Interdisciplinary/Individually Designed Degrees

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Farina, Dec 20, 2009.

Loading...
  1. Farina

    Farina New Member

    With a lot of interest self designed degrees, especially those who want to adjunct and desire to meet the MA + 18 graduate credit requirement, I would like to start a list of online degrees that allow students to pick their area of interests in one discipline or more. If you know of any other programs that are not listed, please add them.

    Western New Mexico University
    www.wnmu.edu
    MA Interdisciplinary Studies
    36 credits
    -Can select two or three areas of concentration
    Areas of concentration:
    Bilingual Education
    Criminal Justice
    Education
    Elementary Education
    English
    History
    Management Information Systems
    Political Science
    Psychology
    Reading Education
    Secondary Education
    Social Work
    Special Education
    Writing

    Amberton University
    www.amberton.edu
    MA Professional Development
    36 credits
    6 hours of required coursework not related to concentration(s)
    Areas of Concentration:
    Business Administration
    Communication
    Counseling
    Human Behavior and Development
    Human Resources and Training
    Psychology
    Religion/Ethics
    Sociology

    Regis University
    www.regis.edu
    Master of Arts
    36 credit hours
    15-18 hours of required coursework not related to concentration(s)
    Areas of concentration (18-21 credits)*:
    *some areas may not be offered online

    Adult Education
    Chicano Studies
    Communication
    Community College Teaching
    Corporate Training
    Creative Writing
    Criminology
    Executive/Personal Coaching
    Fine Arts
    Global Sustainability
    History
    Homeland Security/Law Enforcement
    Industrial/Organizational Psychology
    Jewish Studies
    Literature
    Mediation and Conflict Resolution
    Organizational Communications
    Psychology
    Religious Studies
    Social Justice
    Social Science

    Ft. Hayes State University
    www.fhsu.edu
    MA Liberal Studies
    31 hours
    13 hours of required coursework not related to concentration(s)
    Areas of Concentration:
    Art
    Computer Networking and Telecommunications
    Criminal Justice
    Educational Leadership and Management
    English
    ESOL
    Gerontology
    Health Sciences
    History
    Humanities
    Human Resource Management
    Information Assurance
    Information Networking and Telecommunications
    Instructional Technology
    Management Information Systems
    Organizational Leadership
    Political Leadership and Public Service
    Political Science
    Public Administration
    Social Science
    Web Development
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 20, 2009
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  3. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    Just two quick notes re Athabasca's program, six courses must be taken in residence at the campus in Alberta. And cost is higher for out-of-province Canadians than it is for residents of Alberta (and even higher for those outside of Canada).
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    From the link:

    "Courses are offered via the Internet either in paced seminar-format (fall, winter, spring) or as individualized study (starting the first of every month). There is no requirement to attend campus."
     
  5. scaredrain

    scaredrain Member

    UNC-Greensboro has both a Bachelors and Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies degree, which can be designed with various courses:

    http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/web/graduate_liberal_studies/programs/master_of_arts_in_liberal_studies.php

    http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/web/bls/default.asp

    Tuition is dirt cheap for North Carolina residents:
    About $150 per semester credit hour for graduate level courses or about $88 per semester credit hour for undergraduate courses:
    http://mals.uncg.edu/dcl/web/offcampus/credit_offcampus.asp#tuition

    I am considering this degree, to fulfill the dream of earning a humanities or English related masters, I started on this path as an undergraduate, but ventured over to business and IT.
     
  6. HikaruBr

    HikaruBr Member

    Moderators, can we make this thread sticky? I think this a very important subject.
     
  7. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    Oops, I apparently misunderstood this section of the site:

    Residency
    To meet the residency requirement, students must complete a minimum of 18 credits (six courses) through Athabasca University, including the two core courses and an integrated project.

    http://www.athabascau.ca/calendar/grad/arts_01_03.html#res

    I saw "residency" and assumed it meant the person has to be in residence there. But I guess they just mean that you need to take 18 of the credits through Athabasca and the rest can be from other schools?
     
