Interested in charting your own graduate course of study? A master’s degree in liberal studies may be an option.

Offered by West Virginia University’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) is an interdisciplinary degree that provides an opportunity for highly-motivated students to continue their studies in the liberal arts at the graduate level within a coherent, structured program, but without an exclusive concentration in one discipline.

This personalized degree program allows applicants to create their own unique interdisciplinary programs of study, focusing primarily on theoretical issues in the fine arts, the social sciences and the humanities.

Potential MALS students have until March 31 to prepare their application materials for the summer and fall 2006 terms.

In addition to the University-required graduate admission application, students must submit an essay detailing the proposed plan of study, including a description of the central focus of the study and a preliminary identification of courses that will be taken, along with an indication of how each course relates to the central theme of study.

More information regarding program requirements is available at http://www.as.wvu.edu/New_Folder/mals/req.html .

Because of the individualized nature of the program, potential applicants should contact Dr. Barb Howe, director of the MALS program and the Center for Women’s Studies, as soon as possible. Dr. Howe can be reached at P.O. Box 6450, West Virginia University, Morgantown , WV 26506 -6450 ; by phone at 304-293-2339 ext. 1155; or via email at barbara.howe@mail.wvu.edu .