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.)
Theses from 2019
Bringing the Personal into Public Life: How Relational Morality and Meaningful Action Can Enrich an Organization’s Work, Anna N. Taft
Automatic Scaling of Text for Training Second Language Reading Comprehension, Justin Vasselli
Theses from 2017
The Divergent Favela: Development, Security, and Resistance in Rocinha, Aaron Marcel McClain
Long After the Battle: James Hope’s “Authentic” Commemoration of Antietam’s Bloody Lane, Phillip Whitman
Theses from 2016
Exposed By Phoenix: Veterans Health Care in the Age of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Andrew Bogardus
Pascal and Fermat: Religion, Probability, and Other Mathematical Discoveries, Adrienne E. Lazes
The Art of Controversy: The Role of Museums Exhibiting Works By Kara Walker, Carmen Lookshire
Theses from 2015
Suffering Saint, Asexual Victorian Woman, Or Queer Icon? Cinematic Representations of Eleanor Roosevelt, Angela Beauchamp
An Aesthetic of Resourcefulness: Japanese Folk Textiles from the Edo Period and Beyond, Mary E. Dolden Veale
She's Right on Time: Dorothy Love Coates and the Transformation of Gospel Music in the Service of the Civil Rights Movements, Randal Fippinger
Ghost Soldiers, Elaine Lynch
Theses from 2014
Utilizing the Contextual Learning Model at the Plattsburgh State Art Museum, Samantha E. Bellinger
Empathy, Social Intelligence and Critical Thinking: What Can Theatre Education Offer?, Jane Dewey
A Historical Examination of Punishment and Forgiveness in Literature for Children, Caroline L. Dee Gutbier
The Changing Institutional Role of the Art Museum in the United States, Evelyn Ramirez-Schultz
Theses from 2013
The Application of the Matching Hypothesis to the Group Theater and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Kaela M. Altman
Films of the 1950s: Two Perspectives on Post-War America, Stephanie J. Baker
Mining Our Heritage: Oral History and Place-Based Learning in the Adirondacks, Christine Campeau
The Unique Nationalism of Isaac Albeniz, Stephen A. Keyser
Fashioning a Better Future: Why Educating Young People about the Impact of their Clothing Choices Matters, Andrea B. Neiman
Dispelling the Myth of the One Tribe Nation The Work of David W ojnarowicz, Jimmy C. Powell
Walking Through the Darkness: Pastoral Care to Survivors of Traumatic Loss, Mary M. Price
The Way to Wanakena: A Photodocumentary Study on the Concept of Community in an Adirondack Hamlet, Kristin V. Rehder
Theses from 2012
From the Ground Up: The Historical Roots of Umuganda in Rwandan Economic and Political Development, Sarah Bates
Rudolf Steiner and Peter Sellars: Theory to Practice, Louis Balestra Di Nolfi
Reconciling Greed and Altruism in the Open Source Community, Aaron Jay Dunn
A Comparison of the Washington Square Players and Mortimer J. Alder's Paideia Group, Liza McMahon
The Art and Science of Somatics: Theory, History and Scientific Foundations, Kelly Mullan
Theses from 2011
Viewing Shakespeare through a Kaleidoscope: Creating Meaningful Connections for 21st Century Students, Leigh Ann Bellville
Winning the Battle, Losing the War: The Forgotten But Enduring Legacy of School Integration Efforts on Hempstead, New York, Carol L. Clarke
Supporting Artists in the Gallery: The Role of the Museum Educator at an Art College, India N. Clark
Everybody Talkin' 'Bout a Spoonful: The Blues, from America to England and Back, Edward Giza
Theatre-in-Action: Participatory Drama for Bullying Prevention, Kimberly M. Jordan
A Path-Goal Model of the Leader/Volunteer Relationship in Higher Education, Megan Baumgartner Mercier
Mind the Gap: How Metaphor and Mathematics Make (and Remake) the World, Susan J. Sechrist
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
Re-evaluating Happiness: Why the Quality of Our Lives Depend upon It, Suzanne Lang Baetz
Nerve Endings: Betty Parsons, Marcia Tucker, and Alanna Heiss, Cyndi Conn
Concoctions and Life-Long Connections: Women in the Kitchen, Jeanne O'Farrell Eddy
Political Activism, Judi Lerman
Diaspora caribefia: nostalgia y lenguaje en las novelas de Esmeralda Santiago, Julia Alvarez y Cristina Garcia, Ruben J. Nazario
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
Transitions to a New Museum: An Examination of the Factors that Lead Museums Toward Education as an Institution Priority, Tanya Tobias-Tomis
Theses from 2009
Consensus is the Answer Key: Liberating Science and Math Education, Sarah A. Bertucci
An Art Classroom Curriculum Integrating Art History and ELA, Lisa M. Catalano
To Work or Not to Work: Mothers in the Middle, Kirstin O'Rielly Drabek
A Teacher Reflects on Seven Years in a Kansas City Alternative High School, Deborah Evaline Franks
Environmentally Sensitive Worldviews: What Are They, Why Are They Necessary, and How Can They Be Fostered?, Nichole North Hester
Reducing Exposures to Mercury, Sharon P. McLelland
Theater Study and the Power of Possibility, Jill Rafferty-Weinisch
Emergence, Peter A. Sturtevant Jr.
