2014 Call for Graduate Students

GRADUATE EDUCATION AT THE INSTITUTE FOR GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

2014 C ALL

FOR

G RADUATE S TUDENTS

NEW COHORT INTAKE FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015 An internationally recognized teaching, research and outreach research institution, the Institute offers a range of interdisciplinary post-graduate programmes. These attract a diverse intake of students who bring different areas of expertise and knowledge to seminars, courses and research projects. The programmes cater to the multi-faceted needs of the graduate client base and include an advanced postgraduate Diploma, an MSc by coursework and research project, a research-based MPhil, and PhD. In every area of study, faculty who are world-class scholars and teachers, many actively engaged in life-enhancing research, instruct students. As mentors, they provide numerous student research opportunities, inspiring students to advance their skills and aspirations. The IGDS is strategically placed to support the dynamic fields of pure and applied research in gender studies. Our staff and associates offer expertise in the following areas: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Feminist Theorising /Feminist Epistemology and Methodology Gender and Sexuality Men and Masculinities The Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Religion and Nation Gender, Government and Politics Gender Policy and Planning The Political Economy of Gender Gender, Labour and Migration The Making of Caribbean Feminisms Indo-Caribbean Femininity Gender and Caribbean Art, Performance, Literature and Cultural Ideology Gender and History Decoding of Gender in Caribbean Visual Texts Gender and Communication

While these are the generic areas covered in our teaching, research and action programmes, for the Graduate intake of 2014, the IGDS is particularly interested in attracting students who will work alongside and be attached to Faculty in the following research areas.

Candidates who join existing research projects will be able to access funds available for these projects and work closely with the faculty members in their specific areas towards their own research goals.

1. FEMINIST THEORIZING / FEMINIST EPISTEMOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY We would like students who are interested in the following areas of research and writing:

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Caribbean gender systems and Caribbean families including African - Muslim gender relations and practices in Trinidad and Tobago as alternative models of social justice and social security

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Third World Feminism (postmodern, postcolonial, neoliberal and anti-racist interrogations of the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, nation, religion in the English-speaking Caribbean

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Feminist Ethnography

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T HE M AKING OF C ARIBBEAN F EMINISMS : R ESEARCH ON P AST AND P RESENT ORGANIZATIONS, HISTORICAL RECOVERY OF VOICE, AND COMPARATIVE RESEARCH IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION We would like students who are interested in examining women’s organizations to create either narratives of women’s and men’s lives and struggle, or histories of organizations. We will facilitate the examination of documents in special collections in the library and elsewhere in the Region.

For example the UWI Library has just received a collection dated to 1940s of early women’s organizations that Mrs. Nesta Patrick has had membership and we need to mine this data for collective records.

This builds on an existing Research Project of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies entitled The Making of Caribbean Feminisms.

3. GENDER, POLITICS AND POWER We would like students who are interested in analyzing gender and leadership, gender and party politics, gender and citizenship, and the current configurations of the contemporary Caribbean feminist movement’s engagement with the state.

4. GENDER, LABOUR AND MIGRATION The focus on this area is political economy, labour, migration, human rights, gender and social inequality and women and work/life balance. We would like students who are interested in the following:

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What are the different models of development and regional integration in CARICOM in relation to poverty, educational improvement and remedying social injustices including gender inequality?

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How have women been affected by so-called unskilled, menial work – a key feature of (export-oriented) development?

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How has the state promoted investment in infrastructure in conjunction with Chinese trade and investment in T&T to enhance economic growth? How has this affected labour force participation of women in the Caribbean?

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Balancing the sexual division of labour in the home and workplace

5. GENDER AND VISUALITY IN THE CARIBBEAN We would like students who are interested in decoding visual imagery in the plastic and performing arts, in film, advertising and other social media. Some of the topics that are included in this research project are:

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How are our brains being rewired for gender as a result of the digital revolution?

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What is the impact of current digital imaging on our perception and responses to gender phenomena and to our imaginative and creative capacities as women or men?

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How are the young boys and girls who are growing up in the digital age understand and interact with the gendered world around them?

