Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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I. Required courses for the degree—30 hours including:

MLAS 500 must be taken during the first fall semester after admission to the program.

3 hours from:

In addition, students must select 12 hours from 500-600 level program electives

II. Other degree requirements:

Students will choose one of three capstone options as the final requirement for the degree:

a) completion of 6 credit hours in MLAS 681;
b) completion of 6 credit hours in MLAS 690; or
c) completion of a non-credit bearing MLAS Portfolio and 6 additional hours of 500-600 level program electives.

Oral competency will be demonstrated through a formal presentation at the MLAS Program Forum.

MLAS Portfolio

Students who select the non-credit bearing Portfolio option must still complete 30 credit hours in the program, so they will take additional program electives to reach the required number of hours. The portfolio will be completed within the student’s final semester, and for students not selecting a graduate project or thesis, the portfolio is a degree requirement. The student’s MLAS advisor serves as the portfolio advisor. The Portfolio will be submitted at the end of the semester to the MLAS Program Director and the Graduate Council for review and approval. The following items must be submitted to satisfy the requirements for the Portfolio option:

A cover page with the student’s name, date, and title of the project.
At least three substantive papers from separate courses that represent their best work.
A 10-12 page reflective narrative placing the papers in the context of the student’s intellectual journey through the MLAS program.

Students will make an oral presentation of their portfolio and reflective essay before faculty and fellow students at the MLAS Program Forum. A copy of the Portfolio and reflective narrative will be retained in the MLAS archive in Ramsey Library.