Degree Requirements

The M.A. in Liberal Studies is a thirty-hour program, consisting of at least ten courses: three are required courses, and seven are selected by you in consultation with the program director.

The first two required courses are the introductory LBST 6101 "The Liberal Arts Tradition" and LBST 6102 "Ideas Across the Curriculum." Their purpose is to reacquaint you with the ways of academic inquiry and provide a solid foundation in the humanities for upper-division work. The other required course is the last one in your program,  LBST 6600 "Concluding Seminar," in which assessing and pulling together the previous years of work is the objective.

The remaining twenty-one hours (seven courses) constitute the program emphasis (four courses)  and three other electives. You may follow either of the pre-set LBST emphasis tracks, "Language and Culture" or "Great Books," or you may try to design your own by using courses in other departments, such as History, English, Philosophy, and so on. But designing a personal emphasis is sometimes very difficult to do. See the FAQ on "emphasis." See also: Sample Programs.

Comprehensive Examination

Each candidate concludes the program with a comprehensive examination taken during the final semester of course work. The examination is a part of the concluding seminar and is individually designed, based on each student's program. It allows the student to integrate material from a variety of disciplines and to demonstrate understanding of the scope of Liberal Studies.

Final Project

The main work of the Concluding Seminar, the final course taken in your career, is the final project. This is where you tie together your interests as they've been developing in the program. Nearly always this takes the form of a fifty-page research paper, but there some exceptions permitted. If, for instance, you have considerable professional experience in video production, you may be allowed to produce a film documentary.