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Eugene R. Cummings Senior Thesis Prize in LGBT Studies
Harvard Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality will award $1000 to the best senior thesis on a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Studies topic from any department or program at Harvard. The thesis should focus on LGBT subject matter, rather than touching on LGBT issues tangentially. Theses may be submitted by a faculty member or by an undergraduate; there is no formal nomination process.
PDF versions of the thesis and of the readers’ comments should be emailed to the Committee on Degrees in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at [email protected] by Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 11:59 p.m . Please use "Cummings Prize submission" as the subject of the email. If readers’ comments are not available by the deadline, students are responsible for asking their concentration’s Director of Studies or Head Tutor to email [email protected] with the date the readings will be available. To expedite distribution of the award, the email should include the following information: the entrant's name and Harvard ID number, telephone number, mailing address, and e-mail. The prize will be awarded at the Women, Gender, and Sexuality end-of-year reception.
Eugene R. Cummings, the son of an Irish immigrant schoolteacher from Fall River, Massachusetts, was a gay student at the Harvard Dental School who ended his life on June 11, 1920, just days short of receiving his degree, after being interrogated and informed that he would be expelled by the “Secret Court” that purged gay men from Harvard in 1920. The prize was established to ensure that his name and experiences will not be forgotten and that future generations will have opportunities for self-expression that were denied to Mr. Cummings. It is made possible by gift of The Open Gate, a private charitable foundation established by the Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus.
Previous Winners
Jane c. grant prizes.
These prizes are funded with part of the income from gifts given by Jane C. Grant and her husband, William B. Harris. Jane C. Grant was a women's rights advocate from the 1920s until her death in 1972. She also co-founded The New Yorker and was a reporter for the New York Times . Having begun work at the Times in a clerical capacity, she became the paper's first woman general assignment reporter and in the mid-1930s traveled to Europe, the Balkans, the Far East, and Russia as a foreign correspondent. Her increasingly visible literary profile earned her a place among the literary elite of the Algonquin Hotel "Round Table." During the 1960s, Grant wrote Ross, the New Yorker, and Me , donating royalties from the book to the Harvard-Radcliffe Fund for the Study of Women, which she established with Doris Stevens. The original purpose of that fund was to finance and support the study of women in all cultures and periods of history.
The Jane C. Grant Senior Prize is given to the graduating senior with the best overall academic performance in WGS. The prize will be awarded at the Women, Gender, and Sexuality end-of-year reception.
Alice Jardine Prizes
The Alice Jardine Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship recognizes outstanding research in the field of Women, Gender, and Sexuality. It is awarded every year to a WGS junior essay that exemplifies fine writing, originality of thought, and innovative research. The prize honors Professor Jardine’s pioneering spirit, community activism, and pathbreaking scholarship.
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Women, Gender, and Sexuality
Undergraduate Program
The study of gender and sexuality has long constituted a vibrant and engaging arena for interdisciplinary work and intellectual inquiry. At the heart of this field is the assertion that gender and sexuality are fundamental categories of social organization and power that are inseparable from race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and other categories of difference. The concentration brings together a wide range of academic fields in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. WGS courses are characterized by a strong commitment to critical thinking, as well as a spirit of open and sustained intellectual inquiry.
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The secondary field in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGS) has two aims: to help qualify students for employment relating to studies of women, gender, and sexuality and to support graduate students with WGS-related interests form productive and lasting scholarly communities.
The secondary field in WGS is open to all students enrolled in doctoral programs in Harvard's graduate and professional schools.
To apply for the secondary field, graduate students should complete a plan of study form (available here ) and make an appointment with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). At this meeting the DGS will review the student's plan of study and discuss options for completing the secondary field requirements.
WGS encourages students to declare their interest in the secondary field early in their doctoral program to ensure that they can fulfill all requirements in a timely manner.
The secondary field requires completion of four graduate-level courses in the studies of WGS with a grade of B+ or above:
- The graduate proseminar (WGS 2000).
- The WGS theory foundation course (WGS 1210).
- Two others selected from among graduate courses (or upper-level seminars) taught by members of the Committee on Degrees in the Studies of WGS, or other graduate courses in the field, as deemed appropriate by the WGS director of graduate studies in consultation with the student.
These courses may be used to satisfy departmental requirements. For courses numbered below 2000 (primarily for undergraduates), graduate students must complete the designated graduate-level requirements.
Please consult the WGS website for a list of faculty who teach WGS courses and a list of pre-approved courses, which is updated each year.
Courses offered by the inter-institutional Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies ( website ) may also be used to fulfill course requirements for the secondary field in studies of WGS.
Additional Requirements
In addition to coursework, the secondary field requires students to demonstrate mastery in the field by composing an article-length paper suitable for publication -- this can be a chapter of the dissertation -- and serving one term as a salaried teaching fellow in a course offered by WGS faculty.
Contact Info
Committee on Degrees in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGS)
Boylston Hall, Ground Floor 5 Harvard Yard Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 495-9199 Fax: (617) 496-9855 Email: [email protected] Website: http://wgs.fas.harvard.edu
Students with specific questions about the secondary field should contact Sarah Richardson, Director of Graduate Studies, at [email protected] .
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Students who wish to pursue the WGS thesis track (both full and joint concentrators) must complete a thesis track application during the fall semester of their junior year. This year's deadline for juniors to submit an application is 5:00 pm on Thursday, October 5, 2023.
The Making of a Woman's World: A Policy Paper Proposing the Creation of a Cabinet-Level Position for Women's Rights in the U.S. Government. 2024. Border (ed) Fictions: 21st Century Migration Narratives as Counter-Archives. History and Literature.
An appendix to this guide lists recent WGS theses, which vary widely in subject matter and methodological approach. Our students have conducted independent research in the sciences, the social sciences, and the humani-ties. Their theses have allowed them to think about issues of gender and
Yes. Students who wish to write a thesis must apply to the WGS thesis track during the first semester of junior year. Interested students must submit an application form. More information is available on the Thesis Track page.
WGS offers Harvard undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to study gender and sexuality from the perspective of fields in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Faculty members are closely involved with students’ academic development at every stage of the concentration.
Undergraduate Program. The Committee on Degrees in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality offers both a concentration (major) and secondary field (minor) for undergraduate students. Juniors can apply to write an undergraduate thesis during their senior year or to pursue a joint concentration, which gives them the opportunity to do in-depth ...
WGS supports coursework, mentoring, and intellectual community in studies of women, gender, and sexuality for graduate students across Harvard’s departments and professional schools.
Harvard Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality will award $1000 to the best senior thesis on a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Studies topic from any department or program at Harvard. The thesis should focus on LGBT subject matter, rather than touching on LGBT issues tangentially.
At the heart of this field is the assertion that gender and sexuality are fundamental categories of social organization and power that are inseparable from race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and other categories of difference.
The secondary field in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (WGS) has two aims: to help qualify students for employment relating to studies of women, gender, and sexuality and to support graduate students with WGS-related interests form productive and lasting scholarly communities.