[213] Women, Gender Studies Offers Graduate Certificate At MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 22, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

WOMEN, GENDER STUDIES OFFERS GRADUATE CERTIFICATE AT MTSU
Training Can Be Beneficial to Aspiring Academic or Advancing Professional

(MURFREESBORO) – Professionals seeking to gain an advantage in a tight labor market can add another credential after their names with a new interdisciplinary graduate certificate offered by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at MTSU.
“The 18 credit-hour program is an opportunity for professionals in areas such as healthcare, education, legal and social services, and in the nonprofit sector to acquire expertise on women’s and gender issues that can help them advance in their careers,” says Dr. Newtona (Tina) Johnson, Women’s and Gender Studies Director.
Starting in the spring 2011 semester, students will have an opportunity to gain advanced training in the areas of feminist theory and methodologies, and in-depth knowledge of gender inequality, and the intersection of gender and other forms of social identity and positioning, such as race, age, ability, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation and socioeconomic class.
“The program will expose students to new ways of thinking about women and gender that interrogate and expand the processes by which knowledge about human beings is acquired, interpreted and transmitted,” says Johnson. “Students will have the opportunity to research these new ways of thinking and to apply the knowledge to their personal and professional lives.”
The certificate can be a stand-alone credential for non-degree seeking students or an additional credential for students who are enrolled in graduate degree programs at MTSU.
Core requirements constitute nine of the 18 credit hours required to obtain the certificate. They are Feminist Theory (WGST 6000), Feminist Methods (WGST 6010), and either an internship (WGST 6020) or Directed Reading and Research (WGST 6021).
“People who are already working professionals not aiming for a graduate degree might prefer the internship, whereas students who are thinking of an academic career might want to do more research,” says Johnson.
Nine hours of electives may be chosen from at least two different departments that offer approved electives, including English, history, psychology and sociology/anthropology. At least three credit hours of electives must be taken at the 6000 level.


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Electives must be 5000-level, 6000-level or 7000-level courses that meet the WGST criteria for course selection. They also must be approved by the WGST curriculum committee, be taught by graduate faculty members, and be approved by the graduate council.
For more information, contact Johnson at 615-898-5910 or womenstu@mtsu.edu or the College of Graduate Studies at 615-898-2840 or graduate@mtsu.edu.

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Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.