Women's and Gender Studies Concentration

Concentration Overview

The Department of Sociology is home to Women’s and Gender Studies, an interdisciplinary program with faculty expertise in a variety of areas, including inequalities of gender, race, class, age, and sexuality; bodies and technology; Black Feminisms; Transnational Feminisms; women’s activism; gender and environment; Sociology of sport; popular culture; violence against women; and girls’ empowerment in India. Students completing the MS in Sociology have the opportunity to complete a graduate certificate and/or concentration in Women’s and Gender Studies alongside their master’s degree. Students who pursue this concentration will learn to critically assess how gender, race, class, and sexuality shape our society and our experiences within it.

Why choose this program?

We support the research of scholar-activists, who connect with communities in need and provide research that can help them to shape policies and solve problems.
The research and scholarly interests of our faculty cross a wide range of disciplinary boundaries.
Best fit for students interested in full-time graduate study on the campus of Virginia’s largest research university.
The graduate program in Sociology at Virginia Tech prepares students to be productive and publicly-engaged scholars, advancing research.

Our master’s graduates have gone on to earn doctorates in sociology and related fields here at Virginia Tech and in universities around the world, or to direct and coordinate women’s centers, diversity programs, and research at such institutions as the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington DC, and the DisAbility Law Center of Virginia.
All classes are taught in small seminars and offer personal interaction with faculty and peers.

What You'll Study

You will complete 24 hours of coursework and 6 hours of research.

Our curriculum includes coursework on race and migration, on sexuality and queer theory, on advanced feminist theory, on feminist methods of research, on bodies and technology, and more.

Course List (Blacksburg)

Admissions Requirement

_{A bachelor's degree with minimum GPA 3.25 (4 Scale)}
_{Overall GPA 3.0 (4 Scale) in all Sociology Courses}
_{GRE Not Required}
_{TOEFL /IELTS Required (If Applicable)}

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Tuition and Fee

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Funding Opportunities

_{The Department of Sociology has a limited number of graduate assistantships and fellowships available for students applying for full time study on the Blacksburg Campus. Entering students can apply for such funding as part of their admissions application. No separate application required.}

_{Find out what loans are available as a graduate student and other opportunities.}