Master of Arts Degree Programs
The university offers a variety of interdisciplinary curricula to meet the growing need and interest in work beyond collegiate division. The following graduate programs are under the supervision and jurisdiction of several committees, departments, or colleges as indicated. The programs include:
Graduate Majors (M.A.)
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development (offered through Division of Continuing Education)
- Women's and Gender Studies (also listed in College of Social and Behavioral Sciences)
Master of Arts Degree
Major in Interdisciplinary Studies
The Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) is a 30-hour master's degree program that allows students to choose between two to three concentration or subject areas, enabling them to meet their personal, academic and professional goals by drawing from interdisciplinary fields to create a unique, individualized course of study that can be tailored to their specific needs. Students can develop the competency needed for a variety of professional opportunities or to continue furthering graduate studies. The minimum number of units per concentration or subject area is six hours. This program is offered primarily as a non-thesis degree, although a thesis option is allowed.
Students can choose courses from a wide variety of concentration areas and can also select a unique concentration area with assistance from the Division of Graduate Studies. MAIS students are allowed to transfer UNI graduate certificates into the Master's program as concentration areas.
Professional Skills
- Written communication
- Research abilities, analysis and interpretation
- Integration of diverse fields
- Build evidence-based arguments and insights
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students should be able to integrate the knowledge of two or more academic disciplines into interdisciplinary scholarship.
- Students should be able to analyze and interpret data from scholarly literature of the discipline.
- Students should be able to elaborate evidence-based arguments through the understanding of the fields of inquiry.
Admissions
- Statement. A 500-word narrative indicating the personal and professional objectives sought to be accomplished with this program. Indicate how the experiences encountered in your life and/or career align with the fields of inquiry selected as part of your program.
- Transcripts
- GPA of 2.75 or above
- Two professional or academic references
- Admission will be in consultation with the Division of Graduate Studies coordinator and faculty advisors from areas of interest and a plan of study will be devised accordingly.
Culminating Experience
The final assignment should be aligned with the professional goals of the student and it is determined by the faculty advisors from the concentration or subject areas. Non-thesis options may include: a Portfolio Project; a Clinical Immersion Project; an Internship Project; or a Specialization Research Paper. Thesis projects should be completed in accordance with the Division of Graduate Studies policies. Non-thesis projects must be supervised by at least one regular member of the graduate faculty from at least one of the student's specialist areas and approved by the Division of Graduate Studies.
Process
A program coordinator will draft a plan of study which will be approved by the Division of Graduate Studies. Students can transfer UNI certificates to create an interdisciplinary degree. Certificates are stackable. Certificates from accredited universities are accepted and follow UNI transfer rules.
Students interested in this program must submit a completed Application for Admission to Graduate Study, which includes transcripts of undergraduate and graduate credits, and send the names of two professional or academic references to Graduate Studies. Interested students should refer to their MyUNIverse Student Center To-Do list or contact the program director for any other application requirements. It is expected that students will have experience in the field prior to admission. Graduate information and application for graduate admission can be found at https://admissions.uni.edu/application.
The Graduate Record Examination (General Test) is not required for admission to the program.
Only graduate courses (course numbers 5000 or above) will apply to a graduate degree, even if the undergraduate course number (4999 or less) is listed. No exceptions will be made.
This major is available on the non-thesis and thesis options. A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate course work is required for both options. A minimum of 12 semester hours of 6000-level coursework is required for the non-thesis option; a minimum of 15 semester hours of 6000-level coursework is required for the thesis option. The 30 hours are prescribed below.
| Option 1 with 3 Areas of Concentration | ||
| Required: | ||
| A minimum of 6 semester hours from three focus areas | 24 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Research Class or Equivalent * | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
| Option 2 with 2 Areas of Concentration | ||
| A minimum of 9 semester hours from two focus areas | 24 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Research Class or Equivalent * | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- *
See "Culminating Experience" information above
Major in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development
The M.A. program in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development is designed for individuals who have experience in the philanthropy and/or nonprofit areas. The degree will be offered through the Division of Continuing Education with extensive use of distance education technologies. The program is designed to offer professionals the opportunity to continue their study, advancing their knowledge while earning graduate credit in course work targeted toward the following objectives:
- to develop and enhance professionals’ skills and knowledge in the fundraising and nonprofit sectors;
- to further students’ understanding of ethical policy and legal issues as they relate to philanthropy and nonprofit development;
- to advance students’ knowledge of scholarly research, theories and models in the area of nonprofit organizational development, donor relations, grant writing, corporate/foundation relations, advocacy, public funding, and evaluation/accountability; and
- to enhance students’ mastery of skills in the aforementioned areas.
Students interested in this program must submit a completed Application for Admission to Graduate Study, which includes transcripts of undergraduate and graduate credits, and have three letters of recommendation sent to the Office of Admissions. Interested students should refer to their MyUNIverse Student Center To-Do list or contact the program director for any other application requirements. It is expected that students will have experience in the field prior to admission. Graduate information and application for graduate admission can be found at https://admissions.uni.edu/application.
The Graduate Record Examination (General Test) is not required for admission to the program.
Only graduate courses (course numbers 5000 or above) will apply to a graduate degree, even if the undergraduate course number (4999 or less) is listed. No exceptions will be made.
This major is available on the non-thesis option only. A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate course work is required. A minimum of 21 hours of 6000-level course work, including 3 hours of HRCS 6299 is required . The 30 hours are prescribed below.
| Required | ||
| Communication and Media: | ||
| COMM PR 4855/5855 | Public Relations Campaign Methods | 3 |
| Management: | ||
| MGMT 6260 | Leading People, Driving Success: Leadership and HR Management | 3 |
| Public Policy: | ||
| PUBPOL 6220 | Public Policy, Advocacy and Public Funding | 2 |
| Recreation, Tourism and Nonprofit Leadership: | ||
| RTNL 6203 | Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development: An Overview | 3 |
| RTNL 6285 | Readings | 2 |
| HRCS 6299 | Research | 3 |
| RTNL 6406 | Fundraising and Grant Seeking for Nonprofit Agencies | 3 |
| RTNL 6408 | Financial Decision Making for Youth/Human Service Agencies | 3 |
| RTNL 6410 | Evaluation, Research and Accountability | 3 |
| RTNL 6419 | Psychology, Law, and Philanthropy | 2 |
| RTNL 6420 | Critical Thinking in Philanthropic and Nonprofit Issues | 2 |
| RTNL 6422 | Applied Research Methods | 1 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Major in Women's and Gender Studies
The Master of Arts in Women's and Gender Studies is interdisciplinary in nature and is under the jurisdiction of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Students interested in this program must submit a completed Application for Admission to Graduate Study and should refer to their MyUNIverse Student Center To-Do list or contact the Director of Women's and Gender Studies for any other application requirements. Graduate information and application for graduate admission can be found at https://admissions.uni.edu/application.
The Graduate Record Examination (General Test) is not required for admission to the program.
The Women’s and Gender Studies curriculum is designed to meet the needs of students who strive for analytic clarity and rigor in gender-focused research. Students may employ the skills in reflective and critical analysis as well as the broad base of knowledge that they obtain in the program to
- prepare for a Ph.D. program with a disciplinary or interdisciplinary focus on gender or,
- prepare for a career in the public or private sector in the areas of gender and wellness, gender and violence prevention, or another area based on student interest or,
- satisfy strong intellectual interests and curiosity while pursuing advanced education in the liberal arts.
Through core courses and selected electives, students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Women's and Gender Studies will accomplish several objectives: examine theories concerning the social and historical constructions of gender; explore how gender identity and sexual orientation help define human relationships; recognize that women's lives have been under-represented in traditional disciplines and investigate previously neglected materials in order to identify women's as well as men's roles in cultural or social endeavors; study, compare, and evaluate an array of disciplinary perspectives on gender, including, but not limited to, cross-cultural, economic, sociological, historical, and literary perspectives; identify intersections of gender with race, class, age, sexual identity, and ethnicity, both locally and globally, both in the present and in the past; and employ new methodological and critical approaches to materials customarily treated in other ways, revising the content and assumptions of particular disciplines to address gender and related issues more effectively.
