Master of Arts [MA] (Gender Studies) Syllabus, Course Structure and Program Schedule 2025-2026

MA Gender Studies: Course Structure

It is an unconventional degree course which borrows its tools of study from various varied disciplines. The major disciplines are literature, media and mass communication, social sciences, psychology, philosophy, counseling, and majorly anthropology. Usually, for these courses, the universities and colleges prefer a more interactive mode of teaching which involves more seminars, presentations, workshops and field trips.

The course structure not only involves the conventional classroom teaching but imparting knowledge through workshops, seminars, movie screenings and field trips for practical exposure of the students. Along with this, the students are trained into research methodology to get a deep analytical and research-oriented approach towards the intricacies of gender studies. The students have to present a dissertation at the end of the course for which they will be evaluated.

Scheme of Assessment

The scheme of assessment includes 25% marks of internal assessment and 75% marks for the external examination evaluation. The dissertation, viva-voce and field visit practical are evaluated separately and are included in the assessment.

MA Gender Studies: Syllabus

The syllabus for the course is designed in such a way that the universities offer a combination of theoretical and conceptual foundational papers along with electives which are compulsory for all the students. The course also includes a few internal electives with choice or interdisciplinary electives. The syllabus is as follows:

Name of the course	Topics Covered	Description
Introduction to Gender Studies	Introduction, Gender Perspectives of Body, Social Construction of Femininity, Social Construction of Masculinity, Women’s Studies and Gender Studies.	The course focuses on the introduction of understanding of gender roles.
Gender and Society	Introduction, Gender, Family and Economy, Gender Lens: Political and Legal Systems, Gender and Education, Social Dynamics of Gender	The course deals with making students aware of the fact that gender roles are not only constructed socially but also legally and culturally.
Feminist Movement	Historical Overview of Feminist Movements, Feminist Movement in Europe and the US, the Women’s Movement in pre-independent India, Women’s participation in the movements in post-independent India, Grassroot Movements.	This course focuses on the tracing of the historical movement of the feminist movement in India and abroad.
Feminist Theories	Liberal Feminism, Marxist and Socialist Feminism, Radical Feminism, Psychoanalytic and Existential Feminism, Other Feminist Thought,	The course aims to acquaint the students with the feminist theories which provide a different angle to the thoughts and perspectives.
Research Methodology	Introduction, Quantitative and Qualitative Studies, Types of Research Design, Research Problem, Sampling, Data Generation and Presentation.	This paper focuses on making students aware of how research is done effectively.
Understanding Youth	Introduction, Perspectives of Youth, Approaches to Youth, Identities, Youth Power.	This paper aims at different approaches to understanding the complex state of a person’s life, that is, the youth.
Violence against Women	Introduction, Gender-Based Violence in Family, gender-based Violence in Community and State, Cultural practices violating women’s rights, Response to Violence.	This paper makes the students come face to face with the hidden realities of life and especially in terms of violence against women.
Gender and Economy	Women as Workers, Gender Inequality in Labor Market, Gender Inequality in Labor Market, Unorganised Sector, Women in Indian Planning.	This paper deals with the perspectives about how women’s labour in the public sphere is negated because of gender biases.
Gender and Development: Approaches and Strategies	Introduction, Approaches to women development, Approaches to women development, Approaches to women development, Women development: Role of non-state actors.	The course seeks to make the students understand the feminist critique of the development process and development indicators.
Feminist Research Methodology	Feminist Perspectives and Knowledge Building, Encountering Methods in Feminist Research, Analytic Framework, Feminist Research Praxis, Feminist writing.	This course helps the students understand the feminist epistemology and research and the skills required for the research.
Gender and Health	Introduction, Women's Health in Socio - Cultural Context, Problems of Girls and Health Implications, Health Problems Associated with Adult Women, Health Problems Associated with Adult Women.	The course deals with the healthcare and health related problems of women and girls.
Positive Psychology for Youth Development	Historical overview and development of Positive psychology, Identifying and Understanding Strengths, – Approaches to Positive psychology, Positive Youth Development, Applying positive psychology for Special population and various settings.	The paper’s main aim is to impart knowledge about the positive psychology and articulating its implications in the psycho-social development of Human development.
Gender, Environment and Livelihood	Introduction, Environment and Livelihoods of Rural Women, Environmental Degradation and Livelihoods of Tribal Women, Role of Women in Sustainable Environment, Livelihood Management	The paper aims at making the students aware of the rural livelihoods and the livelihood management in rural and tribal societies.
Gender and Poverty	Introduction, Gender dimensions of poverty, Causes of poverty, Women in Poverty: Varied contexts, Poverty reduction: Policies and strategies.	The course deals with the theoretical and analytical understanding of poverty and imparts the required skills to evaluate the anti-poverty policies and measures with a gender based perspective.
Gender and Media	Introduction, Feminist Communication Theories, Gender Stereotyping in Media, Gender and Electronic Media, Gender and Alternative Media.	This paper deals with the various forms of media and the representation of genders through media.
Gender Analysis	Introduction, Gender Analysis Framework, Gender Analysis Process, Gender Analysis Tools, Gender Analysis in Various Contexts.	The paper of gender analysis includes the various tools required in understanding the concept of gender analysis.
Gender Mainstreaming	Introduction, Steps in Gender Mainstreaming, Tools and Techniques, Engendering Policy and Programs, Engendering Policy and Program.	This paper focuses on the skills required for gender mainstreaming, the tools required for the same and the policies related to it.
Gender. Polity and Governance	Introduction, Political Participation of Women, Women in Local Governance, Women and Governance, Gender and Political Empowerment.	This paper bases on the political participation of women in pre and post-independence eras.
Gender Training	Introduction, Training methods and techniques, Gender components of a training strategy, Practicum - Areas of gender sensitization.	This paper helps in gender sensitizing the concepts of gender construction, gender role and identity and patriarchy and oppression etc.
Gender Planning and Development	Introduction, Third world policy approaches to women development, Planning Methodology, Gender Planning Process; Training Strategies for Gender Planning.	The paper deals with the women development and planning methodology involved in the process.
Project Management	Identifying issues, relevant materials and funding agencies for the project, Implementation of the project, Monitoring and evaluation of the project, Support system after the completion of the project, Impact Assessment.	The paper deals with the management aspects of a project.