Master of Humanities

On this page:

• Why Choose Humanities?
• Careers
• Success Stories
• Academics and Curriculum
• Admission

Why Choose Humanities?

The Master of Humanities program offers a unique, flexible, interdisciplinary opportunity for graduate study, whether you are a traditional or non-traditional student.

You will explore questions from diverse perspectives rather than concentrate your study within a single discipline. Your program of study might focus on a historical period, a cultural region, or a social or artistic theme, and may combine, for example, ancient and modern cultures, literature and politics, philosophy and art, or history and religion.

The program is flexible because you design, in consultation with the director, your integrated individualized curriculum, pursue full-time or part-time study, and attend evening or day classes.

Your courses may be drawn from offerings throughout the College of Liberal Arts, including anthropology, art and art history, classics, communications, music history, philosophy, political science, religion, sociology, theatre, and urban studies. You may choose to participate in other established interdisciplinary programs, such as the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program and the African and African American Studies program. Electives may be taken in other colleges when they are related to a student's goals and focus of study.

Careers

The degree career path for humanities majors is sometimes not as direct as with other degree programs. However, because of the skills you acquire—communication, critical thinking, problem solving, data assessment, research and argumentation, time management—humanities students often find the doors open to them in a wide variety of professions, including the following:

Success Stories

Intelligent design Wright State graduate student Angela Reichelderfer's exhibit featuring historical dresses is on display at the Stein Galleries in the Creative Arts Center through Feb. 17.

Humanities Alumna Gives Art Talk Heather Lea Reid, an alumna of the Master of Humanities Program, recently gave a paper at the Southeastern College Art Conference in Columbus. Her talk was based on the capstone project she did for her MHUM degree and was entitled "Know Your Place: Women in Art (Part 2)". Heather is pictured here standing in front of some of her own artwork, which she exhibits regularly throughout Ohio.

More Success Stories

Academics and Curriculum

The Humanities program may be conceived as a pyramid, the broad base of which is formed by two seminars, Humanities 7000 and 7100. These seminars help you develop research skills appropriate for advanced scholarship in the humanities and introduce you to the interdisciplinary study of a humanities topic.

Moving up from the base, the narrowing center section of the pyramid represents the course work, extending across disciplines, but now limited to courses specifically relevant to your selected area of study.

Finally, at the apex of the triangle is either the thesis or project (HUM 7300/7400) or a capstone paper (HUM 7500). The traditional thesis option requires a 60- to 80-page paper written under the direction of a three-member faculty committee (8 credit hours). The creative project option, also pursued under the direction of a three-member committee (8 credit hours), consists of two parts: a creative product and an accompanying 25-page paper. The 2-credit hour capstone paper option requires a 30-page paper under the direction of one faculty member; students who take this option must do additional course work (2 3-credit hour classes).

View the Master of Humanities program information and degree requirements in the Academic Catalog.

Program of Study

You will, in consultation with the director, design a unified, interdisciplinary program of study, including courses to be completed in at least two departments.

You should submit a Program of Study (PDF) in preliminary form after completing 9 credit hours and in a final form no later than the semester prior to the completion of course work. The completed Program of Study (PDF) includes a brief description of your program emphasis, a list of courses taken, and a brief description of your culminating thesis or project. Program of Study forms are also available in the humanities office.

Admission

Requirements

Requirements for regular admission are a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a minimum of 30 semester hours (or equivalent) in liberal arts courses, with an overall grade point average of 3.0 (4.0 scale). Applicants with deficiencies may be required to take additional background courses.

Applicants who do not meet the regular admission requirements but who do meet the Graduate School admission requirements may be granted conditional admission.

A maximum of three courses, normally not to exceed 9 semester hours of credit, may be accepted in transfer for work completed at the master's level at other accredited institutions. Such transfer credits are subject to approval by the program as well as to the regulations of the Graduate School.

All questions about the admissions process should be directed to the program director, Dr. Awad Halabi. If you are pursuing one of the program emphases, consult the relevant faculty members during the application process for additional information and/or requirements.

Deadlines

The Master of Humanities program admits students for both fall and spring semesters. Please note the following deadlines for priority admissions. While you may be admitted after these dates, first consideration will be given to those who complete the application process prior to it. If you apply after the deadline, you will be admitted only if places are available in the program for that year. If no places are available, you may have to defer admission until a later date.

• Fall semester admission: February 15
• Spring semester admission: November 15

All applications should be submitted at least a month before the start of the term for which you are applying. Receipt of transcripts and letters of recommendation often takes some time, and no admission decision will be made until the application is complete.

How to Apply

The Graduate School coordinates the processing of applications and forwards them to the humanities program for evaluation. All applications must be submitted electronically. Visit the Graduate School website to apply online.

Application Materials

In addition to the application form, a complete application must include the following materials:

• Transcripts: You must submit official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended. Normally, official copies are sent directly to the Graduate School from the registrar's office of the particular college or university attended.
   
• Two Letters of Recommendation: If possible, you should choose reviewers who can speak to your academic qualifications, but employers and others able to speak to your character and achievements are also qualified reviewers.
  
  Letters may be submitted in two ways: (a) through the online application process; (b) on signed letterhead sent by mail to the Graduate School office. Those submitting by mail should attach the letter to the Letter of Recommendation form (PDF).
   
• Statement of Purpose: The statement of purpose should be approximately 250 words long. It should contain a description of your background and reasons for pursuing a Master of Humanities degree.
  
  The statement of purpose must be submitted through the online application process. The statement of purpose may be submitted in three ways: (a) through the online application process; (b) as a Word attachment sent to the Graduate School, and (c) by mail to the Graduate School.
   
• Writing Sample: The sample should be approximately five double-spaced pages long, and it should display your ability for academic writing. If you are a recent college graduate, the most appropriate sample is an undergraduate research paper. If you are a non-traditional age student, the writing sample may take another form, such as a report written for an employer.
  
  The writing sample must be submitted through the online application process.  The writing sample may be submitted in two ways: (a) as a Word attachment sent to the Graduate School, or (b) by mail to the Graduate School.
   
• Portfolio: If you are interested in pursuing a Master of Humanities degree with an emphasis in studio art, you may be asked to present a portfolio of your work to members of the art department as part of the admission process.
   
• Addresses and Contact Information: For electronic submission of Word attachments clearly indicate in the subject line and the body of the message (1) your name and (2) the item being submitted. All electronic materials should be sent to wsugrad@wright.edu.

Submissions by mail: Hard copies of materials pertaining to the application should be submitted to the following address:
Graduate School
Wright State University
344 Student Union
3640 Col. Glenn Hwy.
Dayton, OH 45435-0001

Questions about the admissions process should be sent to the director of the Master of Humanities program at awad.halabi@wright.edu, or the Graduate School at wsugrad@wright.edu.