School of Arts and Sciences

Departmental E-mail: cbarcher [at] iuk [dot] edu

Departmental URL: www.iuk.edu/academics/majors/liberal-studies/graduate-program/index.shtml

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin. Requirements may or may not be reflected identically in departmental URLs.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degree Offered

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

General Information

The Mastes of Arts in Liberal Studies (M.A.L.S.) offers three different tracks:

• INTERDISCIPLINARY TRACK: Provides students with the opportunity to take an individualized program of graduate courses and interdisciplinary core seminars in a variety of disciplines in the arts and sciences. Students identify and explore significant patterns and connections that exist among the diverse disciplines that define current knowledge. 
• ACADEMIC TEACHING TRACK: Provides students with academic teaching training in the form of teaching assistantships, methods and subject content in the field of their choice (English and Communication Arts are the most popular)
• GLOBAL STUDIES TRACK: Provides students with a deeper understanding of international issues such as multiculturalism, conflict resolution, human rights, energy, and the environment.

Students begin with an introduction to graduate liberal studies and interdisciplinary methodology, then choose one of the three tracks. All students write a thesis. The M.A.L.S. program draws on faculty with diverse expertise to explore topics through a multidisciplinary approach.

Admission Requirements

Students are admitted to the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program by the Graduate Liberal Studies Committee of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In order to be admitted to this program, a student is expected to have earned a baccalaureate degree (B.A. or B.S.) from an accredited college or university with an overall grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Students who do not meet the GPA requirement may be admitted provisionally upon the recommendation of the director of the M.A.L.S. program and or the Graduate Liberal Studies  Committee. Completed applications include the following: application form, application fee, cover letter, at least two letters of recommendation, a writing sample, scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or equivalent graduate exam scores, and transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate study.

A student whose native language is not English must have a minimum TOEFL score of 560 (standard grading) or 220 (com­puter graded). The recommended TOEFL score is 600 (standard grading) or 250 (computer graded).  Exceptions to these requirements may be made at the discre­tion of the graduate liberal studies committee.

Application Deadlines

Students may be admitted to the M.A.L.S. Program to begin in either the fall or spring semester. All admission decisions are made by the graduate faculty members of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Graduate Liberal Studies Committee. The committee meets to review applications twice a year. The deadlines for submitting completed applications for review by the committee are as follows:  Fall application deadline is July 15; the Spring application deadline is November 15.

Students are advised to give reference letter writers at least two to four weeks’ notice so that their letters will arrive prior to the deadline. Applications that are not completed by a given deadline will not be considered until the next deadline and may cause a delay in admission by one semester.

Track Requirements

Interdisciplinary Track:

1. Completion of 30 hours of graduate coursework
2. A minimum G.P.A. of 3.0 is required for graduation. If a student drops below a 3.0 G.P.A. in any given semester, they could be dismissed from the program.  Only courses with a minimum grade of “B-” will count towards the degree. The introductory course (D510) requires a passing grade of "B" or better.

Coursework: D510-Introduction to M.A.L.S. Graduate Liberal Studies in first fall semester (3 hours)

Area of Concentration (21 hours-minimum of 9 hours in one discipline)

Courses must come from the Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, or Natural, Information and Mathematical Sciences.  The completion of a thesis (6 hours): D603 Thesis Proposal (3 hours) and D604 Thesis (3 hours)

Academic Teaching Track (English, Communication Arts and other disciplines )

1. Completion of 36 hours of graduate coursework;
2. A minimum G.P.A. of 3.0 is required for graduation. If a student drops below a 3.0 G.P.A. in any given semester, they could be dismissed from the program; Only courses with a minimum grade of “B-” will count towards the degree. The introductory course (D510) requires a passing grade of "B" or better.

Coursework:

• D510  Introduction to M.A.L.S. Graduate Liberal Studies in first fall semester (3 hours)

Area of Concentration (21 hours)

• D591 Graduate Workshop on Teaching (3 hours)
• D550 (Teaching Assistantship-3 hours)

The completion of a thesis (6 hours): D603 Thesis Proposal (3 hours) and D604 Thesis (3 hours)..

Global Studies Track:

1. Completion of 30 hours of graduate coursework;
2. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation. If a student drops below a 3.0 GPA in any given semester, they could be dismissed from the program. Only courses with a minimum grade of “B-” will count towards the degree. The introductory course (D510) requires a passing grade of "B" or better.

Coursework

• D510 Introduction to Graduate Liberal Studies in first fall semester (3 hours)

Area of Concentration (21 hours-minimum of 9 hours in one discipline)

• D514 Graduate Liberal Overseas Study (3 hours)

The completion of a thesis (6 hours): D603 Thesis Proposal (3 hours) and D604 Thesis (3 hours).

Academic Regulations

Students must have their programs of study approved by the M.A.L.S. program director.  An average grade of B (3.0) is required for graduation, and no course with a grade lower than B– (2.7) will be counted toward the degree. Students are required to retain good academic standing, i.e., to maintain a G.P.A. of at least 3.0. Failure to main­tain good standing may result in dismissal from the program.

Other academic regulations and policies are established by the Graduate Liberal Studies Committee of the School of Arts and Sciences. Students are to consult the M.A.L.S. program director for further information.