Interdisciplinary/Individually Designed Degrees

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

 

The Masters degree program in Integrated Studies at Athabasca University can be completed entirely through distance learning. Here it is:

http://www.athabascau.ca/calendar/grad/arts01.html

 

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).

 

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."

 

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.

 

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

 

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?

 

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

 

http://www.mountainstate.edu/majors/whystudy/gids/default.aspx

 

Yeah, mods! Can we get a Sticky?

 

it's stuck

 

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.

 

Baker University www.bakeru.edu offers an MLA degree online with several concentrations.

 

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

 

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

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 ...

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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!