The Ohio State University Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Graduate Admissions

Graduate Admissions

Applications to the WGSS MA or PhD are accepted every fall for the following academic year. Admission to our graduate program is highly competitive. Please see below for detailed information on how to apply.

Overview

The Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies is committed to fully funding our graduate students. As such, our incoming cohorts are typically limited to 5 to 7 students each year.

The application for AU 27 admissions will open in August and close on Monday, November 16, 2026.  

Instructions for All Applicants

At the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, we firmly believe in providing full and robust support for all our graduate students throughout their experience in our program. This commitment starts at admissions. Every year we see swaths of talented, budding scholars and innovative research projects we unfortunately must decline due to our own capacity to properly support these scholars. As such, we have added a new step in our admissions process to help applicants determine if their research goals and interests can be suitably supported by the department at this time.

Before submitting an application, all prospective students must identify potential faculty advisors. Please complete the Advisor Request Form to initiate the matching process. This form is required to be considered for AU 27 admissions and will open in August. Applicants who submit the form by October 15th will be prioritized during our application review process. You can reference the People page to search core faculty members in the WGSS department. Please note that only core faculty members, not affiliated faculty or faculty emeritus, are capable of serving as primary advisors for our students.

The following faculty members will NOT be accepting students during the AU 27 admissions cycle:

  • Joyce Chen
  • Linda Mizejewski (retired, faculty emeritus)
  • LaVelle Ridley

WGSS Graduate Admissions Information

All Applicants

Applicants must meet the minimum admissions requirements by OSU's Graduate and Professional Admissions. While the official minimum GPA is 3.0 scale, successful Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies applicants generally have undergraduate GPAs of 3.6 or higher and graduate GPAs of 3.9 or higher if relevant. Applicants are reviewed holistically on the basis of letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, GPA, writing sample, and TOEFL scores (for international applicants). The GRE is not required for admission to our MA and PhD programs.

Admission to the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies MA Program at Ohio State is very competitive, and the department typically admits between 10-15% of applicants. The number of spots open for admission varies year to year. Experience has shown that the best predictors of success in the program are adequate scholarly preparation, as shown in the GPA and fulfillment of the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies recommended academic backgrounds, specifically WGSS courses and undergraduate GPA for the MA, and for the PhD, a rigorous scholarly background in feminist theory and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. It is highly recommend that students who do not have an adequate background acquire it before applying. However, Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary program and students with different academic backgrounds are still welcome to apply. 

MA Applicants

It is recommended that master's applicants should have completed at least four courses in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies or closely related fields. A major, minor or certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies or related field is recommended. 

PhD Applicants

The PhD program accepts students with a Master’s degree, as well as students coming directly from a Bachelor’s program. Applicants should have a BA or MA in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies or a closely related field and a strong grounding in feminist theory. Successful applicants to the Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies PhD program have had undergraduate GPAs of 3.6 or higher and graduate GPAs of 3.9 or higher. Applicants are reviewed holistically on the basis of letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, GPA, writing sample, and TOEFL scores (for international applicants). The GRE is NOT required for PhD applicants.

Applicants for the PhD program need to demonstrate rigorous preparation, commitment to serious intellectual study, and extraordinary scholarly ability. Applicants to the direct-to-PhD program who are deemed highly competitive but not yet ready for doctoral work will be considered for the MA program. Applicants to the PhD program who are currently enrolled in our MA program are evaluated on the same criteria as those applying from other schools.

Autumn Admissions

The Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies only admits students for Autumn Semester.

Applications open in August and close in November, and specific deadlines will be shared in late summer each year. Late applications will not be considered.

Letters of Recommendation may come in up to a week after the deadline. Test scores and transcripts may come in up to two weeks after the deadline provided they have been ordered by the deadline.

Interviews

The department invites our top candidates for online interviews via Zoom, which is a required step to be considered for admission. See the Interviews section below for additional information.

Final Decisions

Final admissions decisions may be shared with applicants beginning in January and into mid-April. 

