What is the MA/JD in Women's Studies?
Our MA/JD Students
Special Features
MA/JD Sample Schedule
Contact

What is the MA/JD in Women's Studies? (top)
The University of Cincinnati was the first university (and still is one of the very few) to offer an MA/JD joint degree program in Women's Studies and Law, which enables students to complete both degrees in four years rather than five. Jointly administered by the Department of Women's Studies and the College of Law, the program is highly successful, attracting some of the best students in the law school and in our program. Students typically spend their first year in the our MA program, then spend their second year as 1L students, complete a combination of Women's Studies and Law courses and the MA requirements in their third year, and finish the law degree in the fourth year, during which they may also opt for a joint degree externship or domestic violence clinic work. Like all other MA students, joint degree students must complete the required core and elective courses and a culminating research project and oral exam, but in a different time frame. A sample schedule is provided to help students visualize the joint degree process.
 
Our MA/JD Students   (top)
Students come to the program with such backgrounds as:

    · Political Science and Government
    · Psychology
    · African Studies
    · English
    · History
    · Biology
    · Criminology
    · Philosophy
    · Anthropology
    · Communication

They must possess strong enough GPA's, GRE's, and LSAT's to be accepted into both the Women's Studies MA program and the College of Law. A few joint degree students start law school first before their MA coursework, but we recommend starting with the MA because it comes with more financial assistance (see Graduate Assistantships and Financial Aid.) Non-joint degree law students also have the option of pursuing a Graduate Certificate of Concentration in Women's Studies with their law degree.

To apply, see Application Information.

Special Features (top)
Cross-listed courses like Feminist Jurisprudence, Gender and the Law and Law, Literature and Feminism, and law-focused Women's Studies courses such as Women's Human Rights provide opportunities to synthesize students' work in the two fields, whether they are joint degree, MA or graduate certificate students. A number of law school faculty are members of the Women's Studies affiliate faculty and serve on research paper committees.

The fourth year of the program provides College of Law-funded opportunities (for joint degree students only) to do externships -- work at such agencies as the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C. -- in order to supplement academic work with practical legal experience. In addition, joint degree students have the option to work with the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights in the College of Law, which provides special experience and publishing opportunities through the renowned Human Rights Quarterly. Joint degree students also have the same access as MA students to the opportunities and resources provided by the Department and Friends of Women's Studies.

As our placement record shows, the joint degree program has proven to be especially valuable to students interested in public-interest law and legal advocacy for women, in women's international human rights, and in critical legal studies. It has also provided a highly successful entrée into PhD programs in Women's Studies and other fields.

MA/JD Sample Schedule (top)
First Year
Autumn Quarter
Proseminar: Intro to Graduate Studies in WS 1 credit
Introduction to Graduate Women's Studies 4 credits
(May be waived for students demonstrating strong WS background)
Feminist Theory: Foundations 4 credits
Women's Studies Teaching Practicum 4 credits
(Required for students planning to teach)

Winter Quarter
*Proseminar: Feminist Issues 4 credits
*Feminist Theory: Race/Class/Nation 4 credits
*Feminist Theory: Global 4 credits
One elective course 4 credits

Among the graduate electives taken while pursuing the MA/JD, two courses must fulfill the Women's Studies interdisciplinary requirement.

Spring Quarter
Proseminar: Intro to Research Project in WS 1 credit
*Feminist Theory: Contemporary Issues 4 credits
Two elective courses 8 credits

*Students may select any two of these three theory courses

Second Year
1L Courses at College of Law (semesters)

Third Year
2L Courses at College of Law (semesters)

Autumn Quarter
Feminist Research I 1-4 credits

Winter Quarter
Individual Directed Research (with committee) 1-4 credits

Spring Quarter
Individual Directed Research (with committee) 1-4 credits
(Oral exam preparation)
Comprehensive Analysis 1-4 credits

Fourth Year
3L Courses at College of Law (semesters) and externship or D.V. clinic

For more Information, contact: (top)
Graduate Director, Department of Women's Studies
Barbara Watts, Associate Dean, College of Law
See the College of Law