Master of Liberal Studies

Collaborative Online Degree

This 100 percent online, consortial program is taught by IU South Bend, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, and IU Southeast. This consortial model allows you to take coursework from several campuses and learn from a wide range of faculty.

This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states

Many online support services are available to assist you as you progress through the program.

The Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) provides graduate instruction in three areas: arts and humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students in the program obtain advanced skills and knowledge in these areas and an ability to approach problems with an interdisciplinary perspective.

The program is open to students who have completed an undergraduate degree with a minimum 3.0 grade point average.

Of Special Interest for Dual-Credit and Community College Instructors Needing to Meet HLC Standards

The MLS may hold special appeal for community college, dual-credit, or other post-secondary instructors who have completed specialized coursework via an IU Online graduate certificate in biology, communication studies, composition studies, chemistry, history, language and literature, literature, mathematics, or political science. As many as 18 to 20 credits from these certificates will apply to MLS degree requirements.

The combination of discipline-specific certificate courses, plus the unique interdisciplinary core and capstone experience of the MLS, will help these instructors integrate new concepts and approaches into their teaching, thereby improving the quality of instruction and learning outcomes for their students.

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requires all high school teachers who teach dual-credit or other college-level courses to hold a master's degree in the field, or to have a master's degree in another area, plus at least 18 credit hours of graduate coursework in the discipline. Because this program enables students to complete a master's degree and discipline-specific coursework, it fulfills this requirement.

Additionally, the program allows students to transfer up to 20 previously earned credits from IU graduate certificate programs. Students who have earned credits from a different accredited college or university may transfer up to 6 credits.

Admissions

Admissions requirements vary by campus.

MLS Requirements (34-36 cr.)

Requirements are broken down as follows:

• Core courses (12-13 cr.)
• Electives/certificates (12-20 cr.)
• Capstone experience (3-9 cr.)

• All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise noted.

Degree Requirements (34-36 cr.)

Core Courses (12-13 cr.)

• COAS-Q 510 Topics in Information Literacy (1 cr.); AND
  LBST-D 510 Introduction to Graduate Liberal Studies
• LBST-D 501 Humanities Seminar; OR
  LIBS-D 501 Humanities Seminar
• LBST-D 502 Social Sciences Seminar; OR
  LIBS-D 502 Social Sciences Seminar
• LBST-D 503 Science Seminar; OR
  LIBS-D 503 Science Seminar

MLS Electives (12-20 cr.)

Select one Option from the following:

Option A: Select 4-5 courses from the following (12-15 cr.):

• LBST-D 511 MLS Humanities Elective; OR LIBS-D 511 MLS Humanities Elective
• LBST-D 512 MLS Social Science Elective; OR LIBS-D 512 MLS Social Science Elective
• LBST-D 513 MLS Science Elective; OR LIBS-D 513 MLS Science Elective

Option B (18-20 cr.)

• Completion of an approved IU Graduate Certificate (18-20 cr.)

Capstone Experience Options (3-9 cr.)

Formal Thesis (6-9 cr.)

Original research or analysis encompassing literature from at least 2 different disciplinary perspectives. The thesis must be written in scholarly format, with the appropriate citation format and extensive references. The literature review developed for the thesis proposal should serve as the initial component of the thesis. Typical thesis length: 50 or more pages.

Required Course Sequence for Thesis

• LBST-D 601 Graduate Project Proposal Seminar; OR
  LIBS-D 601 MLS Project Proposal Seminar 

AND

• LBST-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.); OR
  LIBS-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.); OR
  LBST-D 604 Thesis

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Students may focus their capstone project work toward a peer-reviewed publication in a professional forum. Examples include articles in professional journals, investigative journalism published in a major newspaper, or a book published by a reputable press. The publication must be accompanied by an explanatory essay encompassing material from at least 2 different disciplinary perspectives. The essay must be written in scholarly format, with appropriate citation format and appropriate references. The literature review developed for the thesis proposal may serve as the basis of the explanatory essay. Typical length of explanatory essay: 20 to 35 pages

Required Course Sequence for Thesis

• LBST-D 601 Graduate Project Proposal Seminar; OR
  LIBS-D 601 MLS Project Proposal Seminar 

AND

• LBST-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.); OR
  LIBS-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.)

Creative Project

Students who are focusing their MLS program on a creative field may complete a creative project for their MLS thesis. Creative work may include writing, art, performance, etc. The creative work must be accompanied by an explanatory essay encompassing material from at least two different disciplinary perspectives. The essay must be written in scholarly format, with appropriate citation format and appropriate references. The literature review developed for the thesis proposal may serve as the basis of the explanatory essay. Typical length of explanatory essay: 20 to 35 pages

Required Course Sequence for Thesis

• LBST-D 601 Graduate Project Proposal Seminar; OR
  LIBS-D 601 MLS Project Proposal Seminar 

AND

• LBST-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.); OR
  LIBS-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.)

Applied Project

Students may focus their research project on their current place of employment, internship, or practicum. The applied project should be designed to benefit both the student and the employer and can be focused narrowly on a specific issue or problem relevant to the employer. Complete literature review and effectively designed method will support the value of the project. Typical length: 50 or more pages.

Required Course Sequence for Thesis

• LBST-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.); OR
  LIBS-D 602 Graduate Project (3-6 cr.)

Public Intellectual Project

The Public Intellectual option offers students the opportunity to work within a learning community made up of other students and led by a faculty facilitator to explore the variety of genre through which public intellectuals communicate, and to create their own portfolio of public intellectual work to be submitted for completion of the MLS degree.

Required Course for Public Intellectual Project

• LBST-D 600 Public Intellectual Practicum