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Master of Arts in Liberal Studies

Thesis Project

The Seminar in Liberal Studies supports the formulation, development, and completion of the thesis project. All matriculated students must enroll in MLS 690 and participate with other students who are working on their theses. Prerequisite: Completion of 10 courses (40 semester hours).

The thesis project focuses on a significant question which integrates ideas studied during the course of the MLS Program. Projects may take the form of traditional research studies that utilize primary and secondary sources, or they may be nontraditional studies, such as creative or applied works. Studies of a nontraditional nature must be supplemented by an essay that sets forth their critical bases and connects them with a concept or argument developed in the program.

All matriculated students must complete a thesis project prior to graduation. The exact nature of that project is determined by the student in consultation with the director and a faculty mentor. The thesis project must be carefully designed and researched, and it must reflect the philosophy of the MLS Program and relate to the courses the student has taken.

The Seminar in Liberal Studies is offered only in the spring term. But because the thesis project is a time-consuming enterprise, students should consider selecting their topics and consulting with prospective mentors well in advance of the term in which they intend to graduate. Each summer, the director meets with all students who are eligible to graduate during the coming academic year, and together they identify an appropriate thesis project and a faculty member who might serve as mentor.

The student and the faculty mentor work together to design a detailed thesis project proposal. Thesis project proposals must be submitted to the director by October 1. Students and their mentors will be notified prior to the beginning of the Seminar in Liberal Studies if the thesis project proposal is acceptable or if changes are required. After a proposal has been approved, substantive changes can be made only if the director consents. Students must register for the Seminar in Liberal Studies during the spring term in which they plan to complete the project.

Students who do not complete their thesis projects during the term in which they are enrolled in MLS 690 may, with the permission of the faculty mentor and the director, have a sixty day extension during the summer session to finish the project without being charged additional tuition and fees.

With the approval of the director, a student who requires a longer period of time to complete the project may have an extension of one additional term. The extension is treated as a course, however, and the student must pay the equivalent of one course’s tuition. Normally, no further extensions are permitted.