Master in Gender Studies
Prague, Czech Republic
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
28 Feb 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Oct 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 5,000 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
Gender Studies at the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University in Prague (FHS UK) offers the opportunity for a systematic and interdisciplinary academic study of theoretical and methodological tools for researching and exploring gender issues from a historical perspective, with a consideration of cultural and ethnic aspects of any given topic. Gender studies apply intersectional and interdisciplinary perspectives on gender as one of the basic principles organizing human society and culture. Gender studies focus on the analysis of historical as well as contemporary manifestations of the gender order, the influence of feminist and queer theories and methods in science and research, and other aspects of gender order; they also probe the relationship between gender and other categories of social differentiation and stratification such as race/ethnicity, social status, age, sexuality, and/or disability.
One of the specific strengths and an internationally recognized expertise of the gender studies program at the School of Humanities is the emphasis put on analysis and reflection of post-socialist experiences and reflections of gender structuring of the late-socialist Czechoslovak society, and “East European” societies in general.
The study program is realized without specialization.
Admissions
Curriculum
The full study plan is available on the website of the Gender Studies department.
Compulsory subjects include:
- The History of Feminist Thinking
- Feminist Literary Theory and Criticism
- Epistemology of Science
- Methodology in Social Sciences
- Interpretation of Philosophical Texts
- Argumentation and Academic Discourse
- Comparative History of Sexuality
- Feminist Cultural Studies
- Politics of Identity: Theory and Criticism
- Social Structures and Institutions
- Intersectionality: Theory and Methods
- Comparative Gender in Global Perspective
- Sociology of Medicine and Gender Aspects of Health
- Gender in Theory and Practice: Applied Gender Theory
Rankings
Charles University is one of the oldest universities in Europe and ranks among the world’s most renowned research-focused universities.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2016–2017 ranked Charles University in 305th place among its five hundred ranked universities, making it the only Czech university to feature in the top five hundred.
The Academic Ranking of World Universities - the “Shanghai League”, which every year compares more than 1,000 of the world’s best universities (selected from a total of over 17,000 institutions), has repeatedly included Charles University in the third hundred, i.e. among the 2 per cent top universities in the world and one of the 100 best universities in Europe.
Program Outcome
Gender studies introduce students to gender analysis in diverse disciplines and prepare them for future work in academic, political, and advisory fields. The study emphasizes both theoretical-methodological and analytical skills, as well as students' ability to apply them in practice. It combines knowledge of history and contemporary discussions abroad with the knowledge of concrete cultural, social, and political problems in the Czech Republic. Graduates will be prepared for professional careers in academia, in the state sector, social politics, health care, social legal advisory, education or the non-profit sector.
Program Tuition Fee
Gallery
Ideal Students
The English M.A. program in Gender Studies at FHS UK is open to university students from all over the world. The acceptance procedure is not restricted to students from the European Union and European countries but is open to students from other countries and continents as well. FHS UK in Prague is a non-discriminatory and fair university and applicants of all nationalities, ethnicities, cultural and social backgrounds, ages and genders are welcome.
Career Opportunities
M.A. Program in Gender Studies is specifically conceptualized in a way so that the students of this field obtain knowledge and skills and deepen their understanding of gender constructions and principles functioning in society. The students should be able to critically and in complex ways evaluate the roles and meanings of these constructions in the overall organization of society. Likewise, they should be able to assess and analyze the consequences of the gender roles, constructions, and stereotypes for both contemporary and historical positions of women and men in society. The goal of the program is to familiarize the students with gender analysis in diverse academic fields and practical areas of social life in order to get them ready for professional careers in a wide range of professional fields, including state administration, social policy, social and medical care, social and legal work, education and academic work.
Graduates of the M.A. program in Gender Studies will find their careers in state and non-governmental organizations, especially in national and international institutions and organizations concerned with social questions, family matters, domestic and public violence, human rights and equal opportunities, development of civil society, sustainable development, labor law, and others. In their work, individual, teamwork or leading roles, in roles of mediators of conflict resolution, in research, education, planning, applying methods of social change they will be able to inspire advanced gender sensibility and use applied gender analysis with gender-differentiated attitudes. They will be able to contribute to so-called "gender mainstreaming", i.e. to the integration of gender-differentiated attitudes and principles to the fundamental social-political and cultural structures of the society. They will be able to develop and cultivate principles and environment of social justice in the wide sense of the term, support gender balance, equality, and human and civil rights to difference and gender and sexual autonomy. Graduates of the program will also be able to find their careers in theoretical and pedagogical teams in academia and thus contribute to the development and broadening of gender studies on an interdisciplinary level, in both research and teaching.