Program Overview

Explore an Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Designed for adults who wish to pursue a broad, interdisciplinary course of study, the program aims to help students develop the intellectual methodology they need to engage in contemporary debates; to cultivate their ability to find connections among different areas of human thought; to acquire the tools to conduct original research; and, most of all, to pursue a life of ideas.

The underlying premise of the Master of Liberal Arts is that interdisciplinary study leads to intellectual independence and satisfaction not always found in discipline-based programs of study. As a result, we encourage our students to explore a broad range of subjects throughout the curriculum, rather than to focus narrowly on a single topic. The culmination of study for each student is the Master’s Thesis; the interdisciplinary background in coursework provides the broad perspective from which each student conceives of and writes a tightly focused, in-depth study of a single subject.

Candidates for the MLA degree complete a minimum of 50 units of coursework, which includes a three-quarter foundation course, one core introductory seminar, at least seven MLA seminars, two units of distribution requirements in each of three subject areas, and a Master’s Thesis. The program requirements chart below lists the typical distribution of units. Seminars are limited to 20 MLA students and frequently are smaller.

Because the MLA program is designed with working adults in mind, all seminars meet in the evenings. Classes meet once a week, 10 times per quarter, usually from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. Students should anticipate completing the degree in four to five years.

Program Requirements

Foundation Sequence	12 units
Core Introductory Seminar	4 units
7 MLA Seminars	28 units
Electives	2 units
Master’s Thesis	4 units
TOTAL	50 units		*Click on the red text for more information

Core Curriculum During the first year and a quarter students are engaged in the core curriculum. The fall, winter, and spring following admission to the program consists of a foundation sequence, Foundations I, II, and III, required of all students. The purpose of this course is to lay the groundwork for the interdisciplinary, intercultural studies the student will shortly undertake. The foundation course will introduce students to the broad framework of history, literature, philosophy, political science, and art. See course descriptions. During the first quarter of the second year, students will take the core introductory seminar, The Plague: An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Graduate Study. The Plague aims to prepare students for interdisciplinary graduate work at Stanford. The course brings in a number of guest lecturers from Stanford’s faculty and attempts to address issues important to doing successful graduate work in several disciplines, as well as in interdisciplinary fields. Students concentrate on writing a critical graduate paper, conducting library research, presenting the results of their research, and participating in a collaborative seminar. MLA Seminars After completion of the core curriculum, students are required to take at least seven MLA seminars of four units each. MLA seminars, limited to 20 MLA students and frequently smaller, provide a small group setting for discussions, debate, and intellectual exploration. As much as possible, the sequence of seminars is organized to provide a sense of intellectual connection, whether disciplinary (e.g., an historical sequence) or interdisciplinary (e.g., a cultural studies sequence). Over several years, the seminars include offerings from various disciplines including anthropology, art history, classics, history, literature, music, urban planning, philosophy, history of science, political science, and psychology. Each MLA seminar requires a significant seminar paper. We encourage our students to use these papers as a way of investigating new fields of interest, as well as developing new perspectives on issues in which they have an ongoing interest. To get a better idea of the curriculum, see current course descriptions or view a list of past MLA seminars. Electives The two units of electives may be satisfied by taking an eighth MLA seminar, by taking one or more approved Stanford Continuing Studies course(s), or by successfully completing a 3-week summer session at Oxford (note that MLA students must apply to and pay fees to Oxford for this selective program).

Summer at Oxford

Study with Oxford dons in historic libraries, wander through fourteenth-century quadrangles, or go punting on the Cherwell. Enrolled Master of Liberal Arts students may earn MLA credit for summer study at Oxford University. MLA students may apply to join either the Programme in English Literature or the Programme in History, Politics, and Society. Each course lasts three weeks. Students may choose to live on campus in historic Exeter College (founded in 1314), or may find their own lodging in Oxford. For more information, visit Oxford Summer Programmes.

Master’s Thesis

The MLA program culminates in the Master’s Thesis. Students approaching the end of the program write a thesis, approximately 75-100 pages in length, that evolves out of
work they have pursued during their MLA studies. The thesis is undertaken with the prior approval of the MLA Program; each student is advised by a Stanford faculty member with relevant expertise.

During the process of writing the thesis, students are members of a work-in-progress group that meets regularly to provide peer critiques, motivation, and advice under the direction of the Associate Dean. Each student presents the penultimate draft of the thesis to a colloquium of MLA faculty and students, in preparation for writing and submitting the final draft to the faculty advisor and to the MLA program.

THESIS TITLES OF RECENT MLA GRADUATES

"This Machine of Ours": The Role of Biomechanics and Ergonomics in Leonardo da Vinci's Machine Designs

Psalm 23: A Near-East Hero Tale

"Her Position in the Universe": The God Factor in Kate Chopin's Life and Works

Making Room for a View: Tourism and the Search for Authenticity in E.M. Forster's Italian Works

Wilfred Owen: War Poetry and the Advent of Modernism

Students Teaching Students: Evaluating the Quality of Learning from Both Sides of the Desk

Charlotte Brontë's Explnation of Abandonment: Motherless Children and Neglected Women

Reflection in a burnt Mirror: A Case Study of Early Modern Ashkenazi Jewish Women Seen Through the Lens of Enclave Theory

John Singer Sargent: Portrait in Search of Experimentation

"The Conversation of Mankind": Michael Oakeshott's place of Learning

Stem Cells: Scientific, Moral, and Political Dimensions

The Persuasion of Narrative: A study of Three Endpoints: Agamemnon, Alcestis, Philoctetes

Integrating Ethics with Strategy and Relativity in High Technology Industries

Leo Strauss, Neo-Conservatism, and the Politics of Philosophy

(Re)Constructing Suzanna: The Framing of Meaning in Paintings of Suzanna and the Elders from 1500 to 2000

View a full listing of MLA thesis titles

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"While working on MLA seminar essays, I've done library research in the law, medicine, art history, literature, and social sciences. The program is genuinely interdisciplinary." - Douglas Lowney, High School English Teacher, Sacred Heart Prep

"One of the most intellectually satisfying aspects of the MLA program for me was the chance to write the thesis: to dig into an interdisciplinary topic of considerable interest and spend the kind of time it took to inform myself, to research the topic, to engage with my advisor, and to write as best I could something that summarized all that." - Evangeline Rocha ’01, Retired

last updated: August 17, 2005