Only graduate courses (course numbers 5000 or above) will apply to a graduate degree, even if the undergraduate course number (4999 or less) is listed. No exceptions will be made.
The M.A. in Women's and Gender Studies has 2 tracks: thesis and applied (non-thesis). The thesis track requires a minimum of 31 semester hours of study; 15 hours of 6000-level course work is required, which includes 6 hours of WGS 6299 Research in Women's and Gender Studies.
The non-thesis applied track requires a minimum of 32 hours; 12 hours of 6000-level course work is required, which includes 4 credit hours of WGS 6195 Graduate Internship in Women's and Gender Studies. The internship requirement is a culminating 120-hour internship project and research paper, which is supervised by two WGS faculty members and an internship site supervisor. The project may take a wide variety of forms, but it should meet the following 3 requirements; 1) shows evidence of theoretically informed and self-reflexive praxis; 2) shows evidence of knowledge and research skills appropriate to the project; and 3) is related to the student's focus area.
Additional non-program hours may be required if courses on a student’s program of study have prerequisites which instructors choose not to waive.
Successful completion of an Social Justice Activism Portfolio is required for both tracks. Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about some kind of change, be it social, political, economic, environmental, and so on. To enable students to assess links between academic inquiry and civic engagement, they will take advantage of opportunities to engage in social activism, both on and off campus. This will include participating in and/or organizing events and maintaining and electronic portfolio during the course of time in the program.
| Common core (13 hours – required for all students): | ||
| Required (4 Hours) | 4 | |
| Graduate Seminar in Women's and Gender Studies: Comparative Feminist Theories | ||
| Graduate Proseminar in Women's and Gender Studies | ||
| Feminist Theories in the Social Sciences and Humanities (3 hours) | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Feminist Literary Theories and Practice | ||
| Feminist Theories in the Social Sciences | ||
| Gender Issues in Communication | ||
| History (3 Hours) | 3 | |
| United States Women's History | ||
| Modern European Women's History | ||
| Research Methodology (3 Hours) | 3 | |
| In consultation with and approval of thesis advisor, one course from the following or other course approved by the thesis advisor or program director: | ||
| Communication Research Methodology | ||
| Literature, Gender and Intersectionality | ||
| Literary Criticism | ||
| Methods of Graduate Study in English | ||
| Historical Methods | ||
| Research Design | ||
| Qualitative Research | ||
| Quantitative Methods in KAHHS | ||
| Qualitative Methods | ||
| Evaluation, Research and Accountability | ||
| Total Hours | 13 | |
| Thesis Track | ||
| Common Core | 13 | |
| WGS 6299 Research Women's and Gender Studies | 6 | |
| Electives related to Thesis Topic 1 | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 31 | |
1 With the approval of the thesis advisor, the student individually designs an elective sequence, selecting courses from the humanities, fine arts, social and natural sciences that best contribute to the student’s thesis project.
| Applied Track | ||
| Common Core | 13 | |
| WGS 6195 | Graduate Internship in Women's and Gender Studies | 4 |
| RTNL 6406 | Fundraising and Grant Seeking for Nonprofit Agencies | 3 |
| Electives in Focus Area | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 32 | |
| Focus Areas: | ||
| 1) Gender and Wellness | ||
| Required (choose one course from the following): | 3 | |
| Health of Vulnerable Populations | ||
or PH 3310/5310 | Health Equity, Advocacy, and Policy | |
| Electives (choose 9 hours from the following): | 9 | |
| Global Service Mission | ||
| Public Health Theory | ||
| Planning and Evaluating Public Health Programs | ||
| Implementing Public Health Programs | ||
| 2) Gender and Violence Prevention | ||
| Choose 12 hours from the following: | 12 | |
| Violence in Intimate Relationships | ||
| Gender Issues in Communication | ||
| Men and Masculinities | ||
| Women, Crime and Society | ||
WGS 6297 Practicum Women and Gender Studies | ||
| 3) Individualized (tailored to student interests, with permission of advisor) | 12 | |
A Graduate Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies is also available. For requirements go to www.uni.edu/interdisciplinarymajorsandminors/programcertificates or in PDF copy go to the "Interdisciplinary" section.