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What are the effects of gender and cultural messages of violence, sexual desire, ethnic and gender difference in visual media on the perceptions and behavior of populations in Trinidad and Tobago and elsewhere?

6. GENDER AND COMMUNICATION We would like students who are interested in topics related to the following:

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Identity constructions in social media and how we perceive and portray ourselves as Trinidadian in this metropolitan space of the social media sites

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Body image, fitness and femininity

INSTITUTE'S TEACHING METHODOLOGY The Institute offers a wide range of teaching methodologies including face-to-face classroom interaction, lectures, seminar presentations and online teaching. We also have a varied set of examination processes including peer group evaluation, coursework essays and group presentations. Students are encouraged to be participatory and employ original ideas and thinking rather than regurgitate textbook information and knowledge. Many of the classes are arranged to accommodate students who work during the day. The Institute practices a feminist pedagogy that allows for creativity and expansion of intellectual interests, integrating theory, activism and policy making; promoting gender sensitive and consciously aware masculine and feminine identities and fostering social transformation and opportunities for personal and sustainable development. The inter-disciplinarity of our programmes also ensures that students are exposed the widest range of scholars and scholarship on the campus.

PROFILES OF SOME OF OUR GRADUATE STUDENTS DONNA DRAYTON Graduated in October 2004 with an MPhil in Gender and Development Studies. The title of her thesis was “Gender and Adult Literacy with Specific Reference to the Adult Literacy Tutors Association (ALTA) of Trinidad and Tobago”. Apart from her other consultancy work and accomplishments, Ms. Drayton has been our Editorial Assistant of the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies since 2006.

CAMILLE SAMUEL Our very first PhD student, graduated (with distinction) in October 2010 in Interdisciplinary Gender Studies.

Her thesis was titled “Corporate Turnaround and Gender in Trinidad: Exclusionary Practices in Corporate Turnaround Leadership”. Dr. Samuel now works at COSTAAT and served as acting president of COSTAAT.

ANUSHA RAGBIR Graduated with an MSc in Gender and Development and is currently doing her Ph.D on sex work in Trinidad and Tobago. She worked with the IGDS as a Research Assistant and Course Tutor for 3 years.

SUE-ANN BARRATT Graduated in 2013 with a PhD in Interdisciplinary Gender Studies. Her thesis was titled "The Relevance of Perceptions of Gender Identity to Interpersonal Communication Conflict. She now works as a Research Assistant to Professor Patricia Mohammed at the IGDS and is a Part-Time Lecturer at the UWI.

POSTGRADUATE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS To be eligible for consideration for entry to study for a postgraduate degree, candidates must be: ★ Graduates of an approved university; ★ Must possess a degree from an approved University ★ Persons holding such other suitable qualifications and experience as the IGDS Graduate SubCommittee and the Board for Graduate Studies and Research may approve

• In order to be admitted to a graduate diploma or taught Master’s degree programme you

will be required to have a minimum of a Lower Second Class Honours degree or its equivalent in the relevant or an analogous subject area. You will also be expected to satisfy the particular Departmental requirements of pre-requisite undergraduate gender courses before beginning graduate study.

• The minimum entry requirement to an MPhil degree shall be an Upper Second Class Honours degree or its equivalent.

• Applicants wishing to register for a PhD degree who do not have a Master’s degree by research or one which included a research component of at least 25% of the total credit weighting and for which the applicant achieved at least a B+ average or its equivalent, will be required to register for the MPhil in the first instance. You may be allowed to upgrade your registration to the PhD level, subject to satisfying certain stated criteria.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FROM ALL APPLICANTS The Office for Graduate Studies and Research/The UWI accepts online applications for the IGDS but will require you to provide the following along with your application form: 1. Marriage Certificate (where name has been changed through marriage) 2. Legal Affidavit or Deed Poll if your present name is different from that on the Birth Certificate 3. Professional Certificates/Diplomas obtained from Institutions other than UWI 4. Two (2) referees’ reports 5. Research Proposal (MPhil., PhD and MD applicants only) 6. Curriculum vitae (All applicants) 7. Confirmation of Employment (applicants to Engineering programmes) 8. Copy of Confirmation Receipt NB: APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED WITHOUT THE ABOVE-LISTED DOCUMENTS

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Your CV/resume must include the name(s), and contact information (preferably phone and e-mail address) of your referee(s).

