Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

Ask yourself these questions ...

Are you interested in continuing to explore an area of thought which has interested you ever since you graduated from college?

Are you interested in continuing to explore beyond the two or three courses permitted non-matriculating students?

Instead would you rather find an orderly way to extend your range of intellectual interests?

Do you wish to develop a new range of skills or talents needed in your work?

The program at the University at Albany leading to the Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies allows you to develop these interests.

If you enter the program, you will...

explore inter-relationships among diverse areas of human thought from the arts to the sciences, from individual values to social institutions;

discover new areas of knowledge in broad introductory graduate courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences;

craft your own program to pursue your intellectual interests on a graduate level;

take a concentrated and independent reading course in consultation with a faculty advisor;

work on a final research project with a faculty advisor to apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program.

In effect, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program will provide you with the opportunity to pursue your intellectual or professional interests in a broad, innovative academic setting.

Curriculum

I Interdisciplinary Core Courses 12 Credits

While specific courses will vary from year to year, all of them focus on interdisciplinary approaches and on topics general enough to demand treatment from a variety of perspectives. The following are samples of courses taught in the past: The Modern Tradition; From Darwinism to Biotechnology; Culture and Technology; The Self in Literature: Three Psychological Approaches; Minority Communities; Nineteenth Century American Studies; Science and Gender; The Humanities in Transition.

GLS 500 Topics in the Humanities 4 credits

Students will focus on texts in the humanities, frequently cutting across disciplines within the humanities and drawing upon areas in the social and natural sciences.

GLS 501 Topics in the Social Sciences 4 credits

Students will explore fundamental issues concerning the structure and dynamics of society, drawing upon components of the humanities and sciences where appropriate.

GLS 600 Topics in the Natural Sciences 4 credits

Students will examine concepts in the natural sciences and the inter-relationships of science, individual values and social institutions.

II Electives 15 Credits

Electives provide you with the opportunity to design your own program from a broad spectrum of graduate courses.
Selection should be interdisciplinary either in individual courses or in the relationship among a series of courses. Courses must be selected in consultation with the program director.

III Final Research Project 3 Credits

GLS 680 An independent research project carried out in consultation with a faculty advisor. This project provides the greatest opportunity for each student to approach liberal studies from her/his particular vantage point.

Total Requirement 30 Credits

Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) courses are taught in the late afternoon and evening by the regualr full-time graduate faculty of the University.
The Graduate Liberal Studies program leads to the M.A., but students in other graduate programs, and those who wish to take GLS courses on a non-degree basis, are encouraged to enroll.
If you have questions or wish to apply to the program:

Call or write Leonard A. Slade, Jr., Director of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program, BA-115, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, telephone number: (518) 442-4730, e-mail: lslade@albany.edu.
At the very least, leave your name and telephone number so that you and the Director can talk to each other about the program.

Call or write the Office of Graduate Admissions at the University at Albany, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12222, telephone number (518) 442-3980, and request application forms for full-time or part-time study.

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
(518) 442-4730
lslade@albany.edu University at Albany
State University of New York
1400 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12222

I	Interdisciplinary Core Courses	12 Credits
	While specific courses will vary from year to year, all of them focus on interdisciplinary approaches and on topics general enough to demand treatment from a variety of perspectives. The following are samples of courses taught in the past: The Modern Tradition; From Darwinism to Biotechnology; Culture and Technology; The Self in Literature: Three Psychological Approaches; Minority Communities; Nineteenth Century American Studies; Science and Gender; The Humanities in Transition.
	GLS 500 Topics in the Humanities	4 credits
	Students will focus on texts in the humanities, frequently cutting across disciplines within the humanities and drawing upon areas in the social and natural sciences.
	GLS 501 Topics in the Social Sciences	4 credits
	Students will explore fundamental issues concerning the structure and dynamics of society, drawing upon components of the humanities and sciences where appropriate.
	GLS 600 Topics in the Natural Sciences	4 credits
	Students will examine concepts in the natural sciences and the inter-relationships of science, individual values and social institutions.
II	Electives	15 Credits
	Electives provide you with the opportunity to design your own program from a broad spectrum of graduate courses. Selection should be interdisciplinary either in individual courses or in the relationship among a series of courses. Courses must be selected in consultation with the program director.
III	Final Research Project	3 Credits
	GLS 680 An independent research project carried out in consultation with a faculty advisor. This project provides the greatest opportunity for each student to approach liberal studies from her/his particular vantage point.
Total Requirement		30 Credits