This is a non-traditional doctoral degree in several ways. The Doctor of Liberal Studies degree is interdisciplinary in nature. Rather than pursue academic grounding and theoretical research in a specific discipline in order to create new knowledge, D.L.S. students synthesize existing knowledge from multiple disciplines in new and creative ways. The focus in this doctorate is upon individual students and their research area as described in their application. The Doctoral Thesis itself will synthesize and reconfigure existing knowledge in new ways, providing a substantive reinterpretation of the interaction of disciplines.

The Program is also non-traditional in the sense that the students have already completed other graduate degrees and programs in a variety of fields before applying for this degree; they are well-established professionals in different occupations. On average, older than other doctoral program students, and generally working full-time, D.L.S. students pursue their degree on a part-time basis. The D.L.S. provides a forum for groups of “mature” students to interact with each other and to form a community of students with shared interests in their intellectual pursuits.