The M.A. in Liberal Studies requires 30 credits or 10 three-credit courses, consisting of two (2) foundation courses, one (1) upper-level LST course, and six (6) chosen from either LST courses or courses in other graduate departments.

Two Foundation Courses

LST students begin the program with two Master's of Liberal Studies foundation courses, one ancient and one modern. The LST Foundation courses (Ancient and Modern) serve to give incoming LST students a broad background in some of the key texts and ideas of world civilization. In addition, they provide the LST students with an introduction to the skills and expectations which are consistent with graduate level work in the humanities and social sciences.

The course numbers are:

• LST 7101 Foundation Course: Ancient
• LST 7102 Foundation Course: Modern

In addition to the two foundation courses, LST students must take one upper-level LST course (8000 level).

After taking the required Foundation courses, the student is free to choose eighteen credits (six three-credit courses, or groups of three one-credit courses) from the regular graduate course offerings found within Liberal Studies or in the other graduate departments in the humanities and social sciences at Villanova. There are almost 200 courses to choose from across the curriculum. Almost all courses are offered in the late afternoon and evening and are offered year round. To ensure a breadth of exposure to multiple disciplines, students may take no more than three courses in any one graduate department (with the exception of Liberal Studies; students may take as many Liberal Studies courses as they wish).

All courses, including the Directed Readings requirement, will be selected by the student in consultation with his/her academic advisor. It is expected in completing the Liberal Studies program's requirements that the student will select courses that form an integrated course of studies, either shaped by the student’s individual interests, or shaped through the certificate programs.

Completing the Program

For students entering after spring 2011, there are two requirements for completing the program: The Directed Readings course and the Qualifying Portfolio. (Students who entered the program prior to spring 2011 will have the choice of doing the Qualifying Portfolio or a Comprehensive Exam)

• The Directed Readings course is a course of the student's own design. The Directed Readings experience enables the student to integrate his or her program and to cap it with a culminating essay or project
• The Qualifying Portfolio consists of four papers originally submitted to satisfy the requirements for seminars taken in their normal course of study during the student’s coursework in Liberal studies. The papers should be representative of the student’s best work; in addition, the papers should indicate the scope and trajectory of the student’s course of studies. The papers may but need not be reworked by students prior to submitting them as part of their portfolio. The portfolio will be reviewed by a committee that includes the student’s Directed Readings advisor and two other faculty familiar with the student’s work.
  
  The Qualifying Portfolio will become a requirement for all graduate students who enter the Liberal Studies Master’s program after the end of the 2010-2011 academic year (i.e. who begin the program in the Summer of 2011 or afterwards). Students currently enrolled in the Liberal Studies MA program, or who enter in the Spring of 2011, will be offered the choice of taking the comprehensive examination or submitting the qualifying portfolio.