Certification

Interested students at Columbia Law School may receive certification in the study of Gender and Sexuality Law upon completion of
   i) specialized curricular requirements and
   ii) an oral examination covering a reading list tailored to the student’s research and practice interests.

Certification is undertaken in conjunction with Columbia’s Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

In order to pursue certification in Gender and Sexuality Law scholarship, you will need to do the following:

  • Register your intention with one of the Directors of the Gender and Sexuality Law Program.
    • LLM students must do this before October 1st of the year they matriculate at the Law School.  JD students must do this by October 1st of their second year of law school.
  • Successfully complete two courses, one of which must be either
    • G4000: Genealogies in Feminism
      or
    • G6001: Theoretical Paradigms in Feminist Scholarship
  • And one of which must be chosen from a list of courses recommended by the Directors of the Gender and Sexuality Law Program that includes:
    • Gender Justice
    • Sexuality and the Law
    • Family Law
    • Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic
    • Feminist Legal Theory
    • A variety of law school courses with a specific emphasis on gender and/or sexuality law scholarship and/or a methodological perspective influenced by these schools of thought.
  • Pass an oral examination based on a reading list you construct in conjunction with your examiners, and which is based on a master list regularly revised by the Program.
    • The examining committee will be composed of two faculty members, one in the law school and one affiliated with the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, selected by you, in consultation and with the approval of the Program’s Directors.
    • The reading list will be drawn from a master list, modified by you and your examining committee; it may include literature related to your research field, but it should predominately emphasize a broad spectrum of theoretical literature central to gender and sexuality law scholarship. The reading list must be filed with the Program Directors at least one semester before the scheduled exam date, and is subject to their approval.
    • The oral examination (lasting 45 minutes to one hour) may not be taken before completion of the course requirement. It is normally administered by the Program at a time and place suitable to all concerned. The results will be communicated to the Program Directors in an evaluative paragraph agreed to by both examiners.
  • Upon successful completion of all requirements, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Gender and Sexuality Law Program will authorize a letter confirming your qualifications in Gender and Sexuality Law scholarship.