A New Master’s Degree Program in Women’s Leadership at the Mississippi University for Women

The Mississippi University for Women in Columbus has announced that it is establishing a new master’s degree program in women’s leadership. The university has been coeducational since 1982 but today women make up more than 80 percent of the undergraduate student body.

Some of the core courses in the new master’s degree program include Leadership Inquiries, Research Methodology; Leadership Principles and Change Theory; Special Topics Seminar in Women’s Issues; Gender Issues in Health; Cross Cultural Management; and Educational Leadership.

Bridget Smith Pieschel, professor of English and director of the Center for Women’s Research and Public Policy and of Women’s Studies at the university, stated, “This graduate degree will be interdisciplinary and although students will study theoretical backgrounds, it will emphasize application and experiential learning. A commitment to improving the social, economic and public policies supporting women is a more important admission criterion than a background in a particular academic discipline.”

Dr. Pieschel holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Mississippi University for Women. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of Alabama.