MA Admissions

The online application opens September 7th and the annual deadline is DECEMBER 1st.  Applications are reviewed in December/January.  The Admissions Committee meets January-March, and notifications are sent in the Spring (March/April/May) for admission for the following Fall semester (August). Admission is for Fall semester only.

VERY IMPORTANT: The first thing you must do is to fill out the Texas Common Application to register/create your applicant profile. Once this part is completed, you will have access to the rest of the online application system through UT Austin: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/adm/mystatus/

Read the Overview of the application process.  The requirements and step-by-step instructions are listed in great detail on this website.  Please keep reading and thoroughly explore linked pages!  Don't forget to read our letter to potential applicants.

We have applicants with different undergraduate backgrounds.  It helps if the applicant is familiar with the field of women’s and gender studies, but a degree in WGS specifically is not necessarily required.

Submit a strong writing sample.  A paper you wrote in a former class would work.  If possible, your research should come from primary sources or scholarly secondary sources.  The admissions committee is mostly made up of Liberal Arts faculty, so a photo essay or a breezy paper on pop-culture might not be the best choice.  Try to show off your analytical writing and critical thinking skills as much as possible.  (If you do not have a paper that is at least 15 pages long, you may submit two papers in order to meet the page length requirement.) More advice here.

In an effort to grow the base of future scholars interested in Feminist and Black Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, we invite you to apply to both the WGS MA programs and the African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) PhD program by December 1st.  The Center for Women’s & Gender Studies and The Department of African and African Diaspora Studies share many faculty affiliates.  Applications for both programs will be reviewed.  Select applicants will be admitted to enroll in the MA Program in Women’s & Gender Studies, with a deferred admission to the PhD program African and African Diaspora Studies upon completion of the WGS Master’s Degree (in two years).  Questions can be directed to Annie Brookover ann.brookover@austin.utexas.edu (Graduate Coordinator, AADS).

Applicants to all programs must also submit documents showing that they meet the minimum requirements set by the Graduate School, namely:

• A bachelor's degree (or ontain a bachelor's degree before the entering fall semester)
• 3.0 GPA or higher on all upper-division and graduate coursework
• Official GRE score
• Official TOEFL or IELTS score (international applicants only)

• Students seeking admission to a dual degree master's program (MA/MSIS or MA/MPAff) must submit materials required by the other corresponding graduate program. Applicants identify their interest in the Dual Degree program by selecting the dual degree program code on the online (Apply) Texas Common Application website. These are listed in a separate "Dual Degree Programs" section at the bottom of the Apply Texas list of majors.  The School of Information and the LBJ School of Public Affairs use the same PDF upload module to receive and review documents.  Please note that theSchool of Information and the LBJ School of Public Affairs may have different deadlines!
• Dual Degree program applicants (MA/MSIS and MA/MPAff) must be accepted by both admissions committees in order to attempt the dual degree. There is not a special online application for the dual degree programs (besides marking the appropriate program/major code on the Apply Texas website). Like all other graduate applicants, the student is responsible for submitting any additional information required by the Graduate Studies Committee for each program.

• WGS will not accept applications for the dual degree programs after December 1st.
  Use the CORRECT DEGREE CODE for a dual degree program. 

  (WGS/INF, MA/MSIS: Dual Degree Code 93310)

  (WGS/P A, MA/MPAff: Dual Degree Code 93320)

Our admissions process for the MA program is guided both by the scholarly commitments of our interdisciplinary faculty and by the requirements for success in a two-year program.  We are looking for application materials which illustrate your:
* Understanding of the field of Women's & Gender Studies;
* Understanding of and commitment to resisting interlocking oppressions;
* Commitment to antiracist feminist practice;
* Scholarly connection with the work of one or more CWGS affiliate faculty members; and
* Concept of the research you will carry out during the two-year program for your thesis (this of course may change, but your ability to describe an idea indicates your ability to define and complete projects).

There are many different ways to indicate your understanding of these concepts and strategies; we look forward to learning about your interests!  

You can use "Check My Status" to see if you have any remaining materials. https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/adm/mystatus/

There is information on admission application fee waivers here from the University of Texas at Austin.  You need only pay one UT application fee per year, so if you plan to apply to different programs/majors at the same time, you will only need to pay the application fee once.  Fee waivers for the GRE are administered by ETS.

Yes, current or returning UT Austin graduate students who wish to be considered for admission to a different graduate program must apply for a change of major.  It's called the change of major application.

Yes, you can.  You may also be interested in the WGS Portfolio Certificate Program.  It is open to all current graduate students at UT Austin.

The degree requirements are listed here.  The WGS MA degree is a two-year program.  Because of the small cohort nature of program, students are expected to attend full-time.  Three classes (or 9 hours) is considered full-time for graduate students at UT Austin during the long semesters.  At UT Austin, an academic year has a Fall and a Spring "long" semester, and a shorter summer semester that can contain first session, second session, or whole session classes.  The WGS MA program can be completed in two academic years without summer classes.  The WGS MA program does not offer online classes.

A WGS MA degree gives you many options.  Most of our students go onto PhD programs, or remain in the education field.  Others continue their work in non-profit and advocacy organizations, or find careers in the private sector.  While at UT Austin, you are eligible to work with Liberal Arts Career Services and the Graduate School's Career Resources to design your professional trajectory.

