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MLS DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
Completion of the 30 hour requirement with a minimum GPA of 3.0 at graduation
and completion of a successful capstone project.
INDIVIDUALIZED STUDY PROGRAM
Students must construct with an advisor an integrated program that goes
beyond their undergraduate experience. Students may not repeat for graduate
credit a course they have already taken for undergraduate credit. The
individualized study program must have a clear rationale, and it must
include course work from at least two divisions. The program proposal
must be approved by the MLS Committee. Courses in the ISP may be dual-listed
at the 300/500 level. In addition, students with the consent of the MLS
Committee, may take a Special Topics in Liberal Studies course, LS 490/590.
Students receiving graduate credit will have more demanding course requirements,
and will complete an appropriate research project.
CORE INTERDISCIPLINARY SEMINARS
These courses do not assume that students possess professional-level proficiency
in the disciplines that provide the courses. They are not be offered in
specific disciplines such as Philosophy or Chemistry. Rather they are
offered as Liberal Studies courses designed to introduce students to the
underpinnings of the disciplines. They are built around a considerable
body of independent work and student presentations to the seminar as a
whole. They are interdisciplinary and taught by faculty from two or more
departments. These courses MUST be completed at Washburn University. Core
Interdisciplinary courses are regularly offered in the evening or on weekends.
The Dean works with individual departments to insure that a reasonable
mix of upper-division courses are offered at times that are accessible
to nontraditional students.
Students will select 12 hours from the following:
LS 500 Introduction to Graduate Research in Liberal Studies-- REQUIRED
LS 401/501 Interdisciplinary Seminar in Humanities
LS 402/502 Interdisciplinary Seminar in Social Sciences
LS 403/503 Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Natural Sciences
Students must take LS 500, Introduction to Research in Liberal Studies,
in addition to at least one seminar in each area. Each seminar will offer
3 hours credit. Students may take LS 401/501, 402/502, or 403/503 more
than once, though they will not be able to repeat a specific seminar.
LS 490/590 Special Topics (1-6)
With the consent of the advisory committee students may arrange with a
member of the graduate faculty a special topics course in Liberal Studies.
LS 599 Capstone Experience (3)
Students will apprentice themselves to one faculty member to pursue one
theme developed in the core interdisciplinary program or individualized
study program. The expectation is a research paper of 30 pages or an approved
equivalent. Students will be strongly encouraged to develop creative alternatives.
Regardless of the form the project takes, it must in some significant
way reflect both an in-depth understanding of a specific subject matter
and the interdisciplinary nature of learning.
Papers or projects are defended before a three to five person committee
consisting of the advisor and two-four other faculty members chosen by
the student and approved by the advisor.
The Capstone course provides the final opportunity to evaluate the student's
mastery of the Liberal Studies curriculum. The final project should reflect
the student's appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of learning.
SATISFACTORY PROGRESS
Students must maintain a GPA of 3.00 in graduate courses to remain in
good standing. Upon completion of six graduate hours, students will be
required to select an advisor who will assist them in creating an integrated
program with a clear rationale. The program of study must be completed
with a six year time span. Students who have not been admitted to the
program may take courses on a space available basis.
Undergraduate students may petition for admission to graduate courses
in the last six hours of completion of their undergraduate program.
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