Gender, Sexuality and Culture (MA / Postgraduate Diploma / Postgraduate Certificate)
Gender, Sexuality and Society (MSc / Postgraduate Diploma / Postgraduate Certificate) - 2012/2013 entry

These programmes are built around the interdisciplinary study of gender and sexuality, bridging the divide between the social sciences and the arts and humanities. They address the latest debates, using cutting-edge research from this exciting and growing area of study. The programmes consider competing theories and approaches to gender and sexuality, and explore the ways in which these intersect with concepts of race, ethnicity, age and class. They are flexibly designed to maximise student choice and you may opt for either an MA or MSc.

MA Gender, Sexuality and Culture: is designed for those with special interests in the humanities, including literature, history, media and film, visual art, philosophy and cultural theory.

MSc Gender, Sexuality and Society: focuses on political and social issues, including the diverse and changing nature of personal relationships, economics and the workforce, and development and legal studies.

Postgraduate Certificate/Postgraduate Diploma options are also available – please contact us for further details. 

• Interdisciplinary programmes with the choice between a focus on the humanities or on political and social issues.
• Linked to the Birkbeck Institute of Gender and Sexuality, which hosts leading experts in the field and organises a range of events.

MA/MSc

You will complete the core module Theorising Gender, plus three option modules and a dissertation. Full-time students generally take one option module in term one and two option modules in term two; part-time students generally take one option module in term two of their first year, one in term one of their second year, and one in term two of their second year. However, option modules are available in all three terms.

You will choose option modules from two lists compiled each year: an MA Gender options list and an MSc Gender options list.

MA students must take at least two option modules from the MA list; they may take one option module from the MSc list.

MSc students must take at least two option modules from the MSc list; they may take one option module from the MA list.   

Option modules in previous years have included: 

• Africa in the European Imagination
• Contemporary  Lesbian Fiction – Sexual/ Textual Explorations
• Culture, Community, Identity
• Disciplining Sex – Sexuality, Society and Nineteenth-Century Culture
• Gender and Development
• Gender and Politics – Political Institutions
• Gender and Philosophy
• Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Japanese Fiction
• Men and Masculinity in East Asia
• Law and the Body
• Psychoanalysis and Difference
• Queer Histories/Queer Cultures

Workshops and presentations of students’ research take place throughout the year.

Postgraduate Diploma

Complete the same modules as for the MA/MSc, but without the dissertation.

Postgraduate Certificate

Take the core module, Theorising Gender, and one additional module.

These programmes are linked to the Birkbeck Institute of Gender and Sexuality (BIGS). BIGS hosts experts in the field, organises a diverse range of events throughout the year, including dedicated postgraduate workshops and seminars, and sponsors a lively student postgraduate forum, which runs reading groups, workshops and symposia, as well as the BIGS students' blog.

Find out more about our range of world-class research resources.

If you are interested in further research, we offer a PhD/MPhil in Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Graduates go on to careers in community and voluntary sector organisations, the public sector or in research.

Sample timetable

• Three or four additional evenings a term for workshops, lectures from visiting speakers and tutorials. 
• All students should allow a working evening of up to three hours. 
• In addition to contact time, full-time students should expect to undertake 30 hours per week for study, preparation and essay writing; part-time students should allow for 15 hours. 

Learning objectives

By the end of this programme, you should be able to:

• discuss diverse theories of gender and sexuality 
• outline gender/sexuality within relevant humanities or social sciences literatures 
• discuss gender theory and apply appropriate theories within an independent research project 
• apply research, writing and presentation skills

• We recommend you apply as early as possible. Later applications may also be considered, subject to availability of places.
• Interviews are held throughout the year.