Humanities (M.A.)

Why Earn a Master's Degree in Humanities?

If you're seeking to explore the great books of Western Civilization, Towson's program in the Humanities will meet your needs with a stimulating and varied curriculum. It's stimulating because you'll be reading, talking and writing about the provocative minds whose books have shaped our culture. It's varied because you'll be exchanging ideas with graduates from different backgrounds - business, teaching, engineering, the military and health sciences, as well as those from the liberal arts. It's varied also because you'll approach each of these works from the perspectives of literature, history, philosophy and rhetoric - and you'll read books on the themes that span the key periods of Western civilization: the classical, the medieval, the Renaissance and the modern.

At the heart of the 36-credit program is the seminar, a unique learning experience that engages its twelve members in a constructive colloquy. With the professor as moderator, you will present your papers and thoughts for inquiry, analysis and debate. Through this dialectical process you will strengthen your powers of close reading, reasoning and debate.

So besides intellectual engagement and the chance to read those "great books" that you skimmed or missed in college, the M.A. in Humanities offers practical opportunities. Some use it for transfer to a Ph.D. program. Some use it as a unique strength for law school admission. Teachers use it to complete the required master's degree requirement. Others use it to strengthen their ethos and intellectual caliber in public affairs. All use it to further the educational strength that can lead to higher wages, respect and a richer intellectual life. What everyone gains is a chance to scrimmage mentally with wise men and women, long dead, who wrote the books that every educated person should know.

The Seminar

At the heart of the humanities program is the seminar, a unique learning experience that engages the twelve members in a constructive dialogue. With the professor chairing the sessions, you will present your seminar paper to the class, sharing your well-formed ideas and opinions, or thesis, on a particular subject. Your thesis is then open to the seminar for inquiry, analysis, debate and criticism. Through this dialectical process, you will develop powers of rigorous thinking and public speaking, creating new knowledge with the shared insights of your peers.

A Flexible Degree

Students have the option of a thesis or non-thesis track. Thesis students will work closely with an adviser to select and develop a thesis topic. Non-thesis students take an additional six units approved by the department and produce an anthology of six revised seminar papers. All seminars are offered in the evenings.