M.A. in Liberal Studies

LST students begin the program with two foundational 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.

After taking the required Foundation courses, the student is free to choose twenty-one credits (seven 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).

The final course is the Directed Readings which acts as a capstone project for the student’s program of study within Liberal Studies. See below for the full description of the Directed Readings requirement.

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.

Villanova University is a Catholic Augustinian community of higher education, committed to excellence and distinction in the discovery, dissemination and application of knowledge. Inspired by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, the University is grounded in the wisdom of the Catholic intellectual tradition and advances a deeper understanding of the relationship between faith and reason.

Villanova emphasizes and celebrates the liberal arts and sciences as foundational to all academic programs. The University community welcomes and respects members of all faiths who seek to nurture a concern for the common good and who share an enthusiasm for the challenge of responsible and productive citizenship in order to build a just and peaceful world.

In pursuit of this mission, we commit ourselves to academic excellence, to our values and traditions, and to our students, alumni and the global community.