three elective courses related to their program of study (9 credit hours) to complete the total of 36 credit hours.

Comprehensive Exam

Each candidate must pass a Master's Comprehensive Examination.

How does this program differ from the MPP?

The core curriculum for this Master of Arts program draws heavily on women's studies courses, with an interdisciplinary approach to the public policy core coursework. It provides students with a feminist analysis and the tools to criticize conventional ways of thinking about and studying public policy that have traditionally excluded women.

Students take require core Women's Studies courses and electives with other Women's Studies graduate students and required core public policy courses with students in other public policy graduate programs. This program provides students with a professionally-oriented degree, the M.A. in Public Policy, including training in the conventional social science components of that degree--economics, quantitative methods, policy analysis--training that helps make our graduates marketable and competitive in the mainstream world of public policy. Most important,

The Master of Public Policy core curriculum consists of courses in the interdisciplinary field of public policy; students can pursue a field of study in gender and social policy. The MPP does not require a comprehensive exam, or a thesis; it does require completion of the Capstone Seminar (PPol 215).

For More Information

Philosophy and Social Policy Program's website
Prof. Prof. Cynthia Harrison
Department of Women's Studies
The George Washington University
202-994-6942
wstu@gwu.edu