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Gender, Society and Representation MA

Gender, Society and Representation is an inter-faculty programme drawing on the unusual breadth of disciplines for which UCL is renowned, including development studies, law, anthropology, urban studies, literary scholarship, geography and queer studies. UCL offers students an opportunity to develop their own interests within this broad intellectual landscape.

Covid-19 programme updates

Due to COVID-19, there may have been updates to this programme for the 2020 academic year. Where there has been an update, these are indicated with a red alert and a link which will provide further information.

Key information

Programme starts

September 2020

Modes and duration

Full time: 1 year
Part time: 2 years

Part-time students will need to attend 2-3 days a week. Core modules are normally on Wednesday, although this may change without notice. Attendance otherwise depends on option choices.

Application dates

All applicants
Open: 1 November 2019
Close: 11 August 2020
Notification
Due to the large number of applications received, this programme is no longer accepting applications for 2020/21 entry. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Applications for 2021/22 entry will open later in the year.

Tuition fees (2020/21)

UK/EU:
£11,170 (FT)
£5,660 (PT)
Overseas:
£23,340 (FT)
£11,830 (PT)


Note on fees: The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website.

Fee deposit: All full time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £1,000 for this programme. All part-time students are required to pay a fee deposit of £500.

Optional qualifications: This degree is also available as a PG Diploma with fees set accordingly.
Location: London, Bloomsbury

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

English language requirements

If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.

The English language level for this programme is: Advanced

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

International students

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below.

Select your country:

About this degree

Students gain the advanced skills, methods, concepts and theories required for the study of gender in an interdisciplinary context at graduate level. Optional modules offer students a genuine opportunity to develop their own interests in a wide range of disciplines, and the dissertation provides opportunities for independent research.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme offers two pathways: Taught and Research. The taught pathway consists of three core modules (60 credits), optional modules (60 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits). The research pathway consists of three core modules (60 credits), optional modules (30 credits) and a dissertation (90 credits).

A Postgraduate Diploma, three core modules (60 credts), two to four optional modules (60 credits), full-time one year, part-time two years, is offered.

Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded a MA in Gender, Society and Representation. Upon successful completion of 120 credits, you will be awarded a PG Dip in Gender, Society and Representation.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

Compulsory modules

All of these modules are compulsory.

  • Multidisciplinary Approaches to Gender Studies
  • Gender Theory, Politics and Feminism
  • Research and Writing Skills
  • Dissertation

Part-time students take the compulsory modules, other than the dissertation, in their first year.

Optional modules

Options may include the following (not all will be available in a given year, and some have prerequisites such as existing studies in the field):

  • Critical Introduction to Sexuality Studies
  • Gender and Global Health
  • Gender and Sexuality in Modern Britain, c 1850 to the Present
  • Gender and Sexuality in Modern Russian Culture
  • Gender, Education and Development
  • Gender, Generation and Forced Migration
  • Gender, Law and the State: Current Legal Issues
  • Gender in Policy and Planning
  • Gender, Politics and Public Policy in Latin America
  • Gender, Race and Sexuality: New Readings in Francophone Literature and Visual Culture
  • Gender, Sexuality and Education
  • Gendering the Study of Politics: Theory and Practice
  • Global Politics of Gender, Sexuality and Security
  • Knowledge, Power and the Cultural Production of Gender
  • Marriage and Divorce Italian Style
  • Masculinity in Literature and Cinematic Adaptations
  • Public and Private Modernities
  • Sex and the Body in Early Modern Europe
  • Sexuality and Society in Russia and Eastern Europe
  • Elective modules from the School of Oriental and African Studies
Covid-19 module updates
Due to COVID-19, there may be updates to the modules for your chosen programme of study this year. Some modules may not be available or may need to be moved to a later term or year of study. These updates are relevant for 2020-21 academic year only.  The full list of modules will be available in the module catalogue from late August.  From the first week of September, you will be invited to complete module selection from Portico, our student record system. There may need to be additional updates or changes to modules during the academic year to allow for new guidance from the UK Government and Public Health England. Your department shall keep you updated of these changes as they become available.

Dissertation/report

Students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 12,000 words (taught pathway) or 18,000 words (research pathway).

Teaching and learning

Teaching sessions are interactive, with a limited amount of lecturing and an emphasis on student participation and critical discussion. Assessment is through a variety of methods, including essays, coursework, written papers, oral examination and the dissertation.

