The Intimacy of a Small College,The Breadth of a University 

Working closely with faculty advisors, MALS students handcraft individualized programs of study in every area of the liberal arts. There are no required courses and no standard curriculum. Instead students focus on those subjects they care most about, collaborating with their advisors to develop a course of study that examines a central theme, issue, or question from a number of different angles.

One MALS student, for example, took courses in economics, political science, and architecture to investigate how large cities can create affordable housing for the elderly. Other MALS students have combined studies in Adirondack history and geology; developed models for self-sufficient school systems in small African communities; and delved into psychology, exercise science, and sociology to understand how an athlete’s motivation changes when competing individually or as part of a team.

Although our students often explore traditional subject areas such as business, literature or education, they do so in a way that combines these subjects into a more expansive, many-faceted exploration that doesn’t fit within the confines of a more traditional degree program. For example, one recent graduate focused her work on the question: How can corporations reconcile their responsibility to their shareholders with what they owe to their human community and natural environment? Her program of study incorporated coursework in ethics, sociology, and environmental studies—in a way that makes her work here very different from what she could have done in a typical MBA program.