WS 4303 Internship in Women’s Studies

This internship is an elective within the women’s studies minor, adding a policy and applied component to the existing scholarly curriculum. The internship offers students experience with organizations serving women or addressing women’s and gender issues, as well as with varied potential careers, or volunteer opportunities in the community. If you are looking for the public relations internship, please click here.

This is primarily an off-campus experiential course, based in community organizations. The experience will reflect the goals and activities of the particular organization hosting the intern. Typical organizations that would sponsor internships might include Planned Parenthood, Women’s Museum, Genesis House, Girls Inc., Vogel Alcove, Echo Theater, Family Place, Girl Scouts, YWCA, or the Women’s Resource Center.

The student will meet periodically with the faculty sponsor at intervals to be determined at the onset of the internship, to review the student’s journal, which should report and reflect on each experience with the community organization. The student will also be expected to meet with the faculty sponsor to discuss plans for the final report, and to review the report.

Since students will be working with organizations serving women and addressing women’s and gender issues, they will become sensitized to ways in which gender affects the structure and meaning of daily life in the United States. They will also be exposed to important cultural dilemmas and debates surrounding gender. The internship experience is intended to develop leadership skills, and to provide role models of women’s involvement in public policy for young women who may in turn then serve in this capacity.

Course objective:

To give students familiarity and experience with organizations serving women and addressing women’s and gender issues in the community

Prerequisites:

Faculty sponsorship and approval of community organization are required. Students must have at least sophomore standing and appropriate introductory course preparation, such as WS 2322 or substitute, with WS Director approval.

Topical outline of the course:

The internship will follow guidelines established by the faculty sponsor, student, and community organization:

1. The faculty sponsor and student initially would meet to discuss the scope of the internship, determine the appropriate organization, and determine a relevant reading list

2. The faculty sponsor and student would meet with the supervisor at the community organization to discuss parameters of student involvement and set goals for the internship.

3. The faculty sponsor and student set a schedule of periodic meetings, at which the student will submit journal reports

4. The faculty sponsor will contact the community organization to evaluate the student’s participation periodically during the semester

Methods of evaluation ( tests, papers, etc.):

The student will prepare a final report of at least 15 pages, based on readings and the internship experience, on a topic established early in the internship. The paper should demonstrate the student’s critical ability to relate the practical experience of the internship to scholarship in women’s studies. Journal and the paper will each count for approximately 50% of the grade. A minimum of eight hours weekly of work per semester would be expected for a 3-hour course.

Principal readings or other materials

Readings will vary by faculty and organization. For example, if the internship involved working at a battered women’s shelter, the student might read:

· Koss, Mary et al. 1994. No Safe Haven: Male Violence Against Women at Home, at Work, and in the Community. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

· Browne, A. 1987 When Battered Women Kill. New York: Free Press.

· Herman, Judith 1992 Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books.

Both the women’s studies program and the women’s center have extensive publication collections accessible to students, and supplementing library holdings.

Contact information:

Carolyn Sargent

Director of Women’s Studies Program

Southern Methodist University

214-768-2753

csargent@smu.edu

Requirements for a minor in Women's Studies

The Women's Studies minor requires a minimum of 15 semester hours, including WS 2322 and 12 additional hours selected from among a list of courses approved for the Women's Studies Program. At least 9 hours must be advanced.

Click on "Course Clusters" to find out how your interests can match a minor in Women's Studies.

Click on "Course Offerings" to find out what courses match your schedule.

Requirements for majoring in Women's Studies

Women’s Studies at SMU is a program that offers a minor and a graduate certificate. In addition, qualified students can major in Women's Studies by pursuing an Individualized Major in the Liberal Arts with a focus on Women's Studies.

The purpose of this major is to allow qualified students with a strong interest in women's role in culture and society, or of gender issues more generally, to achieve both a deeper and broader knowledge of the interdisciplinary field of Women's Studies than the minor permits. As with all individualized majors, the requirements by which it is defined are few and general so that the student may tailor the program to meet her of his specific interests and needs.

A Faculty Supervisory Committee composed of the Coordinator of the program and two additional WS faculty members approve the student’s program, oversee the student’s progress, and certify completion of the major.

Requirements of the Individualized Major in the Liberal Arts

Total hours: 36
Advanced hours (3000 or above): at least 18
Prerequisite: 3.50 GPA in first 24 semester hours

Course Requirements for such a major with a focus in Women's Studies

WS 2322: Women: Images and Perspectives
At least two of the following: ANTH 3310/SOCI 3310: Gender and Sex Roles: A Global Perspective; HIST 3312: Women in American History; HIST 3329: Women in Early Modern Europe; PSYCH 3350: Psychology of Women; WS 6300: Advanced Feminist Theory
Students wishing to earn distinction must take a directed studies course that would entail a research project and paper

Further Guidelines

The program should expose the student to the diversity of women's experience and to the diverse meanings of gender difference within and across cultures.
The student should consider additional courses offered in Women's Studies.

Graduate Certificate

The graduate certificate in Women’s Studies is offered through the Women’s Studies Program and jointly based in the Dedman Graduate Program and the Perkins School of Theology. It is an interdisciplinary graduate level certificate designed to enhance the lives of students, both female and male, by facilitating the integration of theories about gender, and knowledge about the roles and achievements of women, both past and present, in the global society. The courses are designed to provide comparative and historical perspectives on women, gender and feminism . The certificate program draws upon courses from a variety of disciplines including anthropology, history, literary studies, media and film, and theology.

Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate Requirements:

Formal registration for certificate through the SMU Dedman College and/or Perkins School of Theology. This shall include a proposed program plan for completion of the certificate developed with an advisor from the office of the Women’s Studies program or a Perkins advisor.
An Advanced Feminist Theory course, offered yearly by the Women’s Studies Program. This course will include the "classic" literature from feminist, womanist, mujerista perspectives, and address current theoretical issues across relevant disciplines. The course will taught in rotation by interested faculty associated with the Women’s Studies Program and Perkins School of Theology.
Four courses that are Women’s Studies graduate level approved core and departmental courses (see list below). Students are encouraged to request credit for other graduate courses in which they engage in study appropriate to the intent of the certificate. Appropriate courses taken during matriculation at SMU yet prior to enrollment in the certificate may count toward program hours.
A major research project or a supervised internship in a setting that addresses issues of women. This project shall be delineated with an appropriate time of completion and included in the program plan in consultation with a Women’s Studies or a Perkins Internship Office faculty member. Examples of suitable research projects include the second year paper, a performance, an exhibit or any other major research project acceptable to a graduate advisor in Women's Studies. Supervised internship settings for Perkins Master of Divinity students will require a learning goal for women studies and shall be done in consultation with the Internship Office.