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Master of Arts (M.A.) in Humanities

Admission Requirements
Degree Requirements
Structure
HUM Course Descriptions
Other Course Descriptions
Unspecified Content or Variable Credit Courses

Ronald Primeau, Ph.D., Director
241 Anspach Hall, (989) 774-3117

The Program
The Master of Arts in Humanities is a degree designed for generalists, for those more interested in synthesis than specialization. It provides an integrated study of the humanities in a cross-disciplinary format. Because the various areas of the humanities are naturally interrelated, this format emphasizes connection rather than fragmentation. The courses for the 30-semester hour program are generally selected from such traditional areas of the humanities as history, literature, philosophy, religion, music and art; they may, however, also include such areas as women's studies and anthropology. Please note that course selection amongst these disciplines will be more limited for on-campus students.

The program is flexible enough to meet the needs of a great variety of students. It is an appropriate degree choice for students seeking a graduate degree which offers educational development or a focus on interdisciplinary knowledge. Students interested in certification or additional endorsements should contact the Teacher Certification Office.

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Admission Requirements
Admission requirements are the same as those for admission to the College of Graduate Studies (baccalaureate degree and overall GPA of 2.7) and a minimum of 20 hours of coursework in areas of the Humanities (history, literature, philosophy, etc.) with GPA of 2.7.

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Degree Requirements
A minimum of 30 hours of graduate credit in the Humanities including:

1. 6-9 hours in history
2. 6-9 hours in literature
3. 6-9 hours of coursework in any of the following areas approved by the student's faculty advisor: art or music (non-studio/non-performance), religion, philosophy, cinema
4. 6 hours Plan A or Plan B

A minimum of 15 hours of the above courses must be in courses numbered 600 or above.

PLAN A: 6 hours of Thesis HUM 799 1-6(Spec) with oral defense.

PLAN B: 6 hours of elective coursework approved by faculty advisor, 3 hours of which may be in a curriculum development course (e.g., HST 601, ENG 615). Students electing Plan B must submit a paper prepared in connection with a seminar or as an independent study that will serve as evidence of the student's scholarship.

Total: 30 credit hours

Structure
In order to ensure both coherence and the advantages of complementary disciplinary approaches in the program of studies, each student's coursework must be approved in advance by a faculty advisor. Coursework leading to the degree will be organized around a core (15-18 hours) of courses that are integrated by topic or theme.

The following is a list of representative topics that have been approved by the M.A. in Humanities Council:

The Rise of Industrial Society
Students selecting this core of courses would select five or six of the following:

HST 525 The Industrialization of America
ENG 656 Seminar in American Literature: The Twenties and Thirties
ART 685 Special Topics in Art History: Art in the Industrial Age
PHL 597 Special Topics : Philosophical Problems in Industrial Society
MUS 597 Special Topics: Music and Technology
REL 501 Seminar in the Study of Religion: Religious Issues in the 20th Century
BCA 525 Film Genre Study--Cautionary Tales for the Industrial Age: Science and the Individual in the Cinema
BLR 597 Special Topics: Transformation of American Law
ENG 656 Seminar in American Literature: Realism and Naturalism
HST 603 Colloquium in U.S. History since 1865

Images and Ideas of Self
Students selecting this core of courses would select five or six of the following:

PHL 597 Special Topics: Philosophical Problems of the Self
ART 685 Special Topics in Art History: Subjectivity in Modern Art
ENG 656 Seminar in American Literature: Images of Self in Contemporary American Fiction
MUS 797 Special Studies: Five Lives in Jazz
HUM 797 Special Topics in Humanities: American Individualism
ENG 656 Seminar in American Literature: American Romantic Authors
REL 501 Seminar in the Study of Religion: Women in Religion
PHL 597 Special Topics: Philosophy of the Arts
HST 603 Colloquium in U.S. History since 1865
ENG 665 Seminar in World Literature: The Emergence of Self
MUS 597 Special Topics: Music in the Western World

Contemporary Issues in the Humanities: Race, Class and Gender
Students selecting this core of courses would select five or six of the following:

BCA 525 Film Genre Study: Women in Film
REL 501 Seminar in the Study of Religion: Religion, Race and Discrimination in America
SOC 502 Theory of Race Relations in Sociology
PHL 597 Special Topics: Women in Philosophy
ART 586 Seminar in Art History: Native American Art
ENG 656 Seminar in American Literature: Afro-American Writers
SOC 513 Society and Sex
REL 501 Seminar in the Study of Religion: Women in Religion
HST 722 Seminar in the West in American History
ENG 656 Seminar in American Literature: Women Writers
HST 715 Seminar in the Civil War and Reconstruction
HUM 797 Special Topics in Humanities: Moral Issues in America: Race, Class and Gender
HUM 797 Special Topics in Humanities: Race, Class and Power: South Africa in the 20th Century
ANT 588 Special Topics: Native American Culture

Popular Culture Studies
Students selecting this core of courses would select five or six of the following:

ENG 665 Seminar in World Literature: Themes in Science Fiction and Fantasy
HST 717 Seminar in the History of 20th Century America: History of Rock and Roll
HST 717 Seminar in the History of 20th Century America: History of Anti-War Movements
ENG 656 Seminar in American Literature: Issues in American Popular Culture
HUM 797 Special Topics in Humanities: American  Individualism
BCA 525 Film Genre Study: Cautionary Tales for the Indus trial Age: Science and the Individual in the Cinema
ART 719 Art Criticism
BCA 625 Film and Video Theory and Criticism
BCA 503 Critiquing Mass Media
ANT 588 Special Topics: High Technology and Sociocultural Change
MUS 797 Special Studies: Five Lives in Jazz
REL 501 Seminar in the Study of Religion: Religious Issues in Popular Culture
PHL 597 Special Topics: Philosophical Ideas in Popular Culture
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Unspecified content or variable credit courses. Click here for additional information regarding these types of courses. The following courses offered through the department are of unspecified content or variable credit: HUM 597 and 797.
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