The 30-credit degree provides students with flexibility to customize their curriculum to meet personal interests, ambitions and workplace needs, selecting from a range of courses in the liberal arts. Completion can be paced to meet students’ individual needs.
A. Core Seminar (3 credits)
- LI 6000: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study -- This course, taken during the first semester, is required for all MALS students.
B. Elective Courses: 21-24 credits (7-8 courses)
Students choose from a range of elective courses offered in the various disciplines, including an option for directed study. Students will select at least four courses from within a thematic or disciplinary area of study determined in consultation with their faculty Advisor and approved by the Graduate Program Director. To ensure a truly interdisciplinary liberal arts approach to knowledge, elective courses must be selected from at least three of the participating disciplines, with no more than five courses from any single discipline.
Two possible paths are available:
- Students select seven (7) elective courses, along with a two semester Thesis Option
- Students select eight (8) elective courses, along with a one-semester Internship, and write a paper connecting their experiential learning with elective coursework in lieu of writing the thesis
MALS students possessing the necessary pre-requisites (and/or instructor permission, where required) may select elective courses from the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) and Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling (MSMHC) programs, on a space-available basis.
MALS Elective Courses
- AS6310 Atlantic Slavery and Folklore
- AS6320 American Cities in the 20th Century
- AS6330 Visualizing America
- AS6340 New Media Narratives
- A56350 Ethnographic Media
- A56360 Special Topics
- AS6410 Video Production
- AS6420 Advanced Cinematography
- AS6430 Advanced Editing
- AS6440 Advanced Video Project
- EL6310 Moral Choices in Classical Literature
- EL6320 From Homer to Aristotle: Classical Origins of Western Civilization
- HI6310 The French Revolution (1789-1815): A Social History
- HI6320 Transnational Migration and Identity: Asian American History
- LI6300 Internship/Field Placement
- ML6310 Latin American & Spanish Cinemas in Context
- SY6310 The Sociology of Music and Listening
- SY6320 Nationhood, Citizenship, and International Migration
- SY6330 Contemporary Social Theory
- VA6310 Case Studies in Graphic Design
- VA6320 African Visual Traditions in the Americas
- VA6330 Curating
- VA6340 3D Modeling for Art and Invention
M.A.T. and M.S. Mental Health Counseling Elective Courses
Open to MALS students as available
- EL6510 Foundations of U.S. Literature
- EL6520 Foundations of English Literature
- EL6530 Topics in Multicultural Literature
- EL6540 Topics in World Literature
- HI6510 Topics in U.S. History
- HI6520 U.S. Constitutional and Political History
- HI6530 Economics: Theories, Tools, and Debates
- HI6540 Topics in European History
- HI6550 Topics in African History
- HI6560 Topics in Chinese Civilization
- HI6565 Topics in the History of India
- HI6570 Topics in Islamic Civilizations
- HI6580 Topics in Latin American History
- HI7500 Questioning Global History
- MH6120 Psychopathology (permission of MALS Graduate Director required)
- MH6500 Lifespan Development (permission of MALS Graduate Director required)
- MH7500 Diagnosis and Treatment of Addictive Disorders (permission of MALS Graduate Director required)
- MH7510 Career Development (permission of MALS Graduate Director required)
- ML6510 Structure of Spanish (taught in Spanish)
- ML6520 Masterpieces of Hispanic Literature (taught in Spanish)
- ML6530 Cervantes and the Golden Age (taught in Spanish)
- ML6540 Points of Contact: United States and Latin America (taught in Spanish)
- ML6810 Topics in Peninsular and Latin American Art (taught in Spanish)
- ML6820 Topics in Spanish and Latin American Cinema (taught in Spanish)
- ML6830 Topics in Caribbean Anti-Slavery Narrative (taught in Spanish)
- ML6840 Topics in Pre-Columbian Cultures and Literature (taught in Spanish)
- ML6530 Cervantes and the Golden Age (taught in Spanish)
- ML6540 Points of Contact: United States and Latin America (taught in Spanish)
- ML6810 Topics in Peninsular and Latin American Art (taught in Spanish)
- ML6820 Topics in Spanish and Latin American Cinema (taught in Spanish)
- ML6830 Topics in Caribbean Anti-Slavery Narrative (taught in Spanish)
- ML6840 Topics in Pre-Columbian Cultures and Literature (taught in Spanish)
C. Capping Experience
Students choose from one of the following
1. Thesis Option: 6 credits (2 courses)
Students who opt for the thesis option will take a two-course sequence along with seven (7) elective courses:
- LI7510 Thesis Research: 3 credits
- LI7520 Thesis Workshop: 3 credits
2. Internship Option: 3 credits (1 course)
An Internship placement is required during the final semester along with eight (8) electives.
- LI6300 Internship/Field Placement: 3 credits