Would you like to better understand how globalization affects your everyday life? Engage with issues of class, race and ethics? Encounter medieval cathedrals in France or study live theater in London? The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) degree at Duke University offers you a rich selection of seminars in subjects such as these within a flexible graduate program that gives you the freedom to chart your own course of study. Designed for adult, part-time students, MALS allows you to explore questions of enduring concern and contemporary urgency while pursuing a graduate degree at one of the nation's leading institutions of higher learning.

The foundation of the Graduate Liberal Studies is the idea that liberal learning is central to an individual's continuing intellectual growth and capacity for critical thought. Because this sort of learning does not stop at the boundaries of a particular academic discipline, the MALS degree offers a wide range of courses not available in traditional graduate programs. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students can explore diverse subjects and apply fresh perspectives from a variety of fields. The structure of the program is flexible enough to meet personal and professional goals.

The result is an experience in higher education that extends a student's intellectual resources and range, promotes openness to new ideas and appreciation of differences, stimulates students to find connections between their studies and their personal and professional lives, and encourages a lifelong commitment to learning, free inquiry and the life of the mind.

Is MALS right for you?

Ask yourself:

• Am I open to new ways of thinking and new perspectives on the world?
• Am I seeking educational breadth beyond my specialized training?
• Do my interests extend beyond a narrowly focused graduate degree?
• Am I looking for a graduate degree that can be personally enriching and enhance my career options?
• Do I need a part-time program with evening classes?
• Is this the best time for me to commit to the challenges and demands of graduate study?

What does the Duke MALS Program offer its students?

• A Master of Arts degree from a distinguished research university
• Improved analytical and critical thinking, research and writing skills
• Preparation for further education
• New friends and colleagues whose perspectives differ from your own
• Intellectual engagement with outstanding faculty and students
• Access to all the resources of Duke University
  
  Program Resources
  
  

MALS students bring their life experiences into the seminars, where students and faculty discuss an interdisciplinary range of issues with enthusiasm and across differences. GLS seminars demonstrate the heart of the MALS degree:  intellectual curiosity, critical engagement and the joy of learning.

Donna Zapf, Ph.D.
Director ofGraduate Liberal Studies