Concentration in International Enterprise Leadership

          "I wish I could find a program that I could complete during my free time."                    "I want a graduate education that I can readily apply to my workplace."                    "I want to enjoy my next degree and not feel pressured to compete with other students."                    "I don't have time to come to campus every week for classes, so my classes have to be designed for the distance learner."     

Program Description

The Master of Liberal Studies (MLS) Program consists of four major parts: a 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 18-hour International Enterprise Leadership (IEL) concentration will be a new concentration. It will be an interdisciplinary concentration, combining courses from leadership, management, and political science. Several of the courses in the IEL concentrations will have an explicit international or global focus.

The three-hour culminating experience will be a project. The project will be developed and carried out under the direction of the student's faculty advisor. The student's faculty advisory committee and faculty advisory will be involved in the approval and evaluation of the student's project.

Liberal Studies Core

IDS 801 Introduction to Graduate Liberal Studies (1 credit hour). An orientation to the M.L.S. as an opportunity to enhance the critical thinking, analytical, and writing skills so valued in today's world and workplace. The purpose of the course is to help the student become acquainted with the concept of interdisciplinary liberal education and understand its potential in fostering intellectual growth, personal satisfaction, and the ability to enhance employablity in a world where knowledge has become the key resource.

IDS 802 Ways of Knowing in Comparative Perspective (3 credit hours). A comparative, critical exploration of the nature, kinds, worth, and limits of human knowledge. Roughly equal amounts of attention are given to (a) the sciences; (b) the arts and humanities; and (c) a selection from a menu of such special topics as mathematical knowledge, epistemic relativism, moral knowledge, religious knowledge, and the role of the search for knowledge in well-lived human lives.

IDS 803 The Emerging Knowledge Society: Origins and Implications (3 credit hours). The Emerging Knowledge Society: Origins and Implications involves understanding the historical origins and the current and future implications of the information revolution that is unfolding. As our society ushers in the information revolution, a deeper understanding of new ways of knowing will serve as a catalyst for the future. Substantial changes in the social, political, educational, and economic contexts are the destined targets of the information/knowledge shift. This course focuses on where these changes come from, what the likely changes will be, and the utility of such changes on the way we know, learn, and grow. Requisites: PR, Graduate Standing.

IDS 804 Information Literacy (3 credit hours). Information literacy develops the utilization of information in the graduate learning process. A fuller appreciation and recognition of the need for information, identification of needed information, networking and technical skills associated with locating the information, and critical consideration of information are addressed. Students should expect to be more thoughtful consumers of scholarly and applied research and current modern information technologies.

Concentration in International Enterprise Leadership

LDRS 800 Organizational Leadership (3 credit hours). This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective in a variety of organizational settings. Students will develop a deep understanding of how organizations function and what role leaders at all levels can play to improve organizational performance. Course materials and activities will focus on the human behavior in organizations, the role leadership plays in organizational life, and the processes of organizational change and improvement. Requisites: PR, Graduate Admission.

LDRS 810 Leadership Assessment and Intervention (3 credit hours). A course designed to increase student's abilities to diagnose organizational leadership and to inject appropriate change, as leadership challenges dictate. The leadership assessment portion of the class takes the student through the process of identifying what they intend to study, to developing a research project, to implementing a method, and analyzing the resuls. The intervention portion of the class moves students into the role of change gent as they prescribe "fixes" based on their diagnosis. Constant monitoring and follow-up completes the intervention process. The course is designed to give students a better understanding of how consultants study and change organizations, as such, this course is very practical and involves a deep commitment to working for a "client." Leadership assessment and intervention is a course designed for advanced undergraduate designed for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students.

MGT 606 International Business (3 credit hours). A study of the major problems related to international business organization, production, finance, marketing, and coping with different economic systems. The emphasis is placed upon overseas operations of American firms through examination of the major differences between foreign and domestic environments and the impact of these differences on managing the international business corporation. Requisites: PR, Junior standing and PERM.

MGT 810 Behavioral Management (3 credit hours). This course will repurpose an existing course (MGT 810 Behavioral Management) so the course number may not be correct. A course description has not been created, but here is the course description for "Behavioral Management:" Designed to help potential managers deal effectively with the human element in organizations. Examines causes of human behavior and how they affect management challenges such as leadership, conflict, motivation, change, and international environments. Requisites: PERM. (This course description may change because the ‘in a global context’ extension indicates a repurposing of an existing class.)

POLS 630 International Organization in World Politics (3 credit hours). The role and influence of international organizations as a process for institutionalizing and regulating conflict among states and transnational actors.

POLS 632 Problems and Issues in World Politics (3 credit hours). Designed for upper-level and graduate students with career goals in the international field who desire short-term practical learning experience with companies/organizations/agencies affected by world politics.

Culminating Experience

IDS 820 Projects in Liberal Studies (3 credit hours). This class is an applied and technique oriented offering in which students engage in qualitative and/or quantitative research projects, or other experience of significant academic value. This course is designed to fulfill the culminating experience requirements of the Master of Liberal Studies degree.

Program Contact

Contact Dr. Art Morin at (785) 628-5578 for more information. Once you have been admitted to this concentration, please follow the MLS Checklist and carefully read The MLS Student Handbook.

 

For more information, contact: Art Morin, Director of the Master of Liberal Studies Program Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Davis Hall 206 Fort Hays State University Hays, KS 67601 (785) 628-5950

This site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 at 800x600 or higher resolution. This site was created in July 2007 and revised in August 2007.