Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
MALS offers maximum flexibility for students who wish to design their own interdisciplinary graduate degree in order to pursue a career path, research question, or intellectual passion that encompasses multiple academic fields.
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Elizabeth Baltes
Associate Professor, Art History
MALS Coordinator
Edwards 268
843-349-5036
ebaltes@coastal.edu 
The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies at CCU is unlike most traditional graduate programs. Instead of being limited to courses in one specific field, MALS students––with guidance from the program coordinator––design an individualized curriculum that crosses disciplinary boundaries. Students might combine courses from various fields to study interdisciplinary topics such as arts administration, public humanities, American studies, Southern studies, digital history, and social/environmental justice---the possibilities are endless. No matter the specific topic of study, this program allows students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds to pursue their intellectual interests and career goals, while building skills in critical thinking, writing, and research in the humanities.
Designing your own graduate degree requires imagination, motivation, and an openness to new ideas. MALS students should expect to build connections between their focus of study and their personal and professional lives; to develop wider perspectives on the human condition; and to demonstrate advanced writing and research skills, as well as creative problem-solving strategies—the hallmarks of a liberal arts degree, and the most desired traits of the 21st-century workforce.
If you have questions about whether this program might help you achieve your personal and professional goals, please get in touch.
About the Program
The M.A. in Liberal Studies is a 30-hour graduate degree program that consists of
- Three required core courses (9 credit hours) designed to introduce students to liberal studies, interdisciplinarity and diversity, and to hone their research, writing, and presentation skills (culminating in a thesis or equivalent capstone project); and
- Seven electives (21 credit hours) chosen from a variety of graduate-level courses, offered both in and outside the Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts.
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