Gender and Women's Studies

The Department of Gender and Women's Studies at Lakehead University is dedicated to furthering an understanding of the importance of gender as a category of analysis in scholarly inquiry.

Through interdisciplinary instruction students will critically assess the relevance of existing models of knowledge in reflecting gendered experience and scholarship.

The aim of the program is to encourage the development and integration of gendered teaching, learning, and research within the university community and the community at large. This Collaborative Master's program allows students to combine advanced disciplinary research with gendered scholarship from the interdisciplinary field of Gender and Women's Studies.  Upon completion of the program, the degree awarded specifies the discipline of the participating academic unit and notes the Specialization in Gender and Women's Studies.

For additional information on the Interdisciplinary Graduate Specialization in Gender and Women's Studies, please visit the Gender and Women's Studies website.

Admission Requirements for Masters

Applicants for admission must be graduates of a recognized university, college, or institute as well as show evidence of scholarly achievement. Except where otherwise stated in the Admission Requirements of a particular program, degree students must have a four year bachelor's degree or its equivalent with at least second class standing (B) based on their last 20 half courses or equivalent.

An applicant holding a degree other than one in the discipline area to which admission is sought will be considered on the basis of courses taken and academic standing. A Qualifying Year at the undergraduate level may be required to meet the admission standards. Courses taken as part of a Qualifying Year can not be used as credit towards a graduate degree.

Meeting the minimum requirements does not necessarily guarantee admission. No candidate will be admitted unless the academic unit recommends admission. All applicants will be advised by the Office of Graduate Studies in writing of their admission status.

Program Specific Requirements

In addition to the general admission requirements for Master programs, the following requirements also apply:

  • Students will normally apply for acceptance to the Collaborative Program with Specialization in Gender and Women's Studies at the same time as they apply for admission to the graduate program of the collaborating academic unit
  • To be accepted into the Collaborative Master's Program with a Specialization in Gender and Women's Studies, students must first be admitted to the master's program in one of the six participating academic units: Education, English, Psychology, Social Justice, Social Work or Sociology. The student's application will then be reviewed by the Gender and Women's Studies Graduate Committee. Preference will be given to students who have a major or minor in Gender and Women's Studies, have taken undergraduate courses in Gender and Women's Studies or with Gender and Women's Studies content, or have relevant work or volunteer experience dealing with issues in Gender and Women's Studies
Links to Programs with a Gender and Women's Studies Specialization

Please use the following links to view program-specific admission requirements, application procedures and other important details of the Master's program of the collaborating academic unit:

Graduate Funding

At Lakehead University, we realize the importance of financial support for graduate students.

Therefore, financial assistance opportunities are available in several forms and are generally awarded to students by individual programs on the basis of academic promise and financial need.

The different funding options available include:

For your convenience, a searchable database of graduate scholarships, bursaries, and awards is provided below. Award eligibility, criteria, and application procedures for graduate funding is indicated for each award. Please use the general search tool to find available funding by program. Alternatively, you may also click the advanced search link to specify available funding by program level, award category and/or award amount.

Although financial support cannot be guaranteed to all graduate students in all programs, we encourage you to inquire about financial assistance with your Graduate Coordinator in your program of study. You may also contact the Graduate Funding Officer in the Faculty of Graduate Studies to learn more about your graduate funding options.

Conditions of Graduate Awards

Graduate scholarships are based on academic merit. Graduate bursaries are based on financial need, although there may be a merit component to the bursary. Where the award designates that an application is required, only those students who have submitted the specified application by the deadline will be considered for those awards. Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered. Only successful applicants will be notified.

Recipients of scholarships, awards and bursaries must be registered in order to receive funding. Graduate awards are applied to any outstanding balance on the student's account. Students are entitled to their awards only after their fees are paid in full. Only students with credit account balances will be refunded the balance of the overpayment. Overpayment refunds of these awards will be issued at the end of September, January and May each year.

The University reserves the right to make changes without prior notice to the terms, conditions and award values listed in this section and in the University Calendar.

The most up-to-date internal awards and applications are on our new award system MyAwards

Graduate Studies Funding Database

For details regarding application procedures and admission requirements for the specialization in Gender and Women's Studies, please select the Master's program of the collaborating unit from the List of Programs.

Next Steps

Registration Procedures

Before Registering!

Check to make sure all of your course selections are currently being offered by referring to the University Course Calendar and the University Course Time Tables.

University Graduate Studies & General Regulations & Policies