#  Graduate Secondary Field 

 



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#### **Overview of WGS Secondary Field**

The secondary field in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality has two purposes:

1. to help qualify students for employment relating to studies of women, gender, and sexuality
2. to help graduate students form productive and lasting scholarly communities

#### **Applying for the WGS Secondary Field**

Graduate students interested in applying for a WGS Secondary Field should review the instructions & requirements in the [WGS PhD Secondary Field Information Handbook](/grad-forms "Forms and Downloads"). In a nutshell, candidates will fill out a Plan of Study form detailing how they intend to complete the field requirements and review it with our Director of Graduate Studies. The field requirements are: four graduate-level courses in the studies of WGS, an article-length paper suitable for publication, and to serve one semester as a salaried Teaching Fellow in a course offered by WGS faculty.

More complete details on the requirements are available in the [WGS PhD Secondary Field Information Handbook](/grad-forms "Forms and Downloads") and on the [Graduate School of Arts and Sciences' website](https://gsas.harvard.edu/degree-requirements/secondary-fields/studies-women-gender-and-sexuality). After reviewing the available information, if students have any questions about the WGS Secondary Field they may contact the WGS Director of Graduate Studies, [Sarah Richardson](/people/sarah-richardson "Sarah Richardson").

#### **Completing the WGS Secondary Field**

GSAS students who are planning to graduate with a secondary field in WGS must submit a completed and signed [PhD Secondary Field Final Application Form](https://gsas.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/2023-06/secondary_field_app_e-signature_0_0.pdf) to the Office of the Registrar by the same date they file the application for their degree. Please consult the Registrar calendar for the appropriate deadline. **The Registrar's offices make no exceptions to the submission deadline.** Visit the GSAS website's Secondary Field [Instructions and Application](https://gsas.harvard.edu/degree-requirements/secondary-fields) page for more information on graduate filing procedures.

Once you've satisfied the requirements of the program, you'll need to fill out the [PhD Secondary Field Final Application Form](https://gsas.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/2023-06/secondary_field_app_e-signature_0_0.pdf), sign it, save it, and send all of the following to the WGS Director of Graduate Studies and the WGS Program Coordinator:  
1 - the completed application form *(indicating the course(s) for you which you were TF)*;  
2 - an updated copy of your CV;  
3 - a copy (pdf) of the paper or dissertation chapter being used to fulfill the requirement for an article-length paper suitable for publication.

After the WGS Director of Graduate Studies has reviewed, approved, and signed the form, we will return it to you and you'll need to obtain the signature of your own Department's Director of Graduate Studies prior to submitting the form to the Registrar's office.

After the form has been signed by the DGS from both departments, students will submit one copy of the finalized form to the FAS Office of the Registrar, send a copy back to WGS, and retain a copy for your own records.

**NOTE: Students from outside GSAS should contact their own school’s Registrar to determine if they are subject to different deadlines/requirements.**