Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies

Catalog Year: 2025-2026

Banner Code: LA-MAIS-ISIN

The MAIS in interdisciplinary studies is for students who seek a master's degree that integrates knowledge from several disciplines. It addresses the rapidly evolving demand for unique graduate study by promoting advanced scholarship that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. Students can pursue one of the following structured interdisciplinary concentrations and also have the opportunity to design an individualized concentration to meet the special needs of their careers.

Concentrations and Faculty

Computational Social Sciences (Dale Rothman, concentration head)
Energy and Sustainability^* (Richard Todd Stafford, concentration head) 
Religious Studies (Maria M Dakake, concentration head)
Social Entrepreneurship (Samuel L. Frye, concentration head)
Social Justice and Human Rights (Shayna Maskell, concentration head)
War and the Military in Society (Christopher H. Hamner, concentration head) 
Women and Gender Studies (Claudia Cabello Hutt, concentration head)

^*Green Leaf program

Admissions

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions. For information specific to the MAIS in Interdisciplinary Studies, see Application Requirements and Deadlines.

Applicants must show a capacity for original thought in cross-disciplinary research. There may be additional skills required of students applying to specific concentrations. Students will be admitted to the Individualized Studies concentration only if the applicant identifies a Mason Faculty member appropriate for the intended course of study who is willing to serve as the student’s advisor.

Policies

For policies governing all graduate degrees, see AP.6 Graduate Policies.

Credit Restrictions

Courses applied to the degree are subject to the following restrictions:

• a maximum of 6 credits may be earned through independent study or directed readings and research courses
• a maximum of 6 credits may be taken through the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area
• a maximum of 15 credits may be transfer credits
• a maximum of 6 of the transfer credits may be from other accredited institutions

Transfer credits include credits taken before first enrolling as an admitted degree-seeking student (at another institution or in Mason nondegree status) or credits taken at another institution after admission to the degree program through study abroad or study elsewhere (which requires prior written approval of the director and the dean). Additional information may be found in Academic Policies.

Degree Requirements

Total credits: 36

This is a Green Leaf program.

The Green Leaf status for this program applies only to the concentration in Energy and Sustainability.

Students should be aware of the specific policies associated with this program, located on the Admissions & Policies tab.

Students pursuing this degree must successfully complete 36 credits of graduate coursework in one of the concentrations which follow. Students must submit a curriculum worksheet that has been approved by their concentration head and the director. Some concentrations require a project or thesis.

Concentration in Computational Social Science (CSS)

Computational social science (CSS) is a relatively new interdisciplinary science in which social science questions are investigated with modern computational tools. Computational social scientists investigate complex social phenomena such as economic markets, traffic control, and political systems by simulating the interactions of the many actors in such systems on computers. They hope to gain insights which will lead to better management of the behavior of the larger social systems, i.e., prevention of market crashes, smoothed traffic flow, or maintenance of political stability. The intractability of many social problems calls for the new approaches provided by computational social science.

CSS is a highly interdisciplinary field that requires teams to plan and complete projects, be they undertaken by government, industry, or non-profit entities. Project managers of such teams, overseeing all elements of project design and execution, tend to hold PhDs. The MAIS concentration will train students to be members of these project teams, able to meaningfully contribute to background research and to project design, execution, and communication.

Prior background should include a bachelor’s degree in one of the social sciences, in computer science, in engineering, or in a relevant discipline, as well as undergraduate courses in these and related areas. Bachelor’s degrees in other areas are also eligible, but the student may be required to take additional courses in social science, mathematics, or computer science as prerequisites to admission.

Core Courses

¹

The required CSS courses provide an understanding of the conceptual, technical, and practical foundations of computational social science.

²

The electives provide an understanding of the technical foundations and current work in at least two subfields of computational social science.

Research Course

The research course provides students with exposure to the most current ongoing research in the field and allows them to further develop their computational research expertise.

Electives (9-12 credits)

The electives allow students to acquire a substantive specialization as well as additional training in social and computational science. Because of the broad spectrum of social science phenomena, methodologies, and student backgrounds, there is a large pool of potential courses. Electives may include any Mason master's-level course in computational social science, social science, computer science, computational science and informatics, statistics, or other quantitative methods such as data visualization, information technology, and geographic information science. Electives should be selected in conjunction with and approval of the student's advisor and the Director of CSS Graduate Studies. If the student does not have prior coursework in multivariate statistical analysis, the electives should include at least one such course relevant for the student's chosen specialization.

Students who elect to complete a thesis or project will take 9 elective credits. Students who do not complete a thesis or project take 12 elective credits.

Integrative Learning Experience Course

Optional Project or Thesis

Concentration in Energy and Sustainability (EAS)

This concentration is designed for students interested in careers in energy and sustainability-related positions in the public, private, or non-profit sectors, including law, national and international policy, media, government, and business. As one of the University's Green Leaf academic programs, the concentration in energy and sustainability focuses on finding ways to meet present needs for energy and material goods without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. A sustainability education lies at the intersection of environmental science, engineering, economics, business, public policy, social justice, and many other areas. Energy required to fuel all of these endeavors is a crucial component of sustainability.

Energy, Sustainability or Environmental Policy

Select three from the following or other relevant courses chosen in consultation with an advisor.

