The First Year

• Fall semester: Introductory Colloquium: Liberal Studies as Perspective and Method (3 credits)
• Spring semester: The Rise of the Modern Spirit (3 credits)
• Fall and Spring semesters: In addition to the Foundational courses, one or two courses courses may be chosen from Liberal Studies courses, graduate courses in other departments or a Directed Reading/Tutorial course with the approval of the Director of Doctoral Studies and the relevant professor. (6 credits)
• Summer semester: Liberal Studies courses, other departmental graduate courses, or Directed Reading/Tutorial courses (3 or 6 credits, one or two courses)

Total: 15 or 18 credits

The Second Year

• Fall semester: The Challenge of Postmodernism (3 credits)
• Spring semester: Approaches to Art & Literature, and Historiography (3 credits)
• Fall and Spring semesters: In addition to the Foundational courses, one or two courses courses may be chosen (depending on whether 15 or 18 credits were achieved in the first year) from Liberal Studies courses, graduate courses in other departments or a Directed Reading/Tutorial course with the approval of the Director of Doctoral Studies and the relevant professor. (6 credits)
• Summer semester: The student enrolls in course(s) chosen from Liberal Studies courses, graduate courses in other departments, or Directed Reading/Tutorial courses with the approval of the Director of Doctoral Studies and the relevant professor. (3 or 6 credits, one or two courses)

Total: 36 credits

The Third Year

• Fall semester: If necesssary, the student enrolls in a course chosen from Liberal Studies courses, graduate courses in other departments, or Directed Reading/Tutorial course with the approval of the Director of Doctoral Studies and the relevant professor. The student prepares for Comprehensive Exams. (3 credits)

Total: 36 credits (Transfer of previous credits may reduce the number of credits required in the DLS)

Written and Oral Comprehensive Examinations
To advance to candidacy for the Doctor of Liberal Studies degree, a student must finish all coursework and successfully complete Comprehensive Exams (written and oral) which are taken in September, January or March. The Comprehensive Exams are based on the student's coursework and research interests. The Director of Doctoral Studies recommends to the Executive Committee three faculty members who are asked to assist in the preparation and grading of the Written and Oral Comprehensive Examination.

Thesis Proposal
As the first step to completing the thesis, the DLS student prepares a proposal that includes the rationale for, and plan of, the thesis. This includes a title, description of the project, methodology, bibliography, and a suggested table of contents. The Doctoral Thesis Committee advises the student in the preparation of the proposal and approves the final proposal before the student proceeds with the Doctoral Thesis.

• Spring semester: Registration for the DLS Thesis Writing course half-time status) and commence work on the thesis.

The Fourth and Fifth Year

• The DLS degree program anticipates four or five years for completion, although special needs of individual students may lengthen the process.

Doctoral Thesis
Topics are limited to the liberal arts and social sciences and must be approved by the Director of Doctoral Studies and the Director of the Liberal Studies Program. The fourteen Curricular Fields of the Master's program offer suitable areas of possible research. The Doctoral Thesis represents the creative synthesis of primary sources and secondary materials. Each Doctoral Thesis will make an original interpretive contribution to interdisciplinary scholarship. The Director of Doctoral Studies recommends to the Executive Committee three faculty members representing research areas appropriate to the Doctoral Thesis who are asked to constitute a Doctoral Thesis Committee (one member of which is the Chair) for each candidate. They advise the student on the thesis, approve the final thesis, and conduct the Thesis Defense.