Department of Gender and Women’s Studies PhD Program
Admissions & Financial Aid
Admission to the PhD program in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky is competitive. New students are only admitted for the Fall semester. Applicants should submit all of their materials directly to the Graduate School using the Graduate School Online Application website.
All application materials must be received no later than December 15th of the academic year prior to the year of desired admission in order to ensure a full consideration for admission and departmental assistantships.
Important note: Applications MUST be complete (including letters of recommendation and GRE scores) by the deadline in order to be considered. All materials are to be submitted using the Graduate School Online Application website.
For assistance with the UK Graduate School Application, please contact a graduate school admission officer. Admission officers are assigned by applicant's last name and can be found here.
To check your Graduate School Application status online, please go directly to the Graduate School webpage.
Gender and Women’s Studies Admissions Requirements
Gender and Women’s Studies requires the following information for your application to be complete. The submission process for each piece of the application is explained below.
1. Three letters of recommendation are required. A minimum of two letters (and preferably all three letters) should be from professors who can provide an assessment of academic achievements and scholarly potential. Applicants will identify their desired letter writers on the Graduate School Online Application website. The letters must be submitted by the letter writers (not by the applicant).
2. Official transcripts from all universities attended must be submitted to the Graduate School. We require an undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 and, if relevant, a graduate grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale for admission. See the Graduate School Online Application website for instructions on uploading transcript copies.
3. For the personal statement, please address each of the following questions separately. Each mini-essay should be 500 words or less.
- Why are you interested in pursuing a doctoral program in Gender and Women's Studies, in general and specifically at the University of Kentucky? What are your current career interests, and how will a PhD in GWS facilitate them?
- What research interests (e.g., topics, issues, or questions) do you hope to pursue in graduate school? Based on the descriptions of faculty on the department website or any interactions you may have had, which faculty member(s) in the GWS department might be a good match for your interests? See the faculty directory here.
- Please describe experiences and skills that will help you to succeed in a doctoral program and engage in research/scholarship in Gender and Women's Studies. These can include coursework in GWS and/or other areas, research experience, work/volunteer/life experiences, and/or skills related to academics, research, or teaching.
- The GWS program at the University of Kentucky is strongly committed to inclusion, anti-oppression, and social justice, and we emphasize the importance of intersectional and transnational approaches to scholarship, teaching, and activism. What, if any, past experiences related to diversity and/or social justice would you bring to the program? How will you contribute to these commitments as a doctoral student and future GWS scholar/teacher/professional?
- Tell us a little bit about yourself as a student and person. What individual and interpersonal strengths would you bring to our community of scholars? What do you need or want to develop further?
4. A full resume or curriculum vitae (CV), detailing all academic and relevant work experience.
5. A teaching statement if you wish to be considered for a Teaching Assistantship. In approximately 500 words, please discuss your interest in teaching and how you would approach teaching or assisting with GWS courses (e.g., teaching goals, types of activities or assignments). If you have teaching or TA experience, please describe those experiences and what you learned from them. If you do not have teaching experience, please describe the kind of teacher you hope to be, based on your experiences as a student.
6. A writing sample of 15 to 40 pages (double spaced). This writing sample should demonstrate content knowledge, analytical skills, and writing ability on a topic related to gender, women’s and/or sexuality studies. Writing samples may be course papers, research papers, critical literature reviews, part of a thesis, or other types of critical writing.
All application materials will be kept on file for 2 years and will not be returned to the applicants. Please retain copies for your own reference.
Please submit your application materials online using the Graduate School Online Application website.
UK Graduate School Admissions Requirements
The Graduate School requires the following information, which must be submitted directly to the Graduate School (check the Graduate School website for complete, current information):
1. The Graduate School application and fee. Please note that we are unable to waive the application fee.
2. Official transcripts from all universities attended. An undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0 and, if relevant, a graduate grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale are required minimums. If a student does not meet these minimum requirements, a letter explaining their GPA is required.
3. For international students only, official TOEFL scores. Please see the Graduate School website for more information.
Please submit all the documents using the Graduate School Online Application website. If you are unable to submit documents online, please contact the Graduate School for application instructions.
Graduate School Admissions
201D Gillis Building
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0033
Website: https://gradschool.uky.edu/admissions-officers-0
Financial Assistance
Teaching and Research Assistantships
Graduate student stipends are competitive and cover tuition and health care. The duties of Teaching Assistants (TAs) may include classroom instruction, leading discussion sections, grading, and/or other related activities. Teaching Assistantships are decided by the Department Chair in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and the Graduate Committee. An application for a teaching assistantship should be included with your admission application. Students wishing to be considered for teaching assistantships should ensure that their applications are complete by December 15th.
Research Assistants (RAs) gain valuable hands-on experience in the scholarly research process. Research Assistantships are available when professors, programs, or centers have funding for their research program. Special calls for applications for current and incoming students will be issued when an RA become available.
TAs and RAs receive a bi-weekly stipend.
For more information about graduate assistantships available through the Graduate School, please visit to the Graduate School website.
Fellowships
Fellowships are non-service awards for students with superior academic credentials. They provide students with dedicated time for their own scholarly pursuits (e.g., field work, writing). Recipients of fellowships receive monthly stipends, and most fellowships include full tuition scholarships and health insurance. For more information about Graduate School fellowships, including self-nominated awards, please go to the Graduate School website.
Loans
U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens may apply for federally supported loans through the UK Student Financial Aid Office. To be considered, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available in the UK Student Financial Aid Office, 127 Funkhouser Building, Lexington, KY 40506-0054, (859) 257-3172. Students may also apply online at https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
Health Insurance
University-funded health insurance coverage is available for recipients of assistantships and fellowships. More information can be found on the graduate school's website: https://gradschool.uky.edu/health-plan
Application Deadlines
All application materials must be received no later than December 15th of the academic year prior to the year of desired admission in order to ensure a full consideration for admission and departmental assistantships.
TOEFL/GRE Educational Testing Service (ETS) Code:
University of Kentucky 1837
Department of Gender and Women’s Studies
Please arrange for the ETS to send relevant scores to University of Kentucky and to GWS. PLEASE NOTE: GWS no longer requires GRE scores for applicants applying for admission to the PhD program. However, TOEFL or IELTS are still required for applicants whose native language is not English.
All applicants whose native language is not English are required to request the testing service to submit GWS either a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score. The minimum TOEFL score is 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based), or 79 (internet-based). The minimum IELTS score is 6.5.
Please visit https://gradschool.uky.edu/application-process for more information.