Students in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program design individualized, interdisciplinary graduate study programs in the arts, humanities, natural and social sciences. Working with Skidmore faculty and the MALS Director, students create curriculum and choose courses that facilitate in-depth exploration of their proposed research topic and fields of concentration. After finishing their coursework and passing successfully through the Academic Plan review, students complete an interdisciplinary Final Project that serves as the culmination of their program of study. Typically, students compose a 60-75 page Master’s thesis incorporating multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students may also include creative work in their final project, provided that a significant part of the work entails a theoretical discussion. (Note: the program closed in February, 2020.)

Follow

Theses from 2019

PDF

Bringing the Personal into Public Life: How Relational Morality and Meaningful Action Can Enrich an Organization’s Work, Anna N. Taft

PDF

Automatic Scaling of Text for Training Second Language Reading Comprehension, Justin Vasselli

Theses from 2017

PDF

The Divergent Favela: Development, Security, and Resistance in Rocinha, Aaron Marcel McClain

PDF

Long After the Battle: James Hope’s “Authentic” Commemoration of Antietam’s Bloody Lane, Phillip Whitman

Theses from 2016

PDF

Exposed By Phoenix: Veterans Health Care in the Age of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Andrew Bogardus

PDF

Pascal and Fermat: Religion, Probability, and Other Mathematical Discoveries, Adrienne E. Lazes

PDF

The Art of Controversy: The Role of Museums Exhibiting Works By Kara Walker, Carmen Lookshire

Theses from 2015

PDF

Suffering Saint, Asexual Victorian Woman, Or Queer Icon? Cinematic Representations of Eleanor Roosevelt, Angela Beauchamp

PDF

An Aesthetic of Resourcefulness: Japanese Folk Textiles from the Edo Period and Beyond, Mary E. Dolden Veale

PDF

She's Right on Time: Dorothy Love Coates and the Transformation of Gospel Music in the Service of the Civil Rights Movements, Randal Fippinger

PDF

Ghost Soldiers, Elaine Lynch

Theses from 2014

PDF

Utilizing the Contextual Learning Model at the Plattsburgh State Art Museum, Samantha E. Bellinger

PDF

Empathy, Social Intelligence and Critical Thinking: What Can Theatre Education Offer?, Jane Dewey

PDF

A Historical Examination of Punishment and Forgiveness in Literature for Children, Caroline L. Dee Gutbier

PDF

The Changing Institutional Role of the Art Museum in the United States, Evelyn Ramirez-Schultz

Theses from 2013

PDF

The Application of the Matching Hypothesis to the Group Theater and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Kaela M. Altman

PDF

Films of the 1950s: Two Perspectives on Post-War America, Stephanie J. Baker

PDF

Mining Our Heritage: Oral History and Place-Based Learning in the Adirondacks, Christine Campeau

PDF

The Unique Nationalism of Isaac Albeniz, Stephen A. Keyser

PDF

Fashioning a Better Future: Why Educating Young People about the Impact of their Clothing Choices Matters, Andrea B. Neiman

PDF

Implementation Intentions: Examining the Social Implications of Establishing Metacognitive Processes which Bypass the Neuropsychological Planning Fallacy of Self-Employed Adult Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, Kate Palmer

PDF

Dispelling the Myth of the One Tribe Nation The Work of David W ojnarowicz, Jimmy C. Powell

PDF

Walking Through the Darkness: Pastoral Care to Survivors of Traumatic Loss, Mary M. Price

PDF

The Way to Wanakena: A Photodocumentary Study on the Concept of Community in an Adirondack Hamlet, Kristin V. Rehder

Theses from 2012

PDF

From the Ground Up: The Historical Roots of Umuganda in Rwandan Economic and Political Development, Sarah Bates

PDF

Rudolf Steiner and Peter Sellars: Theory to Practice, Louis Balestra Di Nolfi

PDF

Reconciling Greed and Altruism in the Open Source Community, Aaron Jay Dunn

PDF

A Comparison of the Washington Square Players and Mortimer J. Alder's Paideia Group, Liza McMahon

PDF

The Art and Science of Somatics: Theory, History and Scientific Foundations, Kelly Mullan

Theses from 2011

PDF

Viewing Shakespeare through a Kaleidoscope: Creating Meaningful Connections for 21st Century Students, Leigh Ann Bellville

