Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
in Women’s Studies
Higher Values in Higher Education
Academic Excellence • Educational Opportunity
Personal Growth • Social Responsibility
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Women’s Studies is an option for students with
an interest in studying gender in the context of feminist theory and is an excellent
complement to many programs of study such as Political Science, Law Enforcement
and Justice Administration, Social Work, Psychology, Sociology, College Student
Personnel, and Business. Courses in the program strengthen students’ understanding
of women’s collective history as well as the public policies and cultural differences
that affect women’s lives today, both in the United States and cross-culturally.The
certificate in Women’s Studies may be used to demonstrate knowledge of diversity
issues, with particular emphasis on women and gender, for further study or for use
in an occupational setting.The certificate requires 12 semester hours. Non-degree
graduate students may pursue a graduate certificate in women’s studies, as well as
those enrolled in degree programs.
Macomb Campus
Admissions Criteria
Faculty
Students who seek the certificate must meet admission requirements for
the Western Illinois University School of Graduate Studies. Applicants
for admission to post-baccalaureate certificate programs must hold a
bachelor’s degree from an institution that is accredited by the appropriate
regional accrediting agency. Non-degree students must meet the
admission requirements for the School of Graduate Studies; degree
students must meet the admission requirements for their degree program.
Faculty members in the Department of Women’s Studies hold
doctoral degrees from Purdue University, Washington University
in St. Louis, Vanderbilt University, and the Graduate School and
University Center of the City University of New York. Faculty
members who teach cross-listed courses in other departments have
degrees from universities around the world and bring a variety of
disciplinary perspectives to the classroom.
Certificate Requirements
Student Involvement
The certificate requires 12 semester hours (sh), including a core
course in feminist theories, a directed elective, and electives chosen
from the following: Women’s Spirituality; Women and Poverty; Race,
Class and Gender; Sociology of Women’s Health; Women and Crime;
Women and Film; Seminar in Women’s Studies; Graduate Readings
in Women’s Studies; Women and Social Movements; Graduate
Colloquium in Womanist Theory; and Women in Anglophone
Caribbean: The Jamaican Experience.
The Department of Women’s Studies sponsors two student organizations.
The Women’s Studies Student Association (WSSA) is open to all
undergraduate and graduate students and is devoted to the dissemination
of information concerning women and gender issues. Students who have
taken at least two Women’s Studies courses and have a GPA of 3.0 can also
join Triota, the Women’s Studies Honor Society.
Students must have a cumulative 3.0 grade point average for all
coursework required for completion of the certificate. A postbaccalaureate certificate will not be awarded to a student who earns
more than 3 semester hours (sh) of “C,” “D,” “F,” or “U” grades
in the graduate level courses required for the completion of the
certificate. No course for which a student has received a grade of “D”
or lower may be used to satisfy certificate requirements. Transfer
work or course substitutions are not allowed in certificate programs.
Contact Information
For admissions process and general program information, contact
the School of Graduate Studies, Western Illinois University,
1 University Circle, Macomb, IL 61455, (309) 298-1806,
(877) WIU GRAD toll-free, Grad-Office@wiu.edu, wiu.edu/grad.
For specific program questions, contact Dr. Aimee Shouse, Department
Chair and Professor, Western Illinois University, Currens Hall 510,
1 University Circle, Macomb, IL 61455, (309) 298- 2214,
AD-Shouse@wiu.edu, wiu.edu/cas/womens_studies.
“The Women’s Studies certificate greatly complements my College Student Personnel degree program as I find myself being able to contribute a unique and essential
perspective to classroom discussions. The knowledge that I’ve gained from the Women’s Studies certificate will greatly impact my professional practice as a future
student affairs professional.”
– Alicia Guzman Riley, 2014, Current Student, College Student Personnel, Master’s Program with a Women’s Studies Certificate
WIU.EDU/CAS/WOMENS_STUDIES