WGSS Application

All applications must be submitted through the centralized application portal through Graduate and Professional Admissions. Applications can be saved throughout the process and submitted when complete. If you run into any issues with your application, please contact their office directly.

Apply to the MA Program

Apply to the PhD Program

Applying to Multiple Programs and Dual Degrees

Applying to Both WGSS Programs

If you do not hold an MA and would like to be considered for both the MA and PhD program, please apply only to the PhD program. Eligible direct-to-PhD candidates will automatically be considered for the MA program. Admitted students applying to both programs will be notified as to which program they have been admitted.

Multiple Applications

If applying to more than one MA or PhD program at Ohio State (you may apply up to three in a term), a separate application and fee are required for each program, as are separate recommendation letters. However, only one set of transcripts and test scores is needed, unless otherwise requested by a program. Please contact WGSS Graduate Program Coordinator, Laurel Clarkson, if you are planning to apply to more than one program at a time.

Dual Degrees

Applicants wishing to pursue dual master's degrees must apply to and be admitted to both programs before a dual degree plan can be created. Intent to pursue a dual degree program must be communicated directly to the WGSS Program Coordinator, Laurel Clarkson, as part of the admissions process. Per Graduate School regulations, dual PhD-MA plans cannot be accommodated. 
 

Additional Information

Once the application is completed, students can view their application status.

Materials Required by the WGSS Department

These materials are required by the WGSS department, which determines the specifications of each item (e.g. page length, details included, etc.). Questions about these materials should be directed to the Graduate Program Coordinator.

Statement of Purpose: A brief intellectual statement of purpose (up to three pages, double spaced) that explains why the applicant wants to pursue a graduate degree in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. The statement of purpose should emphasize the applicant's scholarly interests, future career plans, and detail how a graduate degree in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies is the logical next step in the applicant's professional and intellectual development.

Applicants to the master's degree should discuss the fields of study that most interest them. What themes within these fields strike them as compelling for further study? MA applicants should detail why WGSS at Ohio State can support them in their pursuit of their studies.

Applicants to the doctoral degree should have clearly delineated fields of study, along with a well defined dissertation topic.

Curriculum Vitae: The CV is where the applicant should provide information on their educational achievements; relevant employment/internship experiences; relevant volunteer and public service experiences; publications; presentations; awards and honors (including grants and scholarships); relevant travel experience such as study abroad; involvement in extracurricular activities; etc. If the applicant has received awards for scholarship or academic leadership or service, a brief explanation of the awards should be included for reviewers unfamiliar with their purpose.

Writing Sample: The writing sample must be in English. It should be on a subject matter relevant to Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies scholarship. It can be a paper prepared for a class, a publication (article, chapter) or a paper presented at a meeting, a chapter or section of a longer work such as a book or thesis, etc. The idea is to show the level of intellectual work that the applicant has achieved. It is recommended that the writing sample be between 10 and 20 pages in length. Samples over 20 pages will not be read in full. If the sample is a chapter or section from a longer work, a cover page should be included as well as an outline of the longer document, indicating where the chapter or section fits in. Do not submit an entire thesis or a book.

Letters of Recommendation: Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation. Unless the applicant has significant compelling reason (e.g., having been removed from formal academics for an extended period of time), all letters should come from faculty who can speak to the applicant's skills as a student and capacity for graduate education. The central application guides applicants through how to request electronic letters of recommendation from recommenders. Do not send hard copies of recommendation letters to the department. Applicants will need to provide their recommenders' names, institutions, and email addresses. Your recommenders will receive an email from the university 1-3 days after you submit your application and they should follow the instructions in that email for uploading their letters. Please contact the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions for assistance with any issues related to submitting letters of recommendation.

 

Materials Required by the University

These materials are required by OSU's Graduate and Professional Admissions, and the WGSS department is unable to adjust or waive these requirements. Questions about these materials should be directed to the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions.

