Argh! Trying to access Higher Ed

[kickassangel]

For my job, and for myself, it would be very good for me to have an MA, possibly even building towards a PhD.

So, I have been trying to find an online MA course in Gender/Womens Studies within the US.

Given that a significant number of women are kind of tied to the house by kids/job/caring (men too, but often career men have a wife to keep the homefires burning), why can't I find one?

There are a load of universities here where I live and NONE of them offer a campus based MA in this either.

I WANT to do an MA, and I WANT to do one about feminist issues. If I wanted to do a science/business one I could have my pick of courses, but not for this.

I would, btw, consider a course in general social studies, and elect for all the feminist options possible, but that doesn't appear to exist either.

Maybe I should choose a 'man subject' like accounting (I know, I'm stereotyping) then I could do one.

Rant over.

Science/business/accounting are not "man subjects".

It's a shame that you can't find an MA in the subject that you want, but all of the subjects you have mentioned do sound much more work-related and I can see why they are more frequently offered.

Not sure what women being "tied to the house" has to do with it.

"Man subjects"? WTF?

Maybe your subject of choice is just not very popular. I'm sure if there were enough people wanting to do it, the universities would offer it. It's not some anti-female conspiracy to deprive housewives of their fluffy hobby degrees

Where abouts are you? Leeds and York uni's have very specific gender post grad courses. Some of them even have ESRC funding attached!

Just to be very clear (and patronising): "Women's studies" isn't studies for women, it's studies about women. It is a subject that can be studied by both men and women, and women are allowed to study other things.

Did you say you were in the US? I've no idea about there, but there are plenty of MA Women's Studies courses in the UK. I'm not sure what you mean by your comments about women being at home? Do you mean they all want to study Women's Studies?

If you can't find a course, it's probably because it's not so popular, but I'm sure there's something available.

It was directed at the OP with her references to housewives and man subjects, but I was aware that I was being patronising so thought I'd say it straight out rather than be accused of it later :)

OK, it was a bit patronising and I apologise if I offended anyone. But nothing pisses me off like this notion that sciences/engineering/business etcare 'for men' while women should content themselves with 'softer' subjects not likely to lead to well-paid jobs. Especially when it comes from a woman identifying herself as feminist - and it's not the first time I've seen this. And this woman has a daughter, according to her profile!

And this: 'Given that a significant number of women are kind of tied to the house by kids/job/caring[...]why can't I find one?' certainly implies the OP herself thinks Women's Studies is a course that should be offered for the amusement of at-home wives. I think she's the one being patronising, on several levels.

Oh, I wish you were in the UK! They were advertising a really interesting MA in that sort of subject area at London Met when the Stop Porn conference was on, and it'd have been great.

I do think there is an issue with women and access to HE. It really annoys me that postgrad study could be incredibly flexible and family-friendly, but so often small, petty restrictions get in the way.

I don't see what's wrong with observing that studies about women, for the benefit of women, or largely taken up by women, might be subject to discrimination. It's a bit of a no-brainer, surely?

Sorry, I wish I had more helpful things to say but I feel your frustration and hope you find a solution.

Cross-post.

ephiny, TBH I didn't read the OP like that at all.

She says 'a significant number of women are kind of tied to the house by kids/job/caring'. What part of 'kids/job/caring' makes you into some kind of leisured 'at home wife'? Caring is bloody hard work, so is looking after very small children.

Plus, if I understand it rightly, a lot of women's studies courses wouldn't be particularly 'amusing' - they deal with pretty gritty issues and should be properly respected.

ok - yes, in the US. I live in an area with some of the best unis in the US - 3 good ones, and 1 outstanding, all in a 10 mile radius. None of them do any kind of gender studies at BA or MA.

Why women more 'tied' to the house - stats. show that once couples marry/settle/have kids, it's far more likely for the men to do an additional degree, whereas women are at home with kids and/or part time jobs. So online learning is a way for women to access education and therefore equip themselves for further employment when it suits them.

I know I generalised about the nature of certain subjects, but certain subjects are valued more than others. So historians get more funding than childcare/midwives, yet which one is essential to the future of the society? So it is bleeding annoying when a 'fluffy woman's' degree doesn't get funded, but other subjects do.

And an MA in anything arty-farty-traditional-fluffy-woman type things would help both myself & my employer to generate more income, so there's quite a good economic basis for this. There is a demand for this area of study, but it's not being supplied, or not where I can find it.

(Off to google more while I take care of dd, bake mince pies & dh plays a computer game)

epiphany - I'm not suggesting that sahm do fluffy degrees for their entertainment, but that there is a serious need for women to be able to access education if they want a 'better' job. Online learning is fairly important for this. because dh has the 'proper' job that takes up a lot of his hours, I do the vast majority of childcare. If I did a campus degree, I would have to give up my job (which is 70% of ft), losing income, and pay for extra chilcare, and tuition fees.

So, I'm effectively 'trapped' in my pt job, but wanting to get out of that & build a better career for myself. If I had an MA, it would give me more career opportunities, and my employer could entice in more clients with their 'highly qualified' staff.

ooh - thanks sgm - I hadn't thought about Canada. Only live a hop & a skip away, so could poss. attend summer schools etc if they have a 'local' one.

Right, this thread is starting to make a lot more sense now, sorry for misunderstanding your OP.

If you are looking to do an MA in order to further your career prospects are there any that would cover a lot of your areas of interest (especially if you can pick and choose modules) without being explicitly labelled as "Women's studies"? Some combination of sociology, history, politics and economics maybe?

Getting excited now - followed that link & discovered the term 'equity studies' which does indeed cover what I'm interested in & I'm getting more hits now.

Yes, I need it to be quite flexible.

I already have 2 jobs, am the main carer & all that 'stuff'.

I just hate being financially dependent on someone & want to get myself into a situation where I can support myself. I worked ft til we moved her 3 years ago. The move has been good, but I'm starting my career from the ground up (again) so thought I'd take advantage of being pt to educate myself. Chances are, I'll be working for another 30 years, so I'm planning to keep working on my career before 'coasting' gently to a stop in my 60s/70s.

Also, don't like being reliant on dh's salary for our mortgage to be covered - if her lost his job, we'd be stuffed financially. I very much want to be earning 'properly' again.

I have huge respect for anyone who has little formal education & manages to work and get a degree etc. IT's not just the effort once you're on a course, it's finding a course that fits. I think I was rather naive, that I could just google a few unis, and bingo - there would be my route to an MA.