A dual degree program allows you to earn two degrees simultaneously.  The Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies offers a dual degree with Information Studies (MA/MSIS), or Public Affairs (MA/MPAff).  Read up on the dual degree programs at the bottom of this page.

No. You do not need to fill out two applications. If you are applying to a Dual Degree program, these are listed in a separate "Dual Degree Programs" section at the bottom of the Apply Texas list of majors. You will need to scroll down. Be sure to choose the appropriate major. Applications with incorrect degree codes may not be processed. (WGS MA only: Degree Code 93300) (WGS/INF, MA/MSIS: Dual Degree Code 93310) (WGS/PA, MA/MPAff: Dual Degree Code 93320).  Dual degree programs take three years to complete, including summer semesters.

The University of Texas at Austin does not have a Women's and Gender Studies PhD program at this time. 

No, but Ms. Magazine published a short list in 2010 of online Women's Studies Programs.  There's also a list by Dr. Joan Koreman of Online Women's Studies programs, and Women's Studies Online Resources.

Here are a few links that list various WGS programs, including: Smith College, SIROW Regional Partners, Ms. Magazine "Women's Studies", Women's Studies Programs Worldwide, NWSA.org Resources, and Ms Magazine/NWSA 2009 Guide to Women's Studies (archived PDF).  Also check out: Intellectual Genealogies, Histories, and Kinship Networks for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Beyond. A project of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies PhD Program at Oregon State University.  Also of interest may be John Younger's list of LGBTQ+ Studies Programs.

All of this information can be found online.  For more on news, events, what our students, faculty, and alumni are doing, please review our News Archive, our Events Archive, and the CWGS Newsletter and Annual Reports.

You can use our faculty page to view faculty by rank and home department/field of study.  You can also use the EUREKA database to search by topic, research interest, or keyword.

The University of Texas at Austin is a research institution, and part of our MA program requirements is that students produce a Thesis or a Report.  It helps if there is a connection between the student and faculty interests.  Our program does not assign faculty to work with students.  Our MA students must create those relationships when they are in the program.  It always helps when students have a specific research topic and are able to identify faculty who might serve as Report or Thesis Supervisors.  We have an archive of Thesis projects produced by our students.  The faculty committees are listed on the first few pages of the PDFs of each project.

We have received an average of 30 applications per year, and have made between 4 and 10 admissions offers per year.  We have a small cohort program that allows for individual attention.  WGS has been able to offer all admitted students funding support for two years of study (Fall and Spring semesters).

WGS does not enforce a minimum GRE score, but the GRE is required.  A GRE score in the top 10 percentile of the applicant pool makes an applicant more competitive for fellowships.  The minimum GPA for admission into Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin is 3.0.  Scores must be sent to the university by the testing agency (self-reported scores are not accepted). The Educational Testing Service (ETS) institution code for UT Austin is 6882. 

Again, our program does not look for a minimum GRE score, but the test itself is a requirement for the admissions application. Our admissions committee does a holistic application review.  Your other application materials may outshine your GRE score. At the same time, applicants are considered as part of a cohort, so there are comparisons made to the applicant pool across the board.

This is all to say, GRE scores are never looked at in isolation, or as a sole deciding factor.

We understand that GRE scores can take a few weeks to transmit.  As long as you take the GRE on or before December 1st, the scores will be considered on time.

Our admission committee hopes to make decisions by late February/early March.

There are In-state Tuition Waviers, Fellowships, TAships, and GAships.  The WGS Admissions Committee uses application materials to match admitted students to funding opportunities.  All admitted students are automatically considered for funding. You can find out more on our Funding page. 

The details vary, but it usually includes in-state tuition for Fall and Spring, tuition assistance, and a monthly stipend.  You can find out more on our Funding page.  This is separate from Federal Financial Aid.  All students can apply for Federal Financial Aid through the UT Financial Aid Office with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) has a different deadline.  Typically the priority deadline for Texas has been January 15th for the following Fall (August).  The UT Austin Financial Aid Office should receive your information from FAFSA as long as you request it be sent to UT Austin. Our school code for the FAFSA is 003658.

The UT Financial Aid Office has more information on Cost of Attendance, and the UT Tuition Office allows you to calculate tuition (full-time for graduate students is 9 hours per semester in Fall and Spring), and compare UT Tuition to other schools.  You can also compare Cost of Living with other cities.  Another fun tool is Should I Move for Work?

International applicants who are from a country where English is the only official language are exempt from this requirement. Additionally, applicants are exempt from the requirement if they possess a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution or an institution in a country where English is the only official language. You can contact admissions, for clarification on test scores: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/admissions/contact International applicants can take either the TOEFL, or the Academic Examination of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

COVID-19 Update: The TOEFL test is now being offered online. https://www.ets.org/toefl Applicants with a strong enough internet connection can now take the TOEFL from home.

What about international exchange programs or study abroad? For more information on exchange plan procedures or study abroad, please contact the International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) office.

The International Office's International Student and Scholar Services offers financial information specifically for students coming to the United States from other countries.  International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) Office lists a few resources for international students regarding financial support including scholarships and fellowships.  Most of our international students have had external fellowships from outside organizations such as the Ford Foundation and Fulbright Foundation.  Detailed instructions on how to apply for admission are also provided by the Graduate School, please review them thoroughly.