ARCHIVED 2015-2016 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Liberal Studies
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Mission Statement
The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies provides students with a broad, integrative, and interdisciplinary vision of the most important issues of modern culture. Students will be able to communicate with more precision, grace, and power, and to think and lead more creatively and critically at work and in their communities.
The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) brings North Central College’s deep commitment to interdisciplinary learning up to the intensity and maturity of graduate studies. The program has been one of the most respected in the nation, twice hosting the international conference of the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs.
Within the MALS degree are two interrelated programs:
- The Writing, Editing, and Publishing Program
A unique combination of professional and creative writing, plus editorial and management skills, preparing individuals to write, edit, and publish in today’s wide-open writing environment.
- The Culture and Society Program
A flexible master’s program allowing students to combine MALS courses to create a coherent curriculum specifically tailored to their needs and interests
Core Values: All three programs are committed to writing and communicating with grace, power, and precision; thinking critically, creatively, and ethically; combining knowledge from many disciplines to gain a more holistic view of crucial issues; and bringing social change that betters family, work, and community.
Students and Professors: The three programs in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies offer extraordinary personal attention and feature the college’s best teachers and scholars. They attract an extraordinarily diverse student body-teachers, artists, scientists, managers, administrators, marketers, community volunteers, health care professionals, and leaders, or those who aspire to lead-from many walks of life and life circumstances. Students have also come to the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies to prepare for further graduate work in such areas as law, history, English, and anthropology, or to advance careers in many areas such as business or education.
Requirements: Each program requires 33 credit hours, roughly ten courses and a concluding thesis or project. The programs share three common core courses (MLS 506 - Ethics in Contexts, MLS 590 - Public Discourse, and MLD 683 - Leadership for Social Change) which reflect values of central importance to the College: ethics, public engagement, and social change.
Five-Year Option: Advanced undergraduates may apply for admission to the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies and, if accepted, begin taking graduate courses in their junior year. Up to 12 hours of graduate work may be taken as an undergraduate student. Six of these hours may count for both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. The other six hours are beyond the 120 required for the bachelor’s degree. After receiving their bachelor’s degree, students take an additional 21 hours of graduate work in their fifth year to complete the requirements for the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies.
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
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