Planning to Graduate Soon?

If you plan on graduating during this academic year, let me know.   

Here’s a checklist of things you’ll need to do:

1. Complete the four required Liberal Studies courses

   LBST D501, LBST D502, LBST D503, LBST D700 (or LBST D500)

  And Six more elective graduate courses in Arts and Sciences.

--Fine Arts track will have Three core Liberal Studies seminars (LBST D501, etc.), Two Graduate Studio art courses, 6 hours of LBST D500 (instead of LBST D700), and four elective Arts and Sciences courses.

2. Fill out the application for graduation

  (If you plan to participate in the graduation ceremony--and I strongly encourage you do--here is another important link.)

3. Assessment—For assessment purposes, we need two seminar essays from every graduate.  Please remove your name from the papers before turning them in. 

A. Click here  to upload the two papers for the program assessment (one from an earlier seminar and one from a later one).

B. Finally (for those graduating this semester):  Take the following exit survey.  It won't take but a few minutes of your time and will provide much needed information.

What Departments/Courses are in the College of Arts and Sciences?

You know by know that the Master of Liberal Studies degree requires that your electives be graduate courses from the College of Arts and Sciences (and, for those with a focus in the Fine Arts, some in Fine Arts).  However, some of you may be uncertain about which departments the College of Arts and Sciences contains.  The short answer is most of the departments on campus.  A more detailed answer lies in the list below:  

• Department of Anthropology
• Department of Biology
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Communication
• Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Department of English and Linguistics
• Department of Geosciences
• Department of History
• Department of International Language and Culture Studies
• Department of Mathematical Sciences
• Department of Philosophy
• Department of Physics
• Department of Political Science
• Department of Psychology
• Department of Sociology
• Ethnic and Cultural Studies Program
• Film Studies Program
• Gerontology Program
• International Studies Program
• Journalism Program
• Liberal Studies Program
• Native American Studies Program
• Peace and Conflict Studies Program
• Women's Studies Program

Fall 2010 Liberal Studies Seminars/ Calendar

CRN 14111 LBST-D501-01 Popular Music, Culture, and Society  
(Approval of Director of Liberal Studies required for enrollment.)

Professor John Minton explores social and cultural aspects of American popular music 

CRN 14101 LBST-D700-01 Art, Science, And Realists
(Approval of Director of Liberal Studies required for enrollment.)

Professor Rodney Farnsworth examines impact of scientific discoveries on visual arts and literature.

IPFW Fall 2010 Schedule

 Fall 2010 Academic Calendar

Aug. 23 Classes Begin

Aug. 23-27 Late Registration and Drop/Add

Aug. 27 Final Payment Deadline (late registrants)

Aug. 29 Last Day for Full Refund (for full-term classes)

Aug. 27 Weekend Classes Begin

Sept. 3 Labor Day Holiday Recess Begins at 4:30 p.m. (Resume Sept. 7)

Oct. 11-12 Fall Recess (Resume Oct. 13)

Oct. 29 Last Day to Withdraw from Classes (for full-term classes)

Nov. 23 Thanksgiving Recess Begins after Last Class

Nov. 29 Classes Resume

Dec. 13-19 Final Exams Week

Online Recommendation Form

You can link this post for your recommenders or send them the following link via email. Their recommendations will be sent directly to the Director of Liberal Studies.

Liberal Studies Recommendation Form

If you prefer to send the link directly, cut and paste the following link in an email:
https://www.jotform.com/form/10745147668

How and What Do I Need to Apply?

To be accepted into the Master of Liberal Studies program at IPFW, you’ll need an undergraduate g.p.a. of 3.0, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement of your goals in the program (a page or so will do).   Here are the three forms you will need to fill out (they're word documents):  

1.  Graduate Data Sheet
2.  IU Graduate Application
3. Letters of Recommendation  (open page and send link for letter with waiver; or send link for letter without waiver) 

Open or Download the form, fill them out in Adobe reader, click the Submit Document in the upper right, and it will automatically be submitted to Liberal Studies (you can sign digitally).  Alternatively,  you can print them off and bring them (or mail them) to Department of Liberal Studies, Liberal Arts Bldg., Rm 153 Attn: Holly McDonald-Lara. If you're on campus often, you could also stop by and ask Holly for an application packet, which will contain these forms.

