Liberal Studies MA-

[melancholyway]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with CUNY or Columbia's Liberal Studies-American studies programs? What is the quality of the programs? Will having an MA in Liberal studies make you any more marketable as a PhD applicant? Thank you for taking the time to read my questions.

[Watmeworry]

American Studies at Columbia is great. They just moved it into its own dept.

[newyorker99]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with CUNY or Columbia's Liberal Studies-American studies programs? What is the quality of the programs? Will having an MA in Liberal studies make you any more marketable as a PhD applicant? Thank you for taking the time to read my questions.

Hello,

I started a posting a few weeks ago and I asked for some feedback about liberal studies programs in general and the one at the CUNY Graduate Center specifically. I received a couple of replies and one particularly detailed and positive one (you may want to look at that reply under the posting for The Graduate Center Liberal Studies.

After speaking with many people, I have decided to apply there. btw, I live in Manhattan (so this may not be do-able for you) but I wrote to Grad Center's admissions office and ended up being invited in to speak with the assistant director. He was very helpful and he also put me in touch with the head of the liberal stdies program (Prof Daubin) who was also very encouraging. In terms of making your "more marketable as a PhD applicant," Prof. Daubin gave me many examples of MALS students who went on the the doctorate at CUNY and other schools. He was quick to point out that there are "no guarantees" but the fact is that you take courses in the doctoral programs with the doctoral faculty so if you do well, then that makes your doctoral application more impressive b/c you are more of a known quantity. Good Luck.

[Poppet]

There's another thread where people are discussing whether an MA at Columbia, since they are unfunded, is I'm applying for the Liberal Studies MA in Human Rights so the thread was interesting (and disappointing) to me, but thought you might want to take a look since the question of whether it makes you marketable for a PhD program or not is addressed quite thoroughly.

What I'd really like to know is whether or not departments or faculty ever push to fund MA students even though the program is typically unfunded. I know that in other schools "unfunded" doesn't necessarily mean unfunded, but I'm not sure about Columbia.

[Watmeworry]

I am completing my second year and writing my thesis in Modern European Studies, between us and Medieval Studies there are seven students. The program is small and you are able to take classes in all the graduate classes. The American studies is a bigger program, more like twenty but it is excellent and the same thing applies. One is able to take classes across teh disciplines if it is relevent to your studies. Staying for two years, the first year full time, the second split between finishing course work and writing thesis, give one time to get to know the faculty and make good relationships to get through and get great letters of recommendation from high end faculty. The faculty seemed interest in me and gave me plenty of attention. They did not look down on me, contrary to the other conversations suggestion on MA only. I think the LSMA is educationally better than the MA only, which is supposed to happen in one year ,though both are excellent.

I feel that this has prepared me well to apply for PH.d s and I hope to get into CUNY. My application was competitive. Yes it cost me some money, but the quality of the students is also very high. Columbia still impresses and is taken very seriously and if you want to teach in New York it works just fine. I'm applying to teach in the CUNY system as we speak.

[Watmeworry]

I am completing my second year and writing my thesis in Modern European Studies, between us and Medieval Studies there are seven students. The program is small and you are able to take classes in all the graduate classes. The American studies is a bigger program, more like twenty but it is excellent and the same thing applies. One is able to take classes across teh disciplines if it is relevant to your studies. Staying for two years, the first year full time, the second split between finishing course work and writing thesis, give one time to get to know the faculty and make good relationships to get through and get great letters of recommendation from high end faculty. The faculty seemed interest in me and gave me plenty of attention. They did not look down on me, contrary to the other conversations suggestion on MA only. I think the LSMA is educationally better than the MA only, which is supposed to happen in one year ,though both are excellent.

I feel that this has prepared me well to apply for PH.D s and I hope to get into CUNY. My application was competitive. Yes it cost me some money, but the quality of the students is also very high. Columbia still impresses and is taken very seriously and if you want to teach in New York it works just fine. I'm applying to teach in the CUNY system as we speak.

I did get into CUNY...for French PH.D, my classmate will attend Yale for Spanish. We both our achieved acceptance into our first first choices...

Edited May 31, 2011 by Watmeworry