1122 Lane Hall * University of Michigan * Ann
Arbor, MI 48l09-1290
The interdepartmental doctoral program in Women’s Studies and Psychology is designed
to serve students whose interests are not well represented by an exclusively disciplinary
program. Such students need conceptual and methodological tools that are grounded in the
interdisciplinary perspective of the Women’s Studies Program.
In the interdepartmental doctoral program, students have the opportunity to work out an interdisciplinary approach to a research problem from an early point in training, with a faculty committee that can provide shaping direction. They benefit from the kind of interdisciplinary mentorship that is necessary to develop and complete an interdisciplinary dissertation.
The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program Committee handles administrative and policy matters pertaining to the interdepartmental doctoral degree. It oversees the admission of students and assignment of advisors; tracks students’ progress by approving course choices and prelim and dissertation committees; participates in regular departmental reviews of students; and coordinates financial aid decisions. The Committee consists of a representative from the English and Psychology departments and is chaired by the Director of the Women’s Studies Program.
Any student with a bachelor’s degree, including those already enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Michigan, are eligible to apply. Applicants should have demonstrated academic excellence and should have prior experience in Women’s Studies. Admitted students will be expected to participate actively in both of the academic programs with which they are associated.
The Interdisciplinary Program Committee of the Women’s Studies Program will take responsibility for the initial screening of applications. Likely candidates will be sent to the Psychology Department, where they will be considered for admission to one of the seven graduate areas. Offers of admission to the interdepartmental program are only made after both units have granted their approval.
The joint doctoral program is relatively small. We anticipate admission of no more than 2 or 3 students each year.
A. Core courses (9 credit hours)
Joint doctoral students take three required courses in
Women’s Studies:
1. One course in feminist theory. Theory courses that fulfill this requirement include Theories of Feminism (530)--the course most commonly taken to fulfill this requirement; Feminist Cultural Theory; Feminist Political Theory; Lesbian Theory.
Theories of Feminism (530) provides an interdisciplinary exploration of various schools of feminist thought. Specific content varies, depending on the particular interests of the instructor. Recent courses have included examples of classic and less well-known theoretical texts; comparison of themes current in the humanities and social sciences; challenges to “traditional” feminist theory from women of color. Courses in feminist cultural or political theory or lesbian theory are alternatives for students with strong undergraduate backgrounds in feminist theory.
2. Approaches to Feminist Scholarship in the Social Sciences (602) or Approaches to Feminist Scholarship on Women of Color (3).
The Approaches to Feminist Scholarship courses are designed to examine various theoretical, substantive and methodological issues in feminist scholarship in relation to the paradigms of traditional disciplines.
3. WS 891 Advanced Research.
WS891 brings students and faculty together both to discuss
issues in interdisciplinary feminist scholarship, and to support students’
development of their own interdisciplinary research projects.
B. Additional Coursework (9 credit hours)
In addition to core courses, joint doctoral students take 9
additional hours of graduate coursework, chosen from among Women’s Studies offerings
and cross-listed courses provided by other departments.
At least one of these courses must be an interdisciplinary WS course and must include substantial coverage of theoretical issues.
Some of the courses in psychology, in which the student pursued interdisciplinary interests, can be used toward the fulfillment of this requirement.
Some course requirements in Psychology apply to all seven areas. Some are specific to a given area. The prototype used here is Personality Psychology. Exact details about substitutions and overlapping course requirements would depend on the student’s Psychology area, but the basic strategy would be the same for all of them.
All doctoral students in Psychology, whatever their Area, must fulfill this requirement. This requirement involves signing up for research credits under the 619 rubric, although 619 is not a formal course. Students work independently with a faculty advisor. The WS891 requirement may be met with the fulfillment of the PS619 requirement, but only if the 619 project integrates Women’s Studies scholarship in a significant way. The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program Committee must approve the fulfillment of the WS891 requirement in this way.
One member of the Interdisciplinary Program Committee, or the student’s advisor in the joint program, will participate in any Psychology Department review of the student’s progress. Similarly, at least one Psychology Department faculty member will participate in any Women’s Studies review of the student’s progress.
Candidacy is achieved when students have completed the required coursework in Women’s Studies and Psychology, PS619, and the prelim in Psychology. Both of the cooperating units aim to ensure that students make timely progress to candidacy -- typically by the beginning of their third year. Ordinarily, students advancing to candidacy should have a developed dissertation topic and a committee.
The prelim exam has two parts:
1. In Women’s Studies
A preliminary examination is based on research completed in the research seminar WS891. Students are encouraged, wherever possible, to build on the work begun in their first year in the required courses on Feminist Theory (WS530) and Approaches to Feminist Scholarship (WS602/3). A revised WS891 seminar paper is defended to a three person committee approved by the Interdisciplinary Program Committee. The prelim committee should include at least one member from Women’s Studies not also appointed in Psychology, and one from Psychology not also appointed in Women’s Studies.
2. In Psychology
The prelim format in Psychology is variable, dependent upon the specific Area of focus. The prelim sometimes involves an exam option and sometimes a paper (and defense) option. Students will work with the graduate advisor in their Area in cooperation with the Interdisciplinary Program Committee in Women’s Studies to finalize their prelim format.
In any case, the prelim exam begins the process of constituting an interdisciplinary committee and facilitating the formulation of a dissertation topic.
Like the prelim committee, the doctoral committee must be approved by the Interdisciplinary Program Committee and must include at least one faculty member appointed in Women’s Studies but not in Psychology; one appointed in Psychology but not Women’s Studies; and up to two who are jointly appointed in Psychology and Women’s Studies. A dissertation prospectus must be formally presented to and approved by the committee.
The prelim and dissertation committees may include the same faculty members.
Each doctoral student in the joint program is assigned to a faculty member with an affiliation both with the Women’s Studies Program and the Psychology Department. By the time the student reaches prelims, a full committee is monitoring the student’s progress through candidacy and the dissertation. The Interdisciplinary Program Committee reviews each student’s progress once a year, paying special attention to the coordination between the Women’s Studies requirements and the Psychology departmental requirements. A report on each student’s progress is requested both from the advisor and the student. Because at least one faculty member on a student’s dissertation committee shares the student’s two affiliations (Women’s Studies and Psychology), integration and coordination should be relatively smooth.
Women’s Studies guarantees the equivalent of one full year of teaching fellowships for each student enrolled in the joint doctoral program. It is possible that individual students will qualify for additional GSI-ships (for new undergraduate courses assigned GSI through the faculty) or research assistantships with Program faculty.
In addition, students will be eligible for all sources of graduate support on an equal funding with other doctoral students in Psychology.