The purpose of this study was to characterize mathematics departments that graduate a relatively large percentage of women doctorates. Through a collective case study of six graduate departments, and an in-depth case study of one department, the researcher highlights six characteristics of these mathematics departments and their descriptive elements. The participants are a collection of Directors of Graduate programs, graduate students, and faculty members. Graduate students from all six departments participated in an open-ended on-line questionnaire about their experiences and perceptions of the graduate mathematics department within their respective university. Directors of Graduate programs, graduate students, and faculty members participated in qualitative interviews. Further data was collected from the departmental and university websites. The theoretical framework is the Communities of Practice work (Wenger, 1998; Wenger et al., 2002). It consists of three aspects; domain, practice, and community. Each of these aspects is developed in relation to the other two. The Communities of Practice framework provides a fluid and dynamic research lens to study an environment that supports a knowledge base and fosters relationships with a group of people. Findings indicate that the graduate mathematics departments provide a variety of structures for supporting students and faculty, and that the departments foster relationships through many opportunities for social and academic interaction. In addition, members are attracted to these departments for both personal and universal reasons, including the wide variety of research options for students and faculty, and guaranteed funding for most graduate students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]