Click here to make an appointment.

    If you did not obtain a 3.0 gpa in your undergraduate career, you can still be admitted if you take a graduate course in Arts and Sciences and receive a B or better.  The main problem, for many, with this route is that financial aid cannot be obtained until you are accepted into the program.  Thus, you will have to finance your first course.

What Can I Do with a Master of Liberal Studies Degree?

The Master of Liberal Studies program enables students to study the liberal (and in some cases the fine) arts beyond the baccalaureate degree.
    In terms of job advancement, it is most useful for those already in a position who might benefit from having a Master's degree. Indiana teachers, for instance, can use it to fulfill their Master's degree requirements, as long as they have the requisite Education courses.
  After earning an undergraduate education that was primarily professional, students can broaden their general education by building upon their life experience and skills. If students regard the liberal arts as subjects for lifetime learning, the M.L.S. provides a coherent, challenging program of graduate study. The program is not intended as preparation for doctoral study.
  Some students have been able to parlay their M.L.S. into employment in higher education, but again, it is more often useful to those who already have a position rather than those seeking one.

Who Chooses Liberal Studies?

IPFW Liberal Studies candidates are diverse in their backgrounds and interests. Some of the students attracted to this program include:

• Recent college graduates who miss the classroom and intellectual stimulation of a university environment.
• Teachers, taking this program in addition to or in place of a Master in Education degree, and prefer the ability to study in their cognate areas or explore a new discipline.
• Art teachers who could benefit from and enjoy graduate art courses and achieve a graduate degree
• Individuals with very narrowly focused careers, like jobs in medicine and law, who enjoy the ability to read, write, and think in areas outside their professional expertise.
• Individuals who want to learn to read more perceptively, write more clearly, and think more creatively; thus, enabling them to be better, more productive employees.
• Individuals who now have time to explore areas in which they have always been interested in but never had the time to pursue while they were raising families and establishing their careers.

Presently, M.L.S. students at IPFW have ranged from 24 to 70, and are involved in occupations ranging from counselor to bank administrator to public relations.

Master of Liberal Studies in Fine Arts

            As mentioned previously, generally only graduate courses within the College of Liberal Arts apply toward the Master of Liberal Studies degree.  More recently, however, the degree has been expanded to included courses in the Fine Arts.  Students with a focus on the Fine Arts in Liberal Studies can take a range of studio art courses in media such as painting, metalsmithing, and ceramics.  Further, these students are required to undertake a Graduate Project (LBST D500) instead of the LBST D700 seminar.   

         The Graduate Project is arranged as an independent study with the Department of Fine Arts faculty.  Students submit a project which proposes in depth study of a visual concept. A body of artwork will be created and  presented to the faculty in the form of a portfolio presentation or visual display with an appropriate critical paper to accompany the presentation or visual display.

            Please note that the six hours of studio art coursework are included in the eighteen hours of elective courses required in the Liberal Studies degree (see the full tally of coursework below).  The six hours of coursework required for the Graduate Project bring the total hours of the Master of Liberal Studies in Fine Arts degree to thirty-three hours—three hours over the usual thirty hours for students with a traditional focus in the Master of Liberal Studies.