English Proficiency Test Scores: International applicants are required to submit proof of English proficiency. Ohio State accepts official TOEFL, IELTS and MELAB scores sent directly from the testing agency. Please see below and consult the English proficiency requirements at Ohio State for additional information.

Transcripts: Applicants are required to submit one academic transcript from all institutions where college credit was received.  Applicants may upload scanned images of official paper transcripts issued by the institution’s Registrar via the document uploader. Make sure to mark out all U.S. social security numbers before scanning. See “Admission Process” -> “How do I attach my transcript to the application?” on the Graduate and Professional Admissions FAQ page for additional information. If the applicant needs to order electronic transcripts, they can be sent via email to gpadocs@osu.edu. Ohio State will not accept web reports, advising reports, self-reported scores, or transfer credit on another school’s transcript. Official transcripts are only required after admission to the program.

 

Materials Not Required

GRE: The Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality does DOES NOT require the GRE for admission. Please DO NOT submit GRE scores with your application.

International students may have some additional requirements to be mindful of when preparing application materials. Please reference guidance below, as well as information on OSU's Graduate and Professional Admissions website.

Proof of English Proficiency

Some international applicants are required to submit English proficiency test scores in order to be considered for admission.

The university requires official TOEFL or IELTS scores from applicants:

  • whose native language is not English,
  • who have been educated primarily outside of the U.S., or
  • who have held U.S. permanent resident, asylee or refugee status for less than one year from the first term of enrollment.

Minimum Test Scores

TOEFL:

  • 19 on each section of the paper-based TOEFL
  • 79 on the internet-based TOEFL or TOEFL Special Home Edition

IELTS:

  • 7.0 on the IELTS exam or IELTS Indicator (6.5 for Moritz College of Law applicants)

Duolingo

Test scores may not be more than two years old.

Exemptions

Applicants who are citizens of, or who have received a bachelor’s degree or higher from, one of the following countries are exempt from the English proficiency requirement: Australia, Belize, the British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), England, Guyana, Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, Scotland, the United States and Wales.

The department cannot waive English proficiency test requirements. Students with questions about these requirements should contact the Graduate and Professional Admissions. 

Submission Guidelines

  • To ensure scores are received, tests should be completed at least four weeks prior to the application deadline.
  • Applicants should use Ohio State's test code (1592) when submitting scores at the time of the exam.  
  • Test scores must be received by the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions no later than two weeks after the application deadline.
  • TOEFL or IELTS scores cannot be more than two year old. Duolingo scores cannot be more than six months old.

 

Three-Year Degrees

One of Ohio State's graduate admission criteria is the completion of an American four-year bachelor's degree or the equivalent. Three-year degrees are not generally recognized to be equivalent.

If you hold a three-year degree, please review Graduate and Professional Admissions' guidelines to see if you are eligible to apply to Ohio State with your current credentials.

Fee Costs

A nonrefundable $60 fee for U.S. students and $70 for international students is charged for each regular or supplemental application you submit to Ohio State for graduate study. Your application is not processed until you pay your application fee and the fee is authorized. 

If you submit an application in error, the application fee will not be refunded. For technical questions regarding application fees, please contact Graduate and Professional Admissions.

Fee Waivers

The Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies cannot issue fee waivers.

However, certain applicants may qualify for a fee waiver provided by the Graduate School. Please see the Office of Graduate and Professional Admission's fee waiver guide for a list of fee waiver programs and application information.

Our most-qualified top candidates will be invited to participate in online interviews via Zoom, which is a required step in our admissions process. The WGSS Graduate Program Coordinator will contact selected candidates to schedule interviews, which include members of the Graduate Studies Committee and the matched faculty advisor(s). Candidates will be asked questions to better determine applicant fit and readiness to enter the program.

Successful applicants who do not begin their program in the immediate Autumn Semester must reapply for admission the following year. Previously enrolled students who have not completed their degrees and have not registered for courses or dissertation hours for more than two semesters must petition the Graduate Studies Committee for reactivation.