The Master in Liberal Arts with Concentration allows students to expand their liberal arts education, while focusing on a specific academic concentration within the humanities and social sciences.
Interdisciplinary MLA Seminar (3 credit hours)
MLMLA 5338 “Pursuit of Happiness”
The Pursuit of Happiness is a seminar course for all MLA students. It is a Great Books course for Masters level analytical and syntopical reading skills, and for habits of reasoned discourse and discussion. “Syntopical” because we are reading a range of authors on a particular topic: man’s search for meaning and fulfillment. Understanding the range of thoughts across the ages on this topic has been, and no doubt still is, a hallmark of the liberally educated person. The course has a double objective, thus, aimed at cultivating both intellectual and practical virtues required for advanced and life-long learning.
Seminar: 1 course (3 credit hours)
Seminars are interdisciplinary graduate courses specifically designed for the MLA Program. Each MLA student must complete 1 seminar (3 credit hours) of his or her choosing. MLA seminars are courses structured to provide a graduate community centered on interdisciplinary discussion.
Concentration: 6 courses (18 credit hours)
Each student selects a discipline or area of study in which to concentrate his or her studies. A concentration equals 6 courses (18 credit hours, maximum of 21) in the declared discipline or area of study.
Typical Concentrations: Applied Music, Communication, Drama, Education, English, Entrepreneurship, History, International Studies, Irish Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Spanish, Theology
Electives: 2 courses (6 credit hours)
A student selects 2 electives (6 credit hours), which may be:
- Any MLA course outside of his or her concentration course.
- A seventh concentration course and one non-concentration course.
- Optional thesis or project (6 credit hours) under the direction of a faculty member in the student’s concentration area. Completion of thesis or project is not a degree requirement.
*Specific concentrations may have particular required courses. Consult with your MLA advisor for details.