For up-to-date program information, please visit www.utica.edu/programs
Liberal Studies The Master of Science degree in Liberal Studies offers students an opportunity for intellectual growth and career enhancement through innovative, student-centered interdisciplinary study. It is a flexible alternative to a disciplinary degree that provides students opportunities to design curricula that will be of direct benefit to them in their chosen career. The program is designed to allow students from a variety of academic backgrounds to explore a broad range of subjects. While the program’s content will differ for each student, it will serve to broaden the individual’s perspective and enhance their ability to think critically, clearly, and analytically. All students must choose one of three areas of study: Humanities (includes courses in English, history, humanities, and philosophy), Natural Sciences and Mathematics (includes courses in biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics, and physics), and Social Sciences (includes courses in anthropology, economics, and sociology). The Master of Science degree in Liberal Studies is a fully accredited graduate degree program approved by the New York State Education Department. Students may enroll full-time or part-time, spring, summer, and fall. For more information about this program, contact John Rowe, director of graduate admissions, at (315) 7923010, or by e-mail at gradadmissions@utica.edu.
academic requirements (31–37 credit hours) There are three areas of study within the M.S.L.S. program: Humanities (includes courses in English, history, humanities, and philosophy), Natural Sciences and Mathematics (includes courses in biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics, and physics), and Social Sciences (includes courses in anthropology, economics, and sociology). All students must: •
Take LST 604 (Graduate Liberal Studies Seminar) during the first 15 credit hours.
•
Take LST 601 (Research and Writing in the Sciences) or LST 602 (Research in the Humanities) or LST 603 (Research Methods in the Social Sciences) during the first 15 credit hours.
•
Take a minimum of four courses (12 credits) in one of the three areas of study. Students develop an interdisciplinary program of study that must be approved by the major professor in consultation with the thesis committee. Write a thesis or research project or complete a set of comprehensive exams. Students opting to write a thesis or research project must take LST 691 and LST 692 (Research I and II) which will help students complete their thesis or research project. Students are encouraged to determine a thesis or research project topic as early as possible in their program. Projects must be approved by the student’s thesis committee.
•
Students wishing to take comprehensive exams must submit a request that details why a comprehensive exam is more appropriate to their program of study than a thesis or project. This request must also include the fields of study the student believes are most appropriate to this exam and how the fields interrelate. If the exam option is approved by both the thesis committee and the M.S.L.S. committee, the thesis adviser will write two of the four questions for the exam. Two additional questions will be written by other members of the thesis committee. Once the written portion of the comprehensive exams is passed, students will then undergo an oral examination with their committee members. Students taking comprehensive exams will take LST 691 (Research I) and one additional course.
For up-to-date program information, please visit www.utica.edu/programs
Foundational Methods Courses (4 credits) LST 604
– Graduate Liberal Studies Seminar (1)
LST 601 LST 602 LST 603
and select one of the following: – Research and Writing in the Sciences (3) – Research in the Humanities (3) – Research Methods in the Social Sciences (3)
Area of Study Courses (12 credits)
Select four from a single Area of Study.
Humanities: ENG 567 ENG 596 HIS 515 HIS 516 HIS 517 HIS 518 HIS 619 HUM 600 PHI 503 PHI 504 PHI 505
– – – – – – – – – – –
Approaches to Shakespeare (3) Liberal Studies Ethnic American Fiction (3) The African-American Experience (3) Public History (3) Nationalism and Ethnic Identity in Europe (3) Historiography (3) Readings in African-American History (3) Humanities Seminar (3) Environmental Ethics (3) Evolution and its Discontents (3) Ethical Issues in Contemporary Science and Technology (3)
Natural Sciences and Mathematics: BIO 528 – BIO 538 – BIO 538L – BIO 543 – BIO 600 – BIO 654 – CHE 505 – CHE 514 – GOL 505 – LST 640 – MAT 503 – MAT 505 – MAT 535 – MAT 551 – PHY 503 – PHY 517 –
Science and Fiction (3) Animal Behavior (3) Animal Behavior Laboratory (1) Neuroscience (3) Special Topics in Biology (3) “The Coming Plague”: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Biological Weapons and Public Health (3) Environmental Chemistry (3) History of Chemistry (3) Earth System Science (3) Contemporary Issues in Science (3) History of Mathematics (3) Problem Solving in Mathematics (3) Contemporary Mathematics (3) Classical and Modern Geometry (3) The History of Physics (3) Principles of Physical Science (3)
continued
62
63