Metadata
Title
Master of Liberal Arts
Category
graduate
UUID
bf1d74a7241f49baa7367ccbe413f7ae
Source URL
https://e-catalogue.jhu.edu/arts-sciences/advanced-academic-programs/programs/ma...
Parent URL
https://e-catalogue.jhu.edu/programs/
Crawl Time
2026-03-10T04:31:11+00:00
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Master of Liberal Arts

Source: https://e-catalogue.jhu.edu/arts-sciences/advanced-academic-programs/programs/master-liberal-arts/ Parent: https://e-catalogue.jhu.edu/programs/

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Master of Liberal Arts

For self-motivated learners with inquisitive minds and an interest in thinking across disciplinary boundaries, the Master of Liberal Arts program offers a diverse range of interdisciplinary courses designed and taught by faculty who build upon a foundation in the history of ideas while also incorporating contemporary topics, sources, and approaches to research, analysis, and discourse.

Established in 1962, the Johns Hopkins MLA program has gained national recognition for the quality of its teaching and for its rigorous interdisciplinary liberal arts education. The program is designed to serve independent thinkers from a variety of academic, professional, and personal backgrounds. The program thrives on the curiosity, passion, and diversity of its students. The MLA is a unique non-traditional graduate degree. Whereas most graduate programs ask students to become more and more specialized, the MLA expects students to both broaden and deepen their educational experience. MLA students interact with professors and one another in a stimulating asynchronous online learning environment that is compatible with all work schedules and time zones.

In consultation with their academic adviser, candidates for the MLA degree enroll in topic-based interdisciplinary courses that draw from a wide range of subjects, including history, philosophy, religion, literature, music, art history, African-American studies, environmental studies, digital humanities, critical theory, psychology, and sociology. Given the breadth and flexibility of the program, the MLA is able to meet the different goals and expectations of its students, who represent the full range of professions and are at all stages of their careers.

Admissions Criteria for All Advanced Academic Programs

PROGRAM-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

In addition to the materials and credentials required for all programs, the Master of Liberal Arts program requires applicants to submit a:

Program Requirements

Master of Liberal Arts program students must complete:

Course List

Code Title Credits
Core Courses - Customizable 3
Choose at least one of the following:
MLA Core: Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Methods
MLA Core: Critical Theory
MLA Core: What is History?
MLA Core: Why Read the Classics?
MLA Core: Ways of Knowing: Historical and Epistemological Foundations of the Liberal Arts
Core Course - Culminating Experience 3
Choose one of the following:
MLA Capstone: Portfolio
MLA Capstone: Graduate Project
MLA Capstone: Internship
Electives 24
Select eight of the following:
Art Since 1960
Ethics in a Diverse World: Critical Challenges and Contemporary Problems
Through a Glass, Darkly: American Film Noir
Renaissance Women: Portraits, Patrons, and Painters
Tough Neighborhood: A History of U.S.-Central American Relations
British Victorian Women
The Constitution and the Criminal Justice System
Going Underground: Subculture and Social Justice in Self-Publishing
Gender and Media
The Shape of Things: Embodiment and Sexuality in American Culture
Intimacies of East/West: Hegemony, Representation, & Literature
Western Theatre History: The Dynamic Interplay of Social, Economic and Cultural Forces
Italian Renaissance Art and Thought
Yesterday's Tomorrows: Utopian and Dystopian Futures in Science Fiction Literature
Religion of Politics, Politics of Religion
Fakes, Lies, and Forgeries: A History of “Fake News” from The Flood to the Apocalypse
Nazi Germany and the Holocaust
Western Political Philosophy
Modern Black Political Thought
"When the lamps went out”: WWI as history, memory and commemoration
The Bildungsroman as Literary Form-Chronicling Personal Growth in Countries and Cultures
Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Monstrosity & Metamorphosis: Imagining Animals in Early Art & Literature
Religions of the Emerging World
Philosophy of Beauty
American Political Theory and Practice
All in the Family: Power, Scandal, and Fall
Great Books in Great Contexts
"The Souls of Black Folk": Evolving Conceptions of Leadership in African American Literature and Culture
School and Society: Education Reimagined, Possibilities Disclosed
Science Fiction Film in the 20th Century
Medieval England: From Beowulf to the Battle of Bosworth
Race and Jazz
Apocalyptic in the Bible, Religion, and Popular Culture
Aristotle and Hobbes: Physics, Psychology, Ethics and Politics
Deep Ecology: Environmental Ethic
The Black Politics of Michael Jackson
Exploring the Liberal Arts: On-Site Seminar
Exploring the Liberal Arts: Virtual Seminar
Race and Ethnicity in the United States
Deconstructing Capitalism
Black Queer History
Existentialism: Philosophy and Social Critique
The Global Cold War
The War for Reality- The Use, Misuse, and Abuse of History by Non-Historians
Islamic Art & Architecture
Six Degrees of Miles Davis
MLA Independent Study
Total Credits 30

Learning Outcomes

Graduates who earn the Master of Liberal Arts degree should develop the ability to: