Center for Interdisciplinary Studies

Master of Liberal Studies

The Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) Program consists of four major parts: a four-course, ten-hour core, an 18-hour concentration (see the paragraph below), comprehensive exams, and a culminating experience. All four core MLS courses have as their basic concern “the human being as knower.” IDS 801 (Introduction to Graduate Liberal Studies) introduces students to the MLS program requirements, introduces students to each of the four core MLS courses, aims to develop the practice of critical thinking, provides a consideration of the nature of studying liberally (how and why humans study), and provides a consideration of possible intrinsic and extrinsic benefits of liberal studies. The major foci of IDS 802 (Ways of Knowing in Comparative Perspective) are: how to know, whether knowledge is relative, and what knowledge is for. IDS 802 builds analytical skills, critical thinking skills, and moral reasoning skills by introducing students to a variety of epistemologies (in the ‘hard’ sciences, social sciences, and the arts and humanities), by offering an explanation and critique of the scientific method, and by introducing students to questions regarding knowledge and its purposes. IDS 803 (Origins and Implications of the Information Society) helps the student understand the context in which ‘humans as knowers’ live. IDS 804 (Information Literacy) helps ‘students as knowers’ acquire techniques and skills for getting and using knowledge.

The MLS Program offers over two dozen concentrations. About a dozen of these are considered to be available through distance education. MLS concentrations available through distance education are labeled “Online” on the MLS Web site.

For more information about the MLS program, contact:
Director, MLS Program
Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Davis Hall 206d
Fort Hays State University
Hays, KS 67601
785-628-5578
(FAX) 785-628-4203
Email: mls@fhsu.edu