Applications are open on a rolling basis to the Gender and Sexuality Studies (GNSS) Graduate Certificate Program. This program enables graduate students already enrolled in Ph.D. programs at Brown to develop methodological and theoretical expertise in the interdisciplinary field of gender and sexuality studies.
Certificate students receive professional training in critical methods informed by feminist, queer, trans, and intersectional approaches to difference. The program fosters a community of scholars dedicated to advancing current conversations in GNSS and developing theoretical frameworks from both traditional academic disciplines (e.g. English, history) and interdisciplinary fields (e.g. critical legal studies, critical race theory, disability studies). In monthly meetings, students gather to share readings, discuss research and pedagogy, and workshop manuscripts.
In recent years, the certificate cohort has ranged from 12 to 18 doctoral candidates working in more than a dozen disciplines, including American studies, anthropology, comparative literature, English, German studies, history, Italian studies, modern culture and media, music, philosophy, public health, religious studies, and sociology.
Admission to the graduate certificate program is rolling and primarily requires that students articulate a course plan and, over the course of time, develop a research agenda related to the study of gender and sexuality. Students earn the credential while fulfilling the graduate requirements of their degree-granting department.
