About the Designated Emphasis

The Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program at UC Davis offers a Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research. Currently, graduate students in the following fourteen affiliated Ph.D. programs are eligible to participate: Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, Education, English, French, German, Geography, History, Native American Studies, Performance Studies, Psychology, Sociology, and Spanish.

The Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research affords graduate students in affiliated programs the opportunity to augment their Ph.D. in a given discipline with a specialization in Feminist Theory and Research. Typically a doctoral student in good standing may seek admission to the Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research and enroll in Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research courses. Those students in affiliated Ph.D. programs who complete the requirements of the Designated Emphasis will have this noted on their transcripts and their Ph.D. diploma will note the Ph.D. in X with Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research.

Feminist theory and research examines the complex ways in which gender always forged in relation to race, class, sexual, and national identities has organized language, identities, traditions of knowledge, methodologies, social relations, organizations, economic systems, and every facet of culture. In making gender a central category of analysis, feminist scholarship engages such questions as: the relationship between language and institutions, the nature of social power and historical agency, heteronormativity, the relationship between gender and nation, alternative sexualities, and gender and representation.

Feminist scholarship tends by nature to be interdisciplinary. Indeed it is feminist scholars who laid some of the groundwork for such interdisciplinary formations as the new ethnography, new historicism, and cultural studies

Feminist theory and research are among the most exciting and powerful forces in academic research and intellectual life today. Students with the D.E. demonstrate additional training that is attractive to employers inside and outside of the academy.

Benefits of the Program

Students who participate in the Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research benefit in several ways:

  1. Coursework for the Designated Emphasis provides analytical tools that enhance their research.
  2. The D.E. accords graduate students the opportunity to network with students and faculty across the UC Davis campus, thereby providing a larger audience for their research and work and increasing access to information about career opportunities.
  3. D.E. students have a larger pool of professors to draw from when forming their qualifying examination and dissertation committees.
  4. Because of their additional training, D.E. students are competitive for teaching assistant and associate-in positions in the Women and Gender Studies program.
  5. D.E. students are more competitive in the academic job market. Over the past several years, students graduating from UC Davis with the D.E. in Feminist Theory and Research have been told that the D.E. was critical to their being chosen over other candidates for teaching positions.

Advising

The Chair of the DE in Feminist Theory and Research, Professor Rana M. Jaleel, also serves as the faculty advisor for the program. She may be contacted via email at rmjaleel@ucdavis.edu.

Students are strongly encouraged to meet with the DE Faculty Advisor at least once each academic year. The DE Faculty Advisor can help you select courses, approve course substitutions, sign forms, and help keep your course of study on track. The advisor will also update your progress report each time you meet. It is always a good idea for you to check on the status of your DE file to make sure we have the most up-to-date information on your progress.

Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research Executive Board

  • Chair
    • Dr. Chris Hanssmann (GSW) also serves as the advisor and may be contacted at chanssmann@ucdavis.edu.
  • Executive Board
    • Dr. Jessica Draughon Moret (Nursing)
    • Dr. Kathleen Frederickson (English)
    • Dr. Beenash Jafri (GSW)
    • Dr. Meaghan O'Keefe (Religious Studies)
  • How to Join the DE in Feminist Theory and Research
  • (1) Make an appointment with the DE in Feminist Theory and Research Faculty Advisor. Before your appointment, download the DE Application Form (see Designated Emphasis Forms section below). Obtain the signature of the graduate advisor of your Ph.D. program. Bring the signed form and a copy of your transcript to the appointment. (2) Once the application form has been signed by the DE Faculty Advisor, make a copy of the form and keep it for your own records. (3) The signed original form must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies. After the Office of Graduate Studies approves the form, your transcript should note your participation in the “Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research.” If this does not appear on your transcript by the quarter following your application be sure to notify the DE Faculty Advisor as soon as possible.
  • Designated Emphasis Handbook and Forms
  • Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research Handbook PDF | Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research Progress Report | Application for Designated Emphasis (Graduate Studies Form) | Designated Emphasis Report Form (Graduate Studies Form)