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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.
Key information
Programme starts
September 2020
Modes and duration
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
Tuition fees (2020/21)
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.
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
- Further information about these modules is available on the department website.
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.
Additional 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
What our students and staff say
"The MA in Gender, Society and Representation at the CMII was a wonderful opportunity for me to teach in my area of specialisation with an emphasis on interdisciplinarity. The MA offers students, and by extension me as a lecturer, the chance to engage in many different ideas and approaches to studying gender, benefitting from all the different pockets of expertise at UCL. I've been very lucky to learn from many scholars' who are using gender as a lens at UCL and who teach on the core course, as well as designing and teaching new modules in gender and global politics and feminist epistemology. My research is currently focused on military families, exploring the gendered social relations produced through the everyday operation of military power. I've found that UCL has a wealth of cultural and intellectual resources that can enhance and augment academic life. From the Institute of Making to the Festival of Culture, as well as UCL's small museums, galleries, displays and online resources. "
Dr Alex Hyde
Gender, Society and Representation MA
UCL Centre for Multi-disciplinary & 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
- 28 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 nowWhat 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 28 May 2020