About Us

What is Duke GLS？

Duke GLS, originally known as “MALS” (for our Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree), was established in 1984 under the leadership of Graduate School dean Craufurd Goodwin and first director Bonnie Erickson as a part of the national “graduate liberal studies” movement mentioned above. Since then, Duke’s program has evolved to serve a diverse community of self-directed learners of all ages and backgrounds who are united by their desire and courage to guide their own learning across many fields, disciplines, or scholarly approaches.  

In formal terms, Duke GLS is a 30-hour, self-designed liberal arts-based master’s program consisting of nine courses and a three-hour capstone master’s project. Required courses include our GLS Core Course (LS 750, “The Self in the World”), and two Liberal Studies seminars. Beyond this, students may select their remaining six electives from among our own Liberal Studies seminars or from any course Duke offers at the graduate level (numbered 500 or above). A full discussion of our degree requirements is here.

At GLS, with the guidance and support of Duke scholars and our program staff, you chart your own path of learning. You can make GLS what you, as an individual student, need for it to be! 

For example, it can be:

• a space to explore “what comes next” in life when you don’t know the path
• a place to combine interests that don’t always get put together in single-focus graduate programs
• a place to dive into subjects that your earlier education did not make space for
• a place to build writing, research, analytical, creative, digital, or other skills
• a place to work on personal or professional intellectual projects under the guidance of experienced scholars
• a place to grow and think with a diverse group of other self-motivated learners
• a “bridge” between several phases of learning and professional development
• a place that is friendly to different life circumstances
• a place to wade back into formal education if it's been a while
• a place where learning can be both purposeful and enjoyable!

Whatever path you choose, GLS will help you develop a robust, personalized, and relevant toolkit of skills: qualitative or quantitative research and analysis; oral communication; digital skills; writing for many types of audiences; and presenting your ideas in essays, poems, or stories, or through exhibits, photography, performance, music, film, maps, or online.

The program may be undertaken part-time or full-time. No matter your path, we offer GLS learners of all ages and backgrounds strong academic and professional development support and access to the scholars and resources of one of the finest universities in the world.

And you can take advantage of it all along with a small, diverse, warm, and welcoming community of fellow learners, based in our "little house" at 2114 Campus Drive.

What Is Liberal Studies?

Liberal Studies is a concept related to “liberal arts” – a term used to describe the fields of the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences that have historically structured the organization of scholarly knowledge.

“Liberal arts” and “liberal studies” both have at their core an idea of “liberation” and originally described the skills and knowledge required for someone to participate fully in the world as a free citizen.

Liberal Studies describes a purposeful, active approach in which students are free to direct their own learning in a broad, interdisciplinary, yet integrative way across the liberal arts fields, using a variety of analytical tools and lenses to build understanding.  Liberal Studies invites exploration within, between, and around fields and disciplines. It is “liberal,” then, in the sense of representing a generous, unrestricted, “liberated” and "liberating" way of thinking and learning that is not constrained by the disciplinary boundaries that have characterized modern academia.

Instead of a “credentialing” degree that opens doors to particular jobs, a Liberal Studies degree might be best described as a “readiness” degree.  At its core, a Liberal Studies degree is about learning how to learn.  Liberal Studies students unlock the secrets of asking questions, framing problems, analyzing information, and finding the resources they may need to understand the things that interest or confront them.  The promise of a Liberal Studies degree is a more flexible, agile, liberated, and ultimately more useful mind that is prepared to take on new challenges.

The first Graduate Liberal Studies programs in the United States were established in the mid-twentieth century as part of an effort to make lifelong liberal arts learning accessible to a broad range of working people.  Many have expanded their scope to appeal to students of all ages and stages.  You can learn more about many Graduate Liberal Studies programs around the United States via the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs website.

The GLS House

GLS has our own dedicated space in a cozy 1930s-era Cape Cod style house at 2114 Campus Drive. Here you will find staff offices, a seminar room, kitchen, student lounge, and two porches. Built in 1931, GLS House was one of a small neighborhood of houses originally designed for Duke faculty. Learn more about the history of GLS House here. 

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