PDF

Winning the Battle, Losing the War: The Forgotten But Enduring Legacy of School Integration Efforts on Hempstead, New York, Carol L. Clarke

PDF

Supporting Artists in the Gallery: The Role of the Museum Educator at an Art College, India N. Clark

PDF

Everybody Talkin' 'Bout a Spoonful: The Blues, from America to England and Back, Edward Giza

PDF

Theatre-in-Action: Participatory Drama for Bullying Prevention, Kimberly M. Jordan

PDF

Consecrated Community, Sacred Spaces and National Indifference: Religious Identity as a Survival Tool for Palestinian Orthodox Christians in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Ashley Lackovich

PDF

A Path-Goal Model of the Leader/Volunteer Relationship in Higher Education, Megan Baumgartner Mercier

PDF

Mind the Gap: How Metaphor and Mathematics Make (and Remake) the World, Susan J. Sechrist

PDF

Collegiate Athletic Leadership Model for NCAA Athletic Teams: Context, Leadership Behaviors, and Outcomes mediated by Leader-Member Exchange Theory, Neil A. Sinclair

Theses from 2010

PDF

Re-evaluating Happiness: Why the Quality of Our Lives Depend upon It, Suzanne Lang Baetz

PDF

Nerve Endings: Betty Parsons, Marcia Tucker, and Alanna Heiss, Cyndi Conn

PDF

Concoctions and Life-Long Connections: Women in the Kitchen, Jeanne O'Farrell Eddy

PDF

Political Activism, Judi Lerman

PDF

Diaspora caribefia: nostalgia y lenguaje en las novelas de Esmeralda Santiago, Julia Alvarez y Cristina Garcia, Ruben J. Nazario

PDF

From Fishing Weirs to Fancy Baskets: How Changes in Native American Basketry Forms Reflect Changes in the Economic Independence of Native American Women during Colonization, Heidi J. Pickering

PDF

Transitions to a New Museum: An Examination of the Factors that Lead Museums Toward Education as an Institution Priority, Tanya Tobias-Tomis

PDF

Comparison and Contrast of Eastern and Western Christian Civilizations, 325-1669, through an Examination of two Contemporary Fourteenth Century Representations in the Mariological Cycle, James L. Whittle

Theses from 2009

PDF

Consensus is the Answer Key: Liberating Science and Math Education, Sarah A. Bertucci

PDF

An Art Classroom Curriculum Integrating Art History and ELA, Lisa M. Catalano

PDF

To Work or Not to Work: Mothers in the Middle, Kirstin O'Rielly Drabek

PDF

A Teacher Reflects on Seven Years in a Kansas City Alternative High School, Deborah Evaline Franks

PDF

I Will Help You Carry the Earth on My Shoulders: The Rise of Female Affectivity in Marie de France's Lais and Christine de Pizan's the Book of the City of Ladies, Teva J. Glueck

PDF

Environmentally Sensitive Worldviews: What Are They, Why Are They Necessary, and How Can They Be Fostered?, Nichole North Hester

PDF

Reducing Exposures to Mercury, Sharon P. McLelland

PDF

Theater Study and the Power of Possibility, Jill Rafferty-Weinisch

PDF

Emergence, Peter A. Sturtevant Jr.

PDF

John Muir: A Rugged, Religious, Sensitive Mountain Man, Bradley B. Ward

Theses from 2008

PDF

Misinformed Consent: Non-Medical Bases for American Birth Recommendations as a Human-Rights Issue, Lisa Chalidze

PDF

Native American Pottery: Ancient and Evolving Traditions in the American Southwest, Megan R. Conner

PDF

Microcredit in Uganda: A 'Bottom Up' Response, Mary Catherine Dreher

PDF

Benefits of Partnership Teaching, Sandy Petronella George

PDF

The Emergence of Bebop: Charlie Parker and His Historical Recordings 1944-1948, Anthony Richard Geraci

PDF

In Partnership with the Land - An Environmentally Historic Overview of the Ancestral Puebloan People of Chaco Canyon During the Bonito Phase CE 850-1140, Ilyse Goldman

PDF

Putting the Pieces Together: The Puzzle of Conflict Transformation, Janice Marie Johnson