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A person in full-time employment CANNOT be registered as a Full-time student, unless written proof of approved leave is provided prior to registration. (e.g. PG DIP ED Release Form).

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Candidates who will be sitting examinations in November 2013 and between January and June 2014 to qualify for admission may also submit applications.

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Non-UWI/Open Campus transcripts for university degrees must be submitted from the awarding institution directly to: The Senior Assistant Registrar Office of Graduate Studies and Research The University of the West Indies St. Augustine Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

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A transcript is considered official if it comes in a specially sealed envelope from the high school/ institution. Photocopies, faxed copies and PDF attachments are NOT considered official.

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A final official transcript, indicating award date/date of graduation must be submitted as soon as all courses are completed.

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Student copies or transcripts stamped STUDENT COPY are NOT acceptable as an official transcript.

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Applicants with qualifications in a language other than English must submit a certified English translation, together with the original.

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All submitted documents become the property of The University of the West Indies and will NOT be returned or transferred to a third party.

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In the case of copies or notarised documents, The University reserves the right to request the original documents.

APPLICANTS ARE HEREBY CAUTIONED THAT: •

The submission of documents in support of applications or the applications themselves, for admission and/or registration that are forged, fraudulent, altered from the original, obtained under false pretenses, or otherwise deceptive is prohibited.

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Applications will not be considered if there is any indication that the accompanying papers or certificates have been altered in any way.

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The University reserves the right to reject an application for admission, withdraw an offer and/or prohibit registration if the offer for admission is found to be based in whole or in part on deception or fraud.

FUNDING AND FINANCE Financial matters are a vital aspect of graduate study and applicants are advised to begin researching and applying for all sources of eligible funding as early as possible in the application process.

Financing Your Education Persons applying online are exempt from paying an application fee.

The Postgraduate Financial Information Booklet of The UWI has all the information about tuition expenses that you may incur. These include programme fees as well as University related fees. There is also an estimated living expenses section which can assist in budgeting your time on campus.

Please note that tuition fees are subject to change and that The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees during your programme of study.

Please click here for more information: http://sta.uwi.edu/resources/documents/PostGraduateFeeBklt.pdf Scholarships for MPhil and PhDs- please click on link below: http://sta.uwi.edu/research/index.asp Note also that RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS AND TUTORS AVAILABLE IN IGDS TEACHING AND RESEARCH PROGRAMMES.

REGISTRATION PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION TO THE UWI To assist you in the registration process, we have structured the registration process into 6 easy steps.

STEP 1: Get Your Registration Information •

Download the Registration Guidebook for all Postgraduate Students

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Download your Faculty Booklet (so you know for which courses to register)

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Postgraduate Registration Instructions

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Course Restrictions and Faculty Overrides

STEP 2: Go To Academic Advising a. Attend your Faculty Orientation and Academic Advising session for Semester 1. It is COMPULSORY for New Students and OPTIONAL for Continuing Students b. SEMESTER 2 Consult your Faculty Advisor for information on courses for which you must register. c. Consult the Faculty Academic Advising schedule information for Postgraduate Students

STEP 3: Register For Courses a. You must register online for ALL other courses. Read the Banner Registration Guide. Follow the instructions to register for your courses.

You can register online wherever there is a stable and secure internet connection or you can visit one of the computer labs on campus designated for online registration.

Note: At the BEGINNING of each academic year you are required to register for: •

All Semester 1 courses

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All Year-Long courses (where applicable)

REGISTRATION FOR SEMESTER 2 courses takes place at the beginning of Semester 2 normally in January of each year. a. Print your Registration Fee Assessment Invoice. This is required to complete the financial clearance process. Check CAREFULLY to ensure that the courses for which you registered online are listed. Make sure you register for the correct section of a course b. Register online using the Student Portal. c. Changing registration (if applicable): Add or drop courses, change Major or Option, change enrollment (full time/part time/evening), change personal information.