For more information contact the Women's and Gender Studies office, Sabin 225, wgs@uni.edu, or www.uni.edu/womenstudies.
Interdisciplinary Studies, M.A.
1. Students should be able to integrate the knowledge of two or more academic disciplines into interdisciplinary scholarship.
2. Students should be able to analyze and interpret data from scholarly literature of the discipline.
3. Students should be able to elaborate evidence-based arguments through the understanding of the fields of inquiry
Philanthropy and Nonprofit Development (Interdisciplinary), M.A.
1. Students can effectively communicate philanthropy and nonprofit specific knowledge through written communication.
SLO 1.Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose of communication in philanthropy and nonprofit development.
SLO 2.Uses appropriate, relevant, and compelling philanthropy and nonprofit related content.
SLO 3.Demonstrates attention to, and successful execution of organization, presentation of relevant content, formatting, and stylistic choice.
SLO 4.Demonstrates skillful and mastery use of high-quality, credible, relevant sources.
SLO 5.Uses discipline related and highly relevant language that skillfully communicates meaning to readers with clarity and fluency, and is error-free.
2. Students will be able to systematically process a nonprofit and philanthropic issue and analyze evidence.
SLO 1. Synthesizes in- depth information from relevant sources representing various points of view/approaches.
SLO 2. Skillfully develop the methodology or theoretical framework.
SLO 3. Organize and synthesize evidence to reveal insightful patterns, differences, or similarities related to the topic.
SLO 4. State a conclusion that is based on a logical extrapolation from the inquiry findings.
SLO 5. Insightfully discuss in details relevant and supported limitations and implications.
Women’s and Gender Studies M.A.
Goal 1: Methodology. Students will demonstrate graduate-level proficiency in research methods appropriate for a culminating project, such as a graduate-level thesis or internship research paper.
Outcome 1a (Thesis Track): Students will demonstrate graduate-level proficiency in research methods appropriate for a graduate-level thesis, which should clearly exhibit comprehension, application, and evaluation of feminist methodology appropriate to the study of women and gender.
Outcome 1b (Applied Track): Students will demonstrate graduate-level proficiency in research methods appropriate for a graduate-level internship and research paper, which should exhibit comprehension, application, and evaluation of feminist methodology appropriate to the study of women and gender.
Goal 2: Apply Research and Theory. Students will apply a broad knowledge of the interdisciplinary field of women’s and gender studies. They will demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of feminist theory and research within a larger cultural discourse of intersectionality, global awareness, and social inequality. A culminating written project will adhere to Graduate Studies and disciplinary standards.
Outcome 2a (Thesis track): Students will be able to research and write a master’s thesis that makes an original, evidence-based contribution to the field. Students will be able to synthesize theory, previous scholarship, and original research and will communicate the significance of their findings.
Outcome 2b (Applied Track): Students will be able to research and design an internship project grounded in the four theoretical Threshold Concepts (Social Construction of Gender; Privilege and Oppression; Intersectionality; and Feminist Praxis). They will summarize relevant literature and apply it to and evaluation of the project’s results. They will produce graduate-level writing communicating the significance of their findings.
Goal 3: Engage Reflectively. Students will be engaged and active citizens, capable of communicating the significance of feminism and gender studies in both personal and community contexts and evaluating links between academic inquiry and civic engagement.
Outcome 3. Students will be able to summarize and reflect on their development as activists in relation to their academic inquiry and experiences in civic engagement.