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Graduate Programs

The College of Arts and Sciences is the liberal arts core of the University of San Diego. It contains graduate programs in each of its areas: Fine Arts (MFA in Dramatic Arts), Humanities (M.A. in History), Social Sciences (M.A. in International Relations), and Natural Sciences/Math (M.S. in Marine Science). These graduate programs involve close collaborations of faculty with graduate students and add to the intellectual growth and activity of the participating departments. The College graduate programs emphasize critical thinking as well as effective written and verbal communication. All of the programs combine course-based and practical knowledge and prepare graduate students to better participate in their chosen vocations.

The College of Arts and Sciences is proud to offer the following graduate programs:

 

 

Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Arts

A joint venture of The Old Globe and the University of San Diego, the Graduate Theatre department nationally recruits seven students each year to participate in an intensive two-year, year-round course of graduate study in classical theatre.  USD’s prestigious program is considered one of the top graduate actor training programs in the country.
 
Partnership with The Old Globe demands that students achieve its standard of artistic excellence and professionalism. The professional actor training program is designed to take special advantage of training opportunities made available by The Old Globe, and is unique in its ability to provide students with an exceptional number of professional performance opportunities.

Each student accepted into the professional actor training program is awarded a full-tuition scholarship from the University of San Diego and a monthly stipend from The Old Globe.

Finally, since the mission of the program is to provide students with the skills necessary to pursue successful acting careers, every effort is made to facilitate the transition into the profession. The program's showcase presentation in New York and Los Angeles have been highly effective in helping graduates establish successful acting careers in film, television, Broadway, and regional theatres.

MFA

Visit the Program Website

Richard Seer
Chair, Graduate Theatre Department
lbower@theoldglobe.org
619-235-2161

 

MAH

Visit the Program Website

Michael Gonzalez, Ph.D.
Graduate Program Director
michaelg@sandiego.edu
(619) 260-4043

Master of Arts in History

The Department of History at the University of San Diego offers a Master of Arts degree emphasizing both public history and the geographic region of the U.S. West and Southwest. This 30-unit MA program is open and recommended to qualified students who wish to study public history or the presentation of historical knowledge to a general public audience.  It is also open and recommended to qualified students who are interested in traditional academic history, especially teaching, and who wish to broaden their educational background. Graduate units may also be transferred into doctoral programs.

The program is supervised by history faculty, and eight of the ten courses required for the program involve seminars in the department. The two remaining courses are selected by the student from historically oriented courses in the fields of political science, international relations, art history, theology and religious studies, literature, anthropology, ethnic studies, sociology, education, business administration, and law. Full-time students typically need two years to complete the program. Part-time study is also welcomed and accommodated by a schedule that offers most graduate classes one evening per week. The goals of the program are to allow students to pursue advanced understanding of history and to enhance their career options.

Students who complete our program go on to work in secondary schools and community colleges, law or business offices, archives, museums, historic sites, state and local historical agencies, newspapers, businesses, trade and labor organizations, and in all levels of government.

 

 

 

Master of Arts in International Relations

The Master of Arts Program in International Relations (MAIR) offers a 30-unit curriculum of comparative politics and international relations. The goals of the program are to allow students to pursue advanced understanding of world politics and to enhance their career options in a wide array of international fields, including government, education, private business, and non-governmental organizations. USD also offers a joint degree (MA/JD) in conjunction with the School of Law; interested students need to apply for admission to the two programs separately.

The full time political science faculty supervise the MAIR program and eight of the ten courses required for the degree must be taken in that department. The two remaining courses must be approved by the graduate adviser and are selected by the student from internationally oriented courses in the fields of history, economics, law, business, and/or political science. The culmination of the program is a comprehensive exam. Its purpose is to provide students with an opportunity to use the knowledge gained during the program to deepen their understanding of a particular issue of interest. The exam also serves as a method of evaluating students’ progress by requiring them to integrate different types of material and to think critically about how this material contributes to a broader understanding of the discipline of International Relations.

Full-time students typically need one and a half years to complete the coursework and two years to complete the program. The comprehensive exam generally takes place in the semester after the coursework is complete and can be done in absentia, although the oral exam must take place at USD. Part-time study is also welcomed and accommodated by a schedule that convenes most graduate classes one evening per week. During the summer months the department generally offers up to two seminars that meet two evenings a week for seven weeks.

 

MAIR

Visit the Program Website

Emily Edmonds-Poli , Ph.D.
Graduate Director, MAIR Program
edmonds@SanDiego.edu
(619) 260-7802

 

Divers MARS

Visit the Program Website

Ron Kaufmann, Ph.D.
Graduate Director, Marine Science Program
kaufmann@sandiego.edu
(619) 260-5904

 

Master of Science in Marine Science and

Environmental Studies

USD's Marine Science and Environmental Studies Department offers graduate work leading to the degree of Master of Science in Marine Science. This degree is based largely on research and is intended to provide graduate students with an opportunity to design projects that test hypotheses, contribute new information to an existing knowledge base, and learn to write in a way that facilitates scientific exchange. Course work and research are integrated, culminating in a written thesis. Students can take advantage of resources at USD as well as San Diego's rich community of ocean specialists.

The program utilizes not only the excellent facilities at the University of San Diego’s Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology, but those of nearby institutions, such as the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (National Marine Fisheries, NOAA), the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, and the Leon R. Hubbard Hatchery. USD faculty currently are involved in research in marine geochemistry, climatology, paleoclimatology, hydrology, oceanography, marine biology, locomotion and fluid dynamics, physiology, ecology, and population genetics.

 

 

Be a part of our community of scholars.

For addition information about graduate admissions, please contact:
Erika Garwood
Graduate Admission Counselor
Email Erika
(619) 260-5981