Marymount’s Master of Arts in Humanities program focuses on Humanities and The City, and offers courses that investigate The City as a pivotal point of intersection — and often tension — between individual achievement and communal needs and aspirations. The program also strives to immerse its students in the unique cultural resources and opportunities offered by the Washington, DC, region.
Humanistic inquiry engages students with the world of ideas through close textual study, individual research, and class discussion; at the same time, it enhances students’ ability to make words do their bidding to achieve their personal and professional goals. Humanistic study enhances one’s historical consciousness, fosters mental flexibility by encouraging consideration of multiple and divergent perspectives, and explores ethical issues.
The study of the interrelationship of ideas from art, history, literature, philosophy, and politics serves not only to develop personal intellectual growth, but also sharpens judgment in professional, civic, and interpersonal decision making. The student may shape a curricular program that offers experiences in many different disciplines or concentrate study within a particular discipline, as might be required for a postsecondary teaching career.
By making students more knowledgeable and effective communicators, the program provides intellectual enrichment and career enhancement for professionals in such areas as teaching, the arts, government service, and the nonprofit sector. The program also prepares students for further academic study, and is open to qualified individuals who wish to expand their horizons and deepen their knowledge by pursuing a stimulating program of study at an advanced level.
As part of this program, students will complete Foundation Courses, Program Courses, a Capstone Seminar, and a Final Project in the form of a Master’s Thesis or Internship.
Foundation Courses discuss the theoretical and methodological frameworks for exploring the Humanities from a different disciplinary perspective, and present the unique opportunities and resources that the Washington, DC, region offers to Humanities students in a specific discipline. Degree candidates must take Foundation Courses in 3 of the 4 disciplines represented in the program (Art History, Literature, History, and Philosophy), and must take all 3 Foundation Courses during the first 15 credits of enrollment in the program.
Program Courses pursue the wider theme of The City through a study of broad historical and cultural contexts and in-depth examinations of significant movements, themes, and figures. Many Program Courses continue to utilize the unique opportunities and resources that the Washington, DC, area presents to students of the Humanities. Program Courses are presented in 3 thematic groups, each approaching The City in a different context:
The Capstone Seminar returns to a focus on Washington, DC, requiring the student to synthesize his or her knowledge and experience from the Foundation and Program Courses. Each Capstone Seminar will take advantage of current events in the region (such as temporary art or historical exhibits, seasonal theater programs, election year events), and will challenge students to synthesize their knowledge, skills, and experiences by addressing issues raised by these unique opportunities from an interdisciplinary perspective. Students present their written findings in a public forum.
The Final Project can be in the form of an independently researched interdisciplinary Thesis that demonstrates the student’s ability to integrate materials from different disciplines, support independent conclusions, communicate the results in writing, and defend the ideas orally. Alternatively, the Final Project can be an Internship in a Washington, DC, humanities-related organization, leading to an essay or project that draws from different disciplinary perspectives and relates to that organization’s mission. Any Final Project must demonstrate an ability to relate material from at least three fields of study, and is undertaken in consultation with, and under the supervision of, a faculty advisor.
Admission Requirements: In addition to the Universitywide requirements for graduate admission, the applicant must also present the following:
Nondegree Admission: An individual wishing to enroll in limited coursework may do so as a nondegree student. It is restricted to a total of 9 credits and two consecutive semesters. A nondegree student may apply for degree candidacy, and must fulfill all of the admission requirements outlined. See page 15 for further information on nondegree studies.
Transfer Credit: A maximum of 6 semester credits of transferred graduate credits may be applied toward the degree, if approved by the School dean and the registrar.
Degree Requirements
33 credits (See Course Distribution Requirements for guidance in course selections)
Three (3) Foundation Courses, chosen from the following:
HUM 501 Building Textual Interpretation (Literature); HUM 502 Art in the City: Sources and Materials (Art History); HUM 503 Foundations of the City: History (History); HUM 504 The Structure of Philosophy (Philosophy)
Six (6) Program Courses, which must distribute across all three thematic groups and chosen from the following:
The Individual in the City
HUM 512 Socrates in Athens (Philosophy); HUM 518 St. Augustine and the Fall of Rome (History); HUM 525 King Arthur and Camelot: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (History); HUM 527 Dante’s Florence and the Divine Comedy (Literature); HUM 533 Shakespeare: Text and Performance (Literature)The City as Text
HUM 542 Origins of the “Novel”: Text, Context, and Critique (Literature); HUM 545 Social Upheaval and Dramatic Structure (Literature); HUM 549 Topics in Counter-Cultural Literary Movements (Literature); HUM 554 Renaissance Art and Humanist Society (Art History); HUM 560 Lies and Secrets (Philosophy); HUM 563 Revolutionary Philosophy: The City and Text Change (Philosophy)Beyond the City
HUM 572 Canterbury Tales and the Late Medieval World (Literature); HUM 574 Gender, Race, and Empire in 19th Century British Literature and Culture (Literature); HUM 576 Literary Proponents of Culture in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Literature); HUM 580 Europe and the Barbarians (History); HUM 585 Art and Culture in Early Modern Northern Europe (Art History); HUM 591 Philosophy of Time and Culture (Philosophy); HUM 593 Metaphysics: The World Is Neither City nor Text (Philosophy)
HUM 610 Capstone Seminar: The Washington Scene
Final Project, chosen from the following: HUM 690 Final Project: Internship or HUM 695 Final Project: Thesis
Course Distribution Requirements
Foundation Courses (9 credits): Selections must represent 3 of the 4 disciplines in the program — Art History, Literature, History, and Philosophy. (See Degree Requirements and Course Descriptions for the disciplinary focus.) If a student has no previous collegiate experience in 3 of these 4 disciplines, he/she must take Foundation Courses in the missing disciplines.
Program Courses (18 credits): Selections must distribute across all 3 thematic groups, and must represent 3 of the 4 disciplines in the program. No more than 4 Program Courses may be taken from any single discipline. Students who plan to pursue a career in postsecondary teaching, however, are advised to take 4 Program Courses from a single discipline.
Capstone Seminar (3 credits): Before enrolling in the Capstone Seminar, the student must have taken all 3 Foundation Courses and at least 4 Program Courses.
Final Project (3 credits): The Final Project is begun upon completion of all Humanities master’s degree coursework or concurrent with enrollment in the final 6 credits of coursework.