Master of Arts in Gender and Diversity
We train you to handle complex issues such as social inequity and discrimination and their concomitant processes of change in an academically sound, socially committed and responsible manner. Our programme establishes a link with practice and the professional field by means of e.g. the work placement. In so doing, we cater to the demand for gender and diversity experts in the policy sector, in education, the business world, the non-profit sector and NGOs.
What
We want to enable our students to initiate and support processes of change in society based on a solid theoretical groundwork in the interdisciplinary field of gender and diversity studies. We train you to handle complex issues such as social inequity and discrimination and their concomitant processes of change in an academically sound, socially committed and responsible manner.
We emphasize advanced knowledge acquisition of the development of theory in the field of gender and diversity. You will learn how to apply gender as an analytical category and critical perspective to key issues in science, history, politics, the media, culture and society. Our programme explicitly links gender studies to the analysis other types of diversity (ethnicity, sexual preference, social class). Doing so enhances our relevance in today’s multicultural society.
We also establish links with practice and the professional field by means of a work placement, among other things. In so doing, we cater to the demand for gender and diversity experts in the policy sector, in education, the business world, the non-profit sector and NGOs.
We are an interuniversity programme, co-organized by Ghent University, KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp and Hasselt University. Ghent University handles the administrative co-ordination of the programme. The programme is mainly Dutch-taught but includes a number of English-taught (elective) course units as well.
For whom
The admission requirements vary. Depending on your prior education, you are either able to enrol directly, or there are additional requirements.
Structure
Our two-term curriculum consists of five modules:
- a mandatory common core of theoretical course units (15 ECTS);
- a partly elective module containing course units that focus on the links between the theory and social practice in a specific domain (flexible core course units - 15 ECTS);
- individual electives (5 or 10 ECTS);
- a work placement (5 or 10 ECTS);
- the Master’s dissertation (15 ECTS);
With this curricular set-up, we aim at a gradual transition from a common theoretical focus to a more individual and thematic specialization and exploration of the field.
> work placement
the work placement allows you to put your theoretical and thematic knowledge and insights into practice. the reflection work placement (5 ECTS) encompasses a short-term position at a company or organization. You analyse and report back on your observations based on the theoretical frames of reference in gender and diversity studies. the participation work placement (10 ECTS) encompasses a longer-term position at a company, institution or organization, in the course of which you work or collaborate on a specific (research) project or write a policy-supporting report.
> electives
Depending on your choice of work placement (5 or 10 ECTS), you can specialize either by adding 5 or 10 ECTS worth of electives or flexible core course units (that you have not taken before) to your curriculum. Our list of preferential electives contains some 20 course units covering a wide range of gender and diversity approaches and applications in a variety of research disciplines and social issues.
> Master's dissertation
The Master’s dissertation on a topic of your choice is the final component of the programme. It is an academic reflection in which you integrate the academic insights and skills you acquired in the field of gender and diversity.
Labour Market
The Gender and Diversity diploma gives access to Master’s level professions. Our graduates are particularly equipped to fill positions that deal with an organization’s internal or external processes of change with the purpose of achieving equal treatment for various groups in society.
A Gender and Diversity diploma is useful in a variety of sectors: (local, regional, national, supra- and international) governments and government agencies; administrations; government institutions and other services with an Equal Opportunities Department, or Gender and/or Diversity Department (e.g. SELOR, the Flemish Employment Agency, the police, the armed forces, cultural institutions); the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men; Unia; political parties and research centres, unions; civil society organisations, women’s rights movements and NGOs, universities, research institutes, consultancy agencies; the media; personnel departments and HRM in the public as well as the private sector.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Gender en diversity: A focus on both gender and diversity is innovative.
- Equality and inequality: by adopting an intersectional perspective, our programme uncovers invisible structures and power relations
- Intersectionality: we never treat gender and diversity as unrelated phenomena. Instead, we approach gender and diversity from different perspectives, and in relation to other aspects of identity and social status like, e.g. ethnicity, class, age, religion, sexuality.
- Interdisciplinarity: this wide range of perspectives is reflected in our team of lecturers and in our student groups. Our lecturers and students come from all five Flemish universities and bring with them a wide range of prior education. The discussions they engage in are at once challenging, productive and mind-opening.
- Critical perspective: the interdisciplinary context in which we operate gives us ample opportunity to examine different social domains, and how they correlate, in a critical manner.
Strengths
- Our programme sports an interuniversity team of motivated and passionate lecturers from various disciplines. The interuniversity context in which we operate creates the meeting place par excellence to come into contact with all the experts on gender and diversity Flanders has to offer.
- Our programme combines theory with practice: you learn to put the theoretical groundwork into practice by means of the work placement. Apart from the work placement, practical experience is introduced into the curriculum by means of guest lectures and case studies.
- Social relevance and social commitment: our programme offers you essential frames of reference to interpret and analyse social and topical debates and issues.
- Our students have a certain degree of curricular freedom in their choice of emphasis and topics of in-depth study.
Challenges
- Intensive programme: as a discipline, gender and diversity is every bit as broad as it is interesting. Delving into this interdisciplinary field of study in the course of one year, makes for an intensive year of study.
- Internationalization: a one-year Master’s programme comes with a number of practical obstacles with regard to an integrated study abroad experience. Nevertheless, we want to explore the existing opportunities to the fullest.
- Research methods: we are an academic programme with a wish to support our students to the fullest in developing their research skills. The prior education of our students varies greatly, which means we have to invest further in honing their methodological skills.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 24/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.