Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 SGPP Catalog and Handbook 
    
2020-2021 SGPP Catalog and Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Integrated Studies, M.A.


Program Description

The Master of Arts in Integrated Studies is a 39-credit self-designed, interdisciplinary graduate program for students to explore real-world issues, problems, or topics that cross disciplinary boundaries and are not addressed in other graduate programs. Students design an individual program plan in conjunction with an advisor that uses theories, concepts, and ways of thinking from more than one discipline to focus study on an area of interest. The combination of scholarship, mentoring, and program flexibility allows individuals to create programs leading to professional enhancement and community contributions.

Areas of study are customized and diverse. Students in the past have focused their studies on interdisciplinary issues related to adult education, social justice, employee assistance, programming, transformational leadership, organizational and individual coaching, health/wellness, spiritual life, music therapy, and ecological studies.

Program Outcomes

Graduates of the Master of Arts in Integrated Studies program are expected to be able to do the following:

  1. Evaluate diverse perspectives, comparing and critiquing positions and assumptions encountered in the course of academic study.
  2. Synthesize knowledge understanding of principles, theories, and concepts from more than one disciplinary field of study.
  3. Create a self-directed, integrated course of academic study.
  4. Address a focused area of study using an interdisciplinary approach.
  5. Communicate effectively and ethically in a variety of modes.

Program Structure and Delivery

The program is designed to meet the individualized needs of adult learners.

Degree Requirements


Required Integrated Studies Courses 9 cr.
Student Selected Courses 30 cr.
Total 39 cr.

Student Selected Courses: 30 cr.


Students can take any MAIS electives below, or any other SGPP courses with approval, or create independent studies that fit with their Integrated Studies Plan.

Faculty


The faculty members for this program have earned doctorate or master’s degrees. Faculty are selected for their combination of educational and professional experience and expertise.

Admission Requirements


Applicants may apply for admission to master’s degree programs at any time during the year. Applicants must have completed an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution and maintained an overall grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.00 scale. Applicants must demonstrate the language proficiency necessary for successful graduate coursework. Applicants may complete an interview with a program administrator as part of the admission process.

Application Process


Applicants must submit:

  1. Completed application form with the nonrefundable application fee (fee not required for alumni or students seeking readmission or veterans and active military personnel).
  2. An official transcript issued to Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota from the institution posting the applicant’s completed bachelor degree and other relevant transcripts documenting program prerequisites and potential transfer credits. (An official transcript is one that is sent to the university by the credit-granting institution.  Transcripts from countries other than the U.S. must have a course-by-course evaluation completed from an approved member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES.org). These would preferably be completed by World Education Services or Educational Credential Evaluators and must be deemed equivalent to accredited U.S. university standards).
  3. A Supplemental Application.
  4. Two Letter(s) of recommendation that verify professional and/or volunteer experience and academic ability.
  5. A current résumé listing educational background and work experience.

Supplemental Application

On separate pages, please answer each of the following as concisely as possible:

  1. Write an autobiography which includes an account of those formal and informal learning experiences which have made the most impact on your life. What are your short-term goals?
  2. What do you intend to accomplish during the course of your graduate study? Set forth an interdisciplinary program, based upon your own needs, strengths, and weaknesses which would provide a balance between practical and theoretical work.
  3. In what areas of your intended plan of study, as described in question #2, would you need close supervision or advising?
  4. Ethics is translated into the Integrated Studies program as social responsibility. The ethic of social responsibility invites students to make a commitment to a greater connectedness and sharing of talents with the community at large. Tell us how you have served your community in the past and what contributions you will make to the community at large in future years.
  5. The graduate program which we offer provides a vehicle around which self-directed learners can structure a set of experiences of quality and substance. Please describe a project, writing, curriculum, or patent that you created and developed.

Please Note: Application materials should be sent to the attention of the Office of Admission on the Twin Cities campus.


Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Office of Admission
2500 Park Ave
Minneapolis, MN  55404