Covid-19 contact hours on campus
In Term One, while campus will be open, all the learning activity for the core content of your modules will take place online – including lectures, tutorials, seminars and assessments. By “core content” we mean everything you need to learn to complete the module successfully. In addition to these online contact hours, we will be offering some face-to-face educational activities for students on campus, and we will provide alternative online activities for those students unable to join us on campus. These activities, which will include contact with academic staff, will be relevant to your programme of study may include seminars, academic and employability skills workshops, small-group or individual tutorials, lab and practice-based teaching. UK Government safety guidelines will limit the amount of ‘in person’ activity we can offer and while it will vary from programme to programme, is likely to be no more than 1-2 hours per week. This will vary across departments, particularly if your programme includes laboratory/practical/studio/workshop sessions. You will be updated with more specific details as they are available and your timetable will indicate which sessions will be on campus and which will be available online.
Covid-19 assessment updates
There may be changes to the format of assessments for modules in this programme due to COVID-19. These will be summarised for each module on the module catalogue from 17 August 2020.   If any changes to assessments need to be made during the academic year due to updates in government guidance, these will be communicated to you as soon as possible from your department.    
Communicating further Covid-19 mitigation plans
We are continuing to follow UK Government guidance, as well as the expertise of our researchers, including specialists in health, education, human behaviour and infection prevention, to make sure UCL is as safe as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. If it becomes necessary to make further changes to your programme as a result of new guidance/regulations, UCL and your department will communicate these as soon as this becomes clear. We will keep you up-to-date with our plans throughout term one, so you have the information you need to be able to take decisions that are right for your circumstances. Please ensure that you keep in touch with your department by regularly checking your UCL emails, Moodle courses, the Coronavirus FAQs for Students page and any UCL online groups or social media you follow.

Additional costs

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.

Funding

All prospective students can apply for the UCL Graduate School Open Scholarships.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

Careers

Engaging with gender and sexuality concerns is now an integral aspect of research and planning activities in a wide range of fields. The need to address different forms of discrimination has created a demand in both public and private sectors for highly qualified graduates with a broad theoretical background in gender and sexuality studies, a familiarity with the intersectional nature of inequality, and a commitment to social change. Our graduates have gone on to careers as researchers, administrators and communications officers for charities, cultural institutions, NGOs and the private sector, and in academic research in related disciplines.

Employability

Students graduating from this Master's programme will possess a broad understanding of gender issues in social practice and discourse. They will have demonstrated intellectual flexibility in engaging successfully with a diverse and challenging range of subject areas and disciplinary approaches to gender. They will be able to develop and sustain a convincing argument on a variety of complex subjects, supporting their conclusions with appropriate evidence, clearly expressed. They will have experience in researching a topic from scratch, learning to identify and choose between different routes into exploring that topic and producing a coherent account of their research and findings.

Why study this degree at UCL?

Gender and sexuality studies have expanded rapidly in recent decades, to emerge as dynamic interdisciplinary field of study.

As a multi-faculty institution located in the heart of cosmopolitan London and covering an exceptionally wide range of disciplines, UCL offers an ideal environment for gender studies, enabling students to tailor their degrees according to their specific interests and providing a wealth of opportunities for interdisciplinary work.

Staff contributing to MA level and research work in gender studies are drawn from different faculties including Arts & Humanities, Social & Historical Sciences, Built Environment, Laws, and Life Sciences, as well as the School of Slavonic and East European Studies and the Institute of Education.

Department: Centre for Multidisciplinary & Intercultural Inquiry

Application and next steps

Applications

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £80 for online applications and £105 for paper applications. Further information can be found at: www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/application.

Who can apply?

The programme is particularly suitable for students with a first degree in either the arts and humanities or the social and historical sciences, who wish to study gender in both general and more specialised contexts.

Application deadlines

All applicants
11 August 2020

Applicants interested in the research pathway should apply for the taught pathway and simultaneously contact Professor Ann Varley to express their interest in the research pathway. Registration for the research pathway will depend on approval of a dissertation proposal submitted on arrival at UCL.


For more information see our Applications page.

Apply now

What are we looking for?

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Gender, Society and Representation at graduate level
  • why you want to study Gender, Society and Representation at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your personal, academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Applicants should note we specifically require two academic references for this course.

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.

Page last modified on 13 August 2020