Inaugurated in 2012, in parallel with the Gender Studies Center and the Unesco Chair in Gender Equality, the Master’s Program in Gender Studies is the only graduate program in women’s studies in Cyprus. The goal of the Master’s Program is to offer comprehensive academic knowledge in gender and sexuality studies and to contribute to the academic development of the relevant fields of inquiry. It interrogates and envisions alternatives to patriarchal social structures, institutions, ideologies and relationships. Also, it challenges perceptions of and reconceptualizes understandings and approaches to gender, sexuality, body, culture, materiality, discourse and the human-nonhuman distinction in traditional academic disciplines.

The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of students who strive to build firm scholarly foundations in gender, women’s and sexuality studies. These foundations enable our graduates to continue to PhD studies and pursue academic careers and to pursue and effect social change in a society with persistent misogynist and homophobic attitudes, patriarchal structures and systemic gender inequality.

The interdepartmental composition of the faculty and the partnership, both at the level of instruction and research, with international scholars and networks, provides state of arts gender studies expertise with regards to education studies, history, classics, literature, cultural studies, animal studies, philosophy, human rights, management and organization analysis, politics, and area studies such as postcolonial, critical race and globalization studies.

The Master in Gender Studies equips students with theory, methodology and policy knowledge and skills in the fields of gender, women’s and sexuality studies.

Courses integrate feminist theory, gender-focused research, and case-study experience. Our graduates are able to: engage in reflective learning on theories concerning the social, historical and discursive constitution of gender, sexuality and the axis gender/sexuality; explain how systems of patriarchy, misogyny and heteronormativity interrelate and work together in defining kinship, sociality and social relations; analyze the rationalities of gender and its relation to power

in transnational and multicultural contexts; apply gender and sexuality as categories of historical and social analysis; identify and analyze structural and political forms of intersectionality; engage in critical feminist and/or queer genealogies of disciplines, epistemic certainties, canons, archives and policy frames in order to address silenced exclusions, entrenched certainties; foreground more inclusive, just and vital forms of knowledge, social organization and political solidarity.

Through attendance in vigorous in-class courses, access to and involvement in unique networking events, engagement in research experiences and internship opportunities, graduates are able to pursue phd studies or to pursue career development and employment opportunities. The Program prepares graduate students thoroughly for doctoral work in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies or studies in related disciplinary fields and area studies. Our graduates can intervene with feminist critique, gender framing expertise and epistemic insight in policy, public discourses, public spheres and counterpublics

The Program plays a critical role in enriching other graduate programs across the University with courses and thesis supervision as well as enriching the University with feminist, queer and critical feminist race theories and epistemologies in various ways:

-Graduate students in other graduate programs enroll in gender studies courses (courses are attended by non-gender studies students as electives or for additional content, theory expansion and research and methodology gender mainstreaming).

-Gender Studies faculty members participate in Dissertation Supervision Committees across departmental and university wide disciplinary specializations.

-Conferences, Visiting Scholar Seminars, Performances, Consciousness Raising and Outreach Events organized by the Gender Studies Program are widely attended by the academic community the public.

-The undergraduate course “LGBTQI, Youth and Education”, taught every summer term by Gender Studies MA graduates, is widely attended by undergraduates from all university schools and departments.