PDF

Sustaining the Olympic Ideal, James King III

PDF

Metamorphosis of Rubbish: Eduardo Paolozzi's General Dynamic F.U.N., Michelle L. Paquette

PDF

Ilya Repin and the Zaporozhe Cossacks, Kristina Pavlov-Leiching

PDF

Mistakes and Fatal Miscalculations in Cicero's Political Career, Alicia S. Silver

PDF

From the Top: A Practical Approach to Ethical Decision Making, Bonnie J. Stofer

Theses from 2007

PDF

Differentiating Art Curriculum for Students With Learning and Emotional Disabilities, Susan Ackerman

PDF

The Effects of the Arts Curriculum on the At-Risk Student Population: An Examination of Music and Drama with Regard to Specific Risk Factors, Christy D' Ambrosio

PDF

The Process of Listening to Music: How it Modulates Nervous System Activity and Affects Emotion, MaryAnn H. Gulyas

PDF

Walter Lippmann, John Dewey, and American Political Democracy, Jesse B. Markay

PDF

Expressive Writing and Divorce, Leonard J. Prazych

PDF

Defining the Spiritual Aspects in the Pure Dance of Bharata Natyam, Bevin Stark

Theses from 2006

PDF

Where are the Moderate American Muslims? Struggling to Be Seen and Heard on Cable News/Entertainment Programs, Carole A. Chouinard

PDF

La polygamie vue et vecue dans Une si longue lettre par Mariama Ba et Xala! par Ousmane Sembene Simone, Simone A. Feaster-Armour

PDF

Mythological Intertextuality in Nineteenth Century Ballet Repertory, Liane Fisher

PDF

Environmental Education and a Proposal for Its Implementation in Public Schools, Casey Putnam

Theses from 2005

PDF

Poetic Prophecies of a Vintage Boy Scout: Robert Frost and Wilderness Therapy Theory, Andrew Shawn Andermatt

PDF

Addiction Studies: To Be the Baker or the Tailor, David Chastain

PDF

Iroquois and Dutch: An Exploration of the Cultural Dynamics and Rise of the Iroquois Resulting from the Fur Trade, Nancy M. Clark

Theses from 2004

PDF

Worthy is the Lamb: Pastoral Symbols of Salvation in Christian Art and Music, Jo W. Harney

PDF

An Examination of How Playfulness Can be Used to Enhance Corporate Culture and Increase Organizational Effectiveness, Freemon Wade Nixon

PDF

Facing Uncertainty, Proceeding with Caution, Living with Joy: Women with Multiple Sclerosis and the Motherhood Decision, Anne L. Van Acker

Theses from 2003

PDF

Northwood School: the Survival Story of an Educational Jewel in the Adirondacks, Perry Babcock

PDF

Anthropogenic Influences on Avian Life, Past and Present, Within the Adirondack Park, Melodee A. DeCoteau

PDF

Technology Education and Integrated Learning for Adult Learners, Karen K. Lawson

PDF

Detours and Syncopations: in Search of Lost Time Through the Lens of "Les Intermittences du Coeur", Martha Graham Wiseman

PDF

Life Review Process and the Self: A Quasi-ethnographic Study of the Elderly, Mark Allen Zappone

Theses from 2001

PDF

Premarital Counseling and Divorce, Michael L. Davis

PDF

Ethical Leadership, Mary Jaworski

PDF

The Moroccan Jewish Piyyut: A Judeo-Arabic Cultural Synthesis, Joshua Levitt

PDF

Literature of Loss and Place: An Illustrated View, Polly Parkinson

PDF

The Benefits of Supplementing the Eighth Grade American History Curriculum with Historical and Realistic Fiction Novels, Susan Shadle

Theses from 2000

PDF

The Leadership of Ernestine Rose 1848-1860, Joseph Haley

PDF

Still Swimming Against the Tide: Obstacles to Gender-Neutrality in Parenting Arrangements, Helen Lafferty

PDF

American Popular Culture and the Struggle for Art: Rock 'n ' Roll as Metaphor, David R. Larson

PDF

The Diffusion of British Steam Technology and the First Creation of America's Urban Proletariat, Mark Stephen Stanzione

Theses from 1999

PDF

One Grand Park: Remaking New Hampshire Farms into Summer Homes, 1870-1930, Lorayne Billings

PDF

Schooling in Cultural Context, Marilou Bradley