Master of Studies in Women's Studies

1. Every candidate must follow, for at least three terms, a course of instruction in Women's Studies. Candidates will, when they enter for the examination, be required to produce from their society a certificate that they are following such a course.

2. Candidates are required to present themselves for viva voce examination if summoned by the examiners.

3. Syllabus:

Candidates must offer A and B below, two options from C, and a dissertation (D).

• A. Feminist Theory

• B. Approaches to Feminist Research

• C. Options. Candidates must follow two of a range of option courses approved by the Joint Standing Committee for Women's Studies. A full list of the options available is given in the course handbook for the academic year in question.

• D. A dissertation of up to 12,000 words (and not less than 10,000), including footnotes but excluding bibliography, on a subject proposed by the candidate in consultation with the dissertation supervisor. Appendices should be avoided but must in any case be approved by the Chair of Examiners on an individual basis. Cases must be made on the basis that they are required for the examiners to understand the content of the dissertation. The approval form, detailing the title and subject of the dissertation, must be approved and forwarded electronically by the dissertation supervisor, to the Chair of Examiners (c/o Graduate Studies Administrator for Women’s Studies) not later than Friday of fifth week of Hilary Term. The subject matter of the dissertation may be related to that of either or both of the two pieces of written work submitted for the Options courses, but material deployed in such pieces of work may not be repeated in the dissertation.

4. In the case of C candidates will be examined by the submission of written work. The essays submitted under C should be of 6,000-7,000 words, including footnotes and excluding bibliography. The approval form detailing the topics of the written work proposed, countersigned by the dissertation supervisor must be submitted for approval to the Chair of Examiners (c/o Graduate Studies Administrator for Women’s Studies) not later than Friday of Week 5 of Hilary Term. The first piece of written work under C must be submitted not later than noon on Friday of Week 8 of Hilary Term; the second piece of written work under C must be submitted not later than noon on Friday of Week 1 of Trinity Term. Students must also include in the same documents a brief abstract (no more than 300 words) outlining the rationale and the approach of the option essays.

5. In the case of D, the dissertation must be submitted not later than noon on Friday of eighth week of Trinity Term. Students must also include in the same document a brief abstract (no more than 500 words) outlining the rationale and approach of the thesis.

6. Assessments must be formatted and submitted as specified in the handbook for the MSt in Women’s Studies. The assessments must be submitted by uploading it to the Assignments Section of the MSt in Women’s Studies Weblearn only; no concomitant copy submission may be submitted, for any purpose. Electronic submissions must be received by the deadline; technical problems external to the WebLearn system will not be accepted as grounds for excusing lateness. Written work shall be submitted as word-processed files converted to PDF using the course coversheet as first page of the work, bearing on the front the candidate's examination number but neither their name nor the name of their college. Candidates must themselves retain a copy of each piece of work and must ensure that they receive the email confirming the submission and that the email is retained for future reference.  Each submission of written work must be accompanied by a Declaration of Authorship from the candidate that it is their own work except where otherwise indicated, to be completed online at the same time as that of submission.

7. A candidate who fails to submit any of the three written elements (that is, the two pieces of written work and the dissertation) by the dates specified above shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the examination.

8. If the two pieces of written work, submitted for C and/or the dissertation, submitted for D, fail the examination, the candidate shall not be granted leave to supplicate for the degree of M.St. Such a candidate is permitted to resubmit the elements of the examination which have failed to satisfy the examiners, on one further occasion only. The two pieces of written work submitted for C shall be resubmitted by noon on Friday of first week of the Trinity Term following their first examination. The dissertation (D) shall be resubmitted by not later than noon of Friday of eighth week of the Trinity Term following their first examination.