UHCL School of Human Science and Humanities
MASTER OF ARTS IN HUMANITIES
Subplan I:  Texts

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”  Socrates

“The unlived life is not worth examining.” attributed to Aristotle

Full member:  Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs

Are you interested in exploring the foundations of civilization by studying art, history, literature, and philosophy?  The M.A. in Humanities is a broad, interdisciplinary degree designed to help you unlock your creativity, develop your capacity for reflection and judgment, gain visual literacy, improve your writing skills, and acquire self-knowledge and cross-cultural understanding.  It is the kind of degree that will enrich both your personal and professional life.

If you want to expand your frontiers through broad liberal learning at the graduate level, you are a candidate for this degree. 

Unlike a traditional master’s program in a single discipline, the M.A. in Humanities allows you to choose courses from a wide range of areas and tailor curricula to match your own needs.  Students may elect graduate courses from any of the following fields:  Art History, Communications, Creative Writing, History, Humanities, Literature, Philosophy, and Women’s Studies. 

To be admitted to the University of Houston-Clear Lake’s M.A. in Humanities, you must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and preferably have some preparation in the humanities.  Participants come from a variety of occupations:  engineering, homemaking, nursing, business, law, teaching, medicine, banking, retirement, and many others. 

Classes are scheduled primarily in the evening for the convenience of adult students.  Courses meet once a week in 3-hour blocks, except during the shorter summer semester when they meet more often.    

 Requirements

 The Core - (9 hrs.)

The core of this degree is a required sequence of three Texts and Images courses that integrate the study of great works of literature and art.  Texts and Images I begins with ancient epics, such as the Gilgamesh and Homeric epics, matches them with Mesopotamian art and classical Greek sculpture, and concludes with medieval and Renaissance writers and artists such as Dante, Michelangelo, Christine de Pizan, and Artemesia Gentileschi.

Texts and Images II concerns western culture from the 18th through the 20th century:  writers and artists from Rousseau and Goya to Toni Morrison and Jasper Johns.  Texts and Images III, designed to increase awareness of cultural diversity, breaks away from traditional concentration on western civilization to study touchstones of literature and art from Asia, Africa, and Native America.

 Subplan I:  Texts - (15 hrs.)

Select five graduate courses from the following areas:  Art History, Communications, Creative Writing, History, Humanities, Literature, Philosophy, and Women’s Studies.  You may choose several courses from one area or all your courses from different areas. One course may be chosen from the social sciences:  anthropology, psychology, sociology.

 Master’s Options

  • Thesis - 6 hrs. (30 hrs. total)

  • Project - 6 hrs plus 6 hrs. electives from HSH courses (36 hrs. total)

  • Internship - 6 hrs. plus 6 hrs. electives from HSH courses (36 hrs. total)

  • Additional Coursework - 36 hours with a final comprehensive written exam

The thesis, project, internship, or exam serves as the culminating experience for each student’s degree program.  The thesis is ordinarily a substantial, documented research paper in a traditional subject area, or a creative work of poetry or fiction.  Projects may concern curriculum or the gathering of research materials such as oral histories. Both theses and projects should be interdisciplinary in concept and content. Internships may be arranged by students to translate their interest in the humanities into preparation for employment. Assistance to document collectors, for instance, would qualify as an internship. 

For more information, contact:

Deborah M. Griffin, Director of Humanities (281) 283-3358; griffin@uhcl.edu

or Ann Hinojosa, Advising Coordinator (281) 283-3333; HSHadvising@uhcl.edu

2700 Bay Area Blvd.

Houston, TX  77058