  8. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    Sorry for the double post. Here are some other options not yet mentioned that I found back when I was researching MLS options earlier this year ... the tuition figures were correct when I recorded them, they may not be still accurate now: (listed in order of ascending price)

    University of Toledo
    Master of Liberal Studies
    $14,322 - 33 hours (Thesis required)
    Concentrations: None ... "Students should choose a combination of electives that represent a focused area of interest from the University's offering of graduate level courses."
    http://www.utoledo.edu/dl/programs/masters/mls.html

    Excelsior College
    Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
    Concentrations:
    - Issues in Today's Society
    - Global Strategies
    - Educational Leadership
    - Natural Science and Society
    - Community Building and Conflict Resolution
    - Self-Designed
    $14,550 - 33 hours, can transfer in many credits (Thesis required)
    https://www.excelsior.edu/Excelsior_College/School_of_Liberal_Arts/Master_of_Arts_Degree_in_Liberal_Studies/MA_LS_Program_Description

    Southern Methodist University
    Master of Liberal Studies
    Concentrations:
    - Humanities
    - The Arts and Cultural Traditions - Literature, Art, Poetry, Performing Arts, and Society
    - Global Studies - Global Trends, Power, Non-Western Literature, and Geography
    - Gender Studies
    - Peace and Social Justice - Human Rights, Political Science, History, Psychology, Gender Studies
    - Self-Designed
    $15,660 - 36 hours
    http://smu.edu/education/liberalstudies/mls/

    Thomas Edison State College
    Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
    Concentrations: None ... "Learner-Designed Study Area": http://www.tesc.edu/2356.php (Options include transferring in 12 credits of ACE-approved courses)
    $16,740 - 36 hours (Capstone project required)
    http://www.tesc.edu/1839.php

    Texas Christian University
    Master of Liberal Arts
    Concentrations: None?
    $18,000 - 30 hours (No thesis required)
    http://www.mla.tcu.edu/catalog.htm
     
  9. friartuck

    friartuck New Member

  10. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Yeah, mods! Can we get a Sticky?
     
  11. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    it's stuck
     
  12. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Goddard College www.goddard.edu has an MA in Individualized Studies and they are a pioneer in distance education. Another school that was a pioneer in distance education that offered an MA in Individualized Studies was the school formerly known as Vermont College, which has since been absorbed by the Union Institute www.myunion.
     
  13. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

  14. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Antioch University www.antioch.edu offers an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies.
     
  15. emmzee

    emmzee New Member

    I asked this question before elsewhere, but I don't think I got much response, so I'll try again :D

    Would a MLS or MA in interdisciplinary studies be generally accepted as adequate preparation for a PHD? (Assuming it included a thesis.) I ask because my research interest cuts across technology & religion and would be well served by doing this sort of degree, but only if it eventually led to a PHD program which would be my eventual goal ...
     
  16. Ron Dotson

    Ron Dotson New Member

    I'm also interested in an opinion from the board on this. I have my shiny, new MLS/HRM from Fort Hays and I am wondering if it will get me into an APU/AMU Doctorate program when the school introduces them around 2011 or so.
     
  17. Farina

    Farina New Member

    I looked at this program at Baker and really like it. I wish I would have known about it earlier. The classes are very, very interesting. It is much like WNMU program, as they only make you take one required course, and the rest make up your discipline. Although they are not as cheap at WNMU, they do offer tuition discounts if you pay early.

    One thing to keep in mind is that some of the interdisciplinary programs have courses that are made of an interdisciplinary prefix (IND) instead of the various departments that make up the discipline (HIST, ENG, SCI) etc. That is something to consider if you are going to choose a program that you believe will later allow you to teach in various disciplines.
     
  18. cutedeedle

    cutedeedle I speak Geek. Will translate on request.

    University of Oklahoma, College of Liberal Studies:
    http://www.ou.edu/cls/
    I earned my bachelor's degree from OU and was in the master's program twice (washed out twice too). Excellent program and the people there are fabulous.

    Harrison Middleton University offers degrees starting with associates all the way to doctorates:
    http://www.chumsci.edu/index.asp
    I'm currently in the master's program/political science. This program is the toughest I've been in so far -- not academically speaking but because it's based entirely on the Great Books (not easy reading!) and we design our own curriculum and courses. That was really a struggle.
     
  19. rodgerbailey

    rodgerbailey New Member

    My wife and I are enrolled at Oxford Graduate School which offers an M.Litt (Master of Literature) and a D.Phil (Doctor of Philosophy). These are only available through their distance learning program.

    In both degrees, there is intensive coursework. For the D.Phil degree, the coursework prepares you for your research and dissertation process. You choose your topics of research.

    All coursework is in physical residency at the school. For the Doctoral program there are 6 one-week, on-campus residencies and two reading and research seminars (at Oxford in England and the Library of Congress in DC). In each of the Core weeks, the coursework is intense with 10 hours of class each day.
     
  20. cutedeedle

    cutedeedle I speak Geek. Will translate on request.

    Rodgerbailey, would you mind elaborating? You wrote it's a "distance learning program" but all coursework is in physical residency at the school. I'm confused!
     

Share This Page