STEP 4: Pay Fees Download the appropriate fee booklet: •

Post Graduate Fee Booklet (PDF)

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Self Financing Programmes (PDF)

Notice: De-Registration Of Students For Non-Payment Of Fees Pay fees at any branch of Republic Bank Ltd. using the bank deposit slip available at Republic Bank UWI Branch and Student Accounts Section, Lloyd Brathwaite Student Administration Building, UWI, St. Augustine.

Ensure that: 1. Your name, address and UWI Student ID number are entered on the bank deposit slip 2. The Bank Teller returns 2 copies of the deposit slip to you.

STEP 5: Obtain Financial Clearance 1. Staple the following documents together: i. Official UWI Registration Fee Assessment Invoice printout ii. Evidence of payment of fees OR copies of letters showing evidence of funding e.g. scholarship, *GATE Form 2. Deposit stapled documents in your Faculty Box located on the Ground Floor, Bursary, Student Administration Building.

3. Check online for financial clearance five (5) days after submitting the documents above by logging on to the secure area of the Student Portal website at http://my.uwi.edu/. Select ‘Registration Map and

Guide’ and select ‘Check Financial Clearance’. If you have not received financial clearance after five (5) working days, visit the Bursary Representatives, Ground Floor, Lloyd Brathwaite Student Administration Building for clarification. ✴

GATE Form: Citizens of Trinidad & Tobago are required to submit the following documents only at the beginning of the academic year i.e. in Semester 1 registration period: •

GATE form

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Copy of Electronic T&T Birth Certificate

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Registration Fee Assessment Invoice

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Receipt for payment of compulsory fees

For Semester 2 registration period ✴

Citizens of Trinidad & Tobago

POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS Registering for Semester 2 1. Who have registered for Semester 1 courses are NOT REQUIRED TO SUBMIT ANY PRINTOUT OR DOCUMENTS for Semester 2 registration OR 2. Who are registering for the first time for academic year must complete and submit the following documents: •

GATE form

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Compulsory Fees Payment Receipt

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Registration Fee Assessment Invoice

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Copy of Electronic T&T Birth Certificate

STEP 6: Obtain Your UWI ID Card ID cards would be issued for NEW / RE-ENTRY students; Continuing Students: The UWI will issue new UWI ID cards (SMART cards).

Please keep checking this web site for further information.

NOTE: •

You must obtain financial clearance in order to obtain a UWI Student ID.

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You must produce picture identification (i.e. valid passport or National ID card) to obtain your UWI Student ID Card.

The UWI Postgrad Admissions Documents Library can be found at: http://sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/downloads.asp

ACCOMMODATION International students or those wishing to live in The UWI hostels can contact Student Advisory Services at student.advisory@sta.uwi.edu or Mrs. Shala Samoondar-Vance Accommodations Officer Student Advisory Services E-mail: shala.vance@sta.uwi.edu Tel/ext: (868)-662-2002 ext.83847

GRADUATE LIFE AT THE UWI, ST. AUGUSTINE The UWI has a vibrant Post Graduate Association which you should join. In addition, A post-graduate liaison is elected to sit on the Graduate Sub-Committee of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies and represent the concerns of the graduate students of IGDS.

ENQUIRIES Please note that the Frequently Asked Questions of the UWI Postgraduate website may provide an answer to many of your queries. http://sta.uwi.edu/admissions/postgrad/faqs.asp The IGDS has a Graduate Studies Coordinator and Assistant who will also support your queries and questions and help you through the task ‌ You may write to: Professor Patricia Mohammed Coordinator, Graduate Studies IGDS Patricia.mohammed@sta.uwi.edu And/or to Mrs. Natasha Richards-Isaac Clerical Assistant, IGDS Natasha.richards@sta.uwi.edu Institute for Gender and Development Studies, St. Augustine Unit The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus Phone: 1-868-662-2002 Exts. 83573/83577 Fax: 1-868-662-2002 Ext. 83572 Email: igds@sta.uwi.edu Visit the IGDS Website for links to You Tube / Facebook / Flickr www.sta.uwi.edu/igds/