Master of Arts in Women, Society and Development

The MA in Women, Society and Development is a two-year interdisciplinary program focusing on issues related to women in the context of social and economic development in the Middle East, as well as women’s various roles in the advancement of their communities and societies in the region. It draws on a variety of disciplines in social sciences and humanities, ranging from economic and social theory, to development and policy studies, to history and communication studies.

The program fulfills Qatar’s aspiration to contribute to global sustainable development goals relating to issues of women and gender and the role of women in social and economic development. It also provides the nation with a think-tank capability on women-related issues that can be used for developing coherent national policies that cross the commercial, health, education, and family sectors.

The program is open to all those interested in developing expertise in a wide variety of issues relating to women, society and development in the Middle East.

Graduates of the program are equipped to:

Engage in local and regional knowledge production, and enhance their skills in understanding and responding to women’s issues that are specific to the Middle Eastern context.
Pursue careers in different fields and entities such as research, higher education, consulting entities, media firms, diplomatic entities, and national, regional and international non-governmental organizations.
Pursue advanced research at the PhD level.

The launch of an MA program focusing on Arab women's studies marks another milestone in Qatar’s track record, as it comes at a time when the entire world is calling for the development of education systems.”

His Excellency Dr. Hamad bin Abdulazeez Al-Kuwari, Adviser at Amiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for the Director-General post at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Structure:

Students are taught by CHSS faculty who are leading scholars and researchers in their fields, and by distinguished visiting professors specialized in Middle Eastern studies.
Students are introduced to professional activity through a local or international internship at a renowned institution.

Curriculum:

A two-year, full-time program that requires 39 credits with three departmental core courses, three program core courses, three electives, an internship (or an independent research project), and a thesis. All courses are taught in English.

List of Courses:

Total of 39 credit hours

Six core courses (18 credits)

Code	Course
Code: ME 611	Course: History, Politics and Cultures of the Middle East
Code: ME 613	Course: Social, Economic and Development Theory
Code: SS 612	Course: Research Methods
Code: WSD 621	Course: Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
Code: WSD 622	Course: Women, Work and Economic Development in the Middle East
Code: WSD 623	Course: Research Methods in Women's and Gender Studies

Three elective courses (9 credits)

Code	Course
Code: DHS 623	Course: Methods in Digital Humanities
Code: DHS 660	Course: Digital Disinformation and Propaganda in the Middle East and North Africa
Code: DHS 661	Course: Digital Writing
Code: SS 600	Course: Thinking and Practicing Interdisciplinarity in the Humanities and the Social Sciences
Code: SS 662	Course: The Gulf States and the International Order
Code: TSD 628	Course: Terminology
Code: WSD 651	Course: The Anthropology of Gender in the Middle East
Code: WSD 652	Course: Women, Law and Citizenship
Code: WSD 653	Course: Gender and Digital Cultures
Code: WSD 655	Course: Women, State and Modernity in the Arab World
Code: WSD 656	Course: Family and Kinship in the Middle East
Code: WSD 657	Course: Women, Media and Communication
Code: WSD 658	Course: Special Topics in Women Studies
Code: WSD 660	Course: Women in Comparative World Religions
Code: WSD 661	Course: Women in World History
Code: WSD 662	Course: Women and Gender in the Literature and Cinema of the Middle East and North Africa

Internship or Project (3 credits)

Code Course

Code: WSD 691 Course: Internship

Or

Code Course

Code: WSD 669 Course: Independent Research Project
Thesis (9 credits)

Code Course

Code: WSD 695 Course: Master's Thesis Hours
Non-Course Requirements

Code Course

Code: 699 Course: Thesis Defense