John Muir: A Rugged, Religious, Sensitive Mountain Man, Bradley B. Ward
Theses from 2008
Misinformed Consent: Non-Medical Bases for American Birth Recommendations as a Human-Rights Issue, Lisa Chalidze
Native American Pottery: Ancient and Evolving Traditions in the American Southwest, Megan R. Conner
Microcredit in Uganda: A 'Bottom Up' Response, Mary Catherine Dreher
Benefits of Partnership Teaching, Sandy Petronella George
The Emergence of Bebop: Charlie Parker and His Historical Recordings 1944-1948, Anthony Richard Geraci
Putting the Pieces Together: The Puzzle of Conflict Transformation, Janice Marie Johnson
Sustaining the Olympic Ideal, James King III
Metamorphosis of Rubbish: Eduardo Paolozzi's General Dynamic F.U.N., Michelle L. Paquette
Ilya Repin and the Zaporozhe Cossacks, Kristina Pavlov-Leiching
Mistakes and Fatal Miscalculations in Cicero's Political Career, Alicia S. Silver
From the Top: A Practical Approach to Ethical Decision Making, Bonnie J. Stofer
Theses from 2007
Differentiating Art Curriculum for Students With Learning and Emotional Disabilities, Susan Ackerman
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
The Process of Listening to Music: How it Modulates Nervous System Activity and Affects Emotion, MaryAnn H. Gulyas
Walter Lippmann, John Dewey, and American Political Democracy, Jesse B. Markay
Expressive Writing and Divorce, Leonard J. Prazych
Defining the Spiritual Aspects in the Pure Dance of Bharata Natyam, Bevin Stark
Theses from 2006
Where are the Moderate American Muslims? Struggling to Be Seen and Heard on Cable News/Entertainment Programs, Carole A. Chouinard
La polygamie vue et vecue dans Une si longue lettre par Mariama Ba et Xala! par Ousmane Sembene Simone, Simone A. Feaster-Armour
Mythological Intertextuality in Nineteenth Century Ballet Repertory, Liane Fisher
Environmental Education and a Proposal for Its Implementation in Public Schools, Casey Putnam
Theses from 2005
Poetic Prophecies of a Vintage Boy Scout: Robert Frost and Wilderness Therapy Theory, Andrew Shawn Andermatt
Addiction Studies: To Be the Baker or the Tailor, David Chastain
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
Worthy is the Lamb: Pastoral Symbols of Salvation in Christian Art and Music, Jo W. Harney
An Examination of How Playfulness Can be Used to Enhance Corporate Culture and Increase Organizational Effectiveness, Freemon Wade Nixon
Facing Uncertainty, Proceeding with Caution, Living with Joy: Women with Multiple Sclerosis and the Motherhood Decision, Anne L. Van Acker
Theses from 2003
Northwood School: the Survival Story of an Educational Jewel in the Adirondacks, Perry Babcock
Anthropogenic Influences on Avian Life, Past and Present, Within the Adirondack Park, Melodee A. DeCoteau
Technology Education and Integrated Learning for Adult Learners, Karen K. Lawson
Detours and Syncopations: in Search of Lost Time Through the Lens of "Les Intermittences du Coeur", Martha Graham Wiseman
Life Review Process and the Self: A Quasi-ethnographic Study of the Elderly, Mark Allen Zappone
Theses from 2001
Premarital Counseling and Divorce, Michael L. Davis
Ethical Leadership, Mary Jaworski
The Moroccan Jewish Piyyut: A Judeo-Arabic Cultural Synthesis, Joshua Levitt
Literature of Loss and Place: An Illustrated View, Polly Parkinson
The Benefits of Supplementing the Eighth Grade American History Curriculum with Historical and Realistic Fiction Novels, Susan Shadle
Theses from 2000
The Leadership of Ernestine Rose 1848-1860, Joseph Haley
Still Swimming Against the Tide: Obstacles to Gender-Neutrality in Parenting Arrangements, Helen Lafferty
American Popular Culture and the Struggle for Art: Rock 'n ' Roll as Metaphor, David R. Larson
The Diffusion of British Steam Technology and the First Creation of America's Urban Proletariat, Mark Stephen Stanzione
Theses from 1999
One Grand Park: Remaking New Hampshire Farms into Summer Homes, 1870-1930, Lorayne Billings
Schooling in Cultural Context, Marilou Bradley