MA in Humanities

Degrees offered:

  • Master of Arts in Humanities
  • Master of Arts in Humanities Major in Aesthetic Studies
  • Master of Arts in Humanities Major in History of Ideas
  • Master of Arts in Humanities Major in Studies in Literature

The program leading to the Masters of Arts (MA) in Humanities is designed both for individuals wishing to enhance their knowledge and skills and for students intending to pursue a doctorate in a humanistic field.

MA in Humanities Degree Plan (for students who started before Fall 2008)

MA in Humanities Degree Plan (for students starting Fall 2008 or later)

The program provides students with a flexible, interdisciplinary context within which to pursue their studies, built on conncetions among specific courses and areas of interest. Each student plans an individual program of studies in consultation with an assigned advisor. All students are required to take Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Arts and Humanities (HUMA 5300) in their first year of enrollment.

Students may concentrate within one of the three main areas of study:

  • Aesthetic Studies (HUAS) which concentrates on the visual and performing arts, creative writing, art history and film studies
  • History of Ideas (HUHI) which concentrates on history and philosophy
  • Studies in Literature (HUSL) which concentrates on literature, language and rhetoric

All students must take two seminars in each of these three main areas of study.

Students seeking an MA in Humanities have two options - a professional option and a research option:

  • Students pursuing the professional option must complete 33 hours of course work, normally all in organized courses
  • Students pursuing the research option must complete 33 semester hours of course work, demonstrate reading proficiency in an approved foreign language and successfully complete and defend a portfolio.

Learn more about the Foreign Language Requirement

Learn more about the MA Portfolio Guidelines

Active involvement in the process of creation and performance is basic to the design of the Aesthetic Studies area of concentration. We recommend that students in the MA program with an emphasis in aesthetic studies take at least one ensemble/workshop. Students pursuing the research MA with an emphasis in sesthetic studies may submit a creative project as part of their portfolio.

Learn more about the Creative Project Guidelines

To be a full-time student, nine hours of courses per semester is required; three hours of courses per semester is required to be enrolled in the program.

To have courses taken outside the School of Arts and Humanities applied to one of its degrees, students must seek prior approval from the associate dean for graduate studies. They may also petition to have appropriate transfer courses applied to their degree plan.