The Master's Degree program was founded in 1998. For the first seven years of its existence, the Institute offered an MA in Gender, Law, and Development. As of the 2016-2017 academic year, the MA program became an MA in Gender and Development Studies, with law a less specialized part of the program.
The program applies gender analysis to multiple disciplines and areas of enquiry, thus developing knowledge and gender analysis across multiple fields of study and specializations across the university. The program is an inter-disciplinary course of study that brings together critical social science approaches to the study of gender as it relates to central issues in development theory and practice. It aims to expand and deepen knowledge of the theory and concepts of gender and development at the global, regional, and Palestinian levels. It contributes to building capabilities in analysis and critical thinking in order to understand social realities, including the underlying structural obstacles that hinder the integration of women in development, as well as the priorities and needs of national development from a gender-aware perspective. It also aims to develop research skills in order to produce appropriate knowledge that contributes to the development of society based on principles of social justice.
Since its founding, the MA program has successfully trained graduates who have gone on to find employment in various spheres of development or have continued their PhD studies in various fields of the social sciences. The Institute’s MA program is widely recognized as a leader in graduate gender studies in the region and has been consulted by numerous universities in the Arab World when setting up their own academic degree programs in gender studies. The program’s curriculum has continuously evolved in dialogue with innovative global approaches in gender studies, development research and theory and in relation to critical knowledge production across the social sciences. As well it has constantly been adapted to remain relevant to emergent knowledge issues in Palestine and the region.
To learn more about the MA Program in Gender and Development Studies