Master of Liberal Studies in the Fine Arts

Liberal Studies seminars

3        LBST D501 Humanities Seminar

3        LBST D501 Social Science Seminar 

3        LBST D503  Science Seminar

 subtotal 9 hours--

Fine Arts courses

6        FINA Graduate Studio Courses.  Choose any two studio classes from the following:

      FINA P435 or P436 Advanced Ceramics

            FINA P421 or P422 Advanced Drawing

            FINA P433 or P434 Advanced Metalsmithing

            FINA P425 or P426 Advanced Painting

            FINA P441 or P442 Advanced Printmaking

            FINA P431 or P432 Advanced Sculpture

6            LBST D500 Graduate Project

        The graduate project will be arranged as an independent study with the Department of Fine Arts faculty.  Students will submit a project which proposes in depth study of a visual concept. A body of artwork will be created and  presented to the faculty in the form of a portfolio presentation or visual display.     A written paper on the project will accompany the presentation or visual display.

12        Credits in electives are to be from at least two disciplines in Arts and Sciences. 

          

Total 33 hours of coursework for the degree.

Master of Liberal Studies in Fine Arts page

If you have questions about the Master of Liberal Studies in Fine Arts, call Dana Goodman (260-481-6705) or email goodmand@ipfw.edu

What Do You Study in Liberal Studies?

The short answer is almost anything you care to study.  The Master of Liberal Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne is an interdisciplinary degree that allows you to focus on a topic through various disciplines.  For example, you could consider social class in American literature and history, or you could examine Impressionist painting through culture, aesthetics, and psychology.  However, not having a particular focus does not prevent you from being accepted in the program:  you might simply want to focus on two or more complementary disciplines such as psychology and sociology or folklore and literature.  Perfectly acceptable.  Configure your degree however you choose--as long as it is within the broad requirements of the program (12 hours of Liberal Studies seminars and 18 hours of graduate study in Arts and Sciences).

            Similarly, the Liberal Studies seminars in the broad divisions of humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences consider topics from two or more disciplinary perspectives.  For example, Professor John Minton, author of 78 Blues: Folksongs and Phonographs in the American South, teaches his Popular Music and Culture seminar as an exploration of the social, cultural, and historical aspects of popular music.  Professor Rodney Farnsworth’s Arts, Sciences, and Realism seminar considers the impact of scientific thought on literature and the arts.  Professor Michael Wolf’s Politics and Society seminar studies the various social, historical, and political forces that influence American governmental elections.

            In short, you are free to explore any graduate course in the College of Liberal Arts, the largest college at IPFW, comprised of disciplines from Biology, Physics, and Political Science to English, History, and Sociology. 

            Generally, graduate courses outside of the College of Liberal Arts (i.e., in Education, Business, etc.) cannot be applied toward the Master of Liberal Studies degree, except in particular instances, and when agreed upon in consultation with the Director of Liberal Studies--and in the Master of Liberal Studies in Fine Arts.
   

Master of Liberal Studies course breakdown--

3        LBST D501 Humanities Seminar

3        LBST D501 Social Science Seminar 

3        LBST D503  Science Seminar

3    LBST D700 Seminar OR  LBST D500 Graduate Project

subtotal 12 hours

18 elective hours of graduate Arts and Sciences course (i.e., English, History, Sociology, Psychology, etc., but no more than 9 hours in one discipline)

Total degree --30 hours

  IPFW Liberal Studies Page

            If you have questions about the program, call the director at (260) 481-6760 or the program secretary at (260) 481-6019 or email at kaufmann@ipfw.edu or larah@ipfw.edu respectively.

How to Use the IPFW Master of Liberal Studies Blog--

The IPFW Master of Liberal Studies Blog provides basic information on the degree and the program for possible candidates.  The righthand margin has a listing of the blog entries which provide a quick way of discovering answers to your questions, or you can read through the initial postings (not a lengthy prospect).  If you still don’t find the answers you need, send me an email or give me a call (260-481-6760), and I’ll get you an answer to your question.

The blog also offers a means of communicating with current students about important information regarding the program, such as upcoming courses, deadlines, and dates.  Consequently, you’ll likely want to subscribe to the blog (via the handy email subscription service or rss feed in the lefthand margin) to keep apprised of developments and latest announcements.