¹

 When the topic involves energy, sustainability, or environmental policy.

Humanities or Social Science Approaches to Sustainability and Environmental Issues

Select three from the following or other relevant courses chosen in consultation with an advisor.

¹

 When the topic involves energy, sustainability, or environmental issues.

²

When the topic is Global Environmental Justice or other energy, sustainability, or environmental issues.

Natural Science

Select one from the following courses or other relevant courses chosen in consultation with an advisor.

Electives

Students who elect to complete a project or thesis will need 3 elective credits. Students who do not complete a project or thesis will take 6 elective credits.

¹

 When the topic involves energy, sustainability or environmental issues.

²

When the topic is Global Environmental Justice or related to energy, sustainability, or environmental issues.

³

Students may fulfill their elective credits with experiential learning. Experiential learning opportunities can include internships, service-learning, consulting projects, and field studies or research (including overseas). Because the intention is to develop and apply newly acquired skills, students may not use work done previously or their current employment to fulfill this requirement. All experiential learning projects must be approved by the energy and sustainability concentration head the semester before registering for the course.

Methods and Techniques Courses

Select two from the following courses or other relevant courses in consultation with an advisor.

¹

Recommended for all students pursuing an optional project or thesis using social scientific methods.

²

When topic is Analytical Methods for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy.

Integrative Learning Experience Course

Optional Project or Thesis

Concentration in Religious Studies (RELI)

The concentration in religious studies is particularly relevant for students who are interested in careers in law, national and international government, print and media journalism, library sciences, archives and museums, public and social service, teaching, advanced graduate studies, and religious communities and institutions. The Washington, DC metropolitan area is rich in the presence of many major religious traditions and their places of worship.

The core courses introduce students to the study of religion as a unique and rigorous intellectual discipline. Students learn to evaluate a variety of perspectives on religion and gain a clear understanding of the dimension of the sacred in all aspects of human life including those commonly designated "secular". Students discover how religious perceptions of the sacred respond to an evolving world and relate to and influence cultures, institutions, and values.

Students also examine the effects of historical crises and the forces of change on religions including contemporary religious pluralism and inter-religious dialogue. Students gain a deeper knowledge of specific traditions and a more profound understanding of values and worldviews from the viewpoint of cultural diversity and religious pluralism.

Core Courses

Interdisciplinary Competencies in Religious Studies (9 credits)

Students take three courses from the list of competencies below to complement their interests and the skills they have already acquired through formal education and professional experience, or other courses that are chosen in consultation with an advisor.

Electives

Elective courses should complement the student's competencies, and/or reflect the topic of their project or thesis. Students take 15 credits of electives chosen from the courses listed below, or other appropriate courses chosen in consultation with the concentration head.

Integrated Learning Experience Course

Project or Thesis

Concentration in Social Entrepreneurship (SOCE)

The concentration in social entrepreneurship will equip students with the subject matter expertise, strategic knowledge, technical support, and social networks needed to create, operate, develop, and accelerate startups; bring ideas to scale; and improve an existing program's effectiveness. These future leaders will learn about sustainability, ethical leadership, strategic management, and working effectively within complex networks made up of divergent groups of stakeholders. All students will complete a capstone research project and an experiential learning requirement that deliver practical knowledge and real-world experience. This degree is suitable for students seeking careers in government, business, or the non-profit sector.

Core Courses

¹

When topic is Introduction to Entrepreneurship.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Competencies in Social Entrepreneurship (9-12 credits)

Students take three or four courses from the list of competencies below to complement the skills they have already acquired through formal education and professional experience, or other courses to enhance their skills, including oral and written communication and research methods, that are chosen in consultation with an advisor. Students choosing to complete a project or thesis take 9 credits including a research methods course. Students choosing not to complete a project or thesis take 12 credits total, with a research methods course being optional.

Environmental and Public Policy

Finance and Accounting

Business and Project Management

¹

 When topic is Introduction to Entrepreneurship.

Leadership and Well-Being

¹

When topic is Mindfulness and Leadership.

²

When the topic is Leadership and Positive Organizations.

Research Methods

Subject Matter Expertise (12 credits)

Students must develop expertise in the social problem they seek to address through entrepreneurship. Possible areas of focus include global and/or local poverty, homelessness, human trafficking, conflict resolution, women's rights, racial inequality, educational and health-care access, climate change, environmental sustainability, and human rights, among other possible topics. The experiential learning requirement should be met through an opportunity that advances the student's understanding of their subject matter expertise.

Students take:

¹

or other social justice and human rights course chosen in consultation with the concentration head. 

²

Students will seek out and/or create an opportunity for experiential learning that aligns with a social mission. Experiential learning opportunities can include internships, service-learning, consulting projects, and field studies or research (including overseas). Because the intention is to develop and apply newly acquired skills, students may not use work done previously or their current employment to fulfill this requirement. All experiential learning projects must be approved by the social entrepreneurship concentration head the semester before registering for the course. 

Integrated Learning Experience Course

Optional Project or Thesis

Concentration in Social Justice and Human Rights (SJHR)

The social justice and human rights concentration is designed to cultivate a deep theoretical understanding of the social, political, cultural, historical, and economic implications of a wide array of social injustices and human rights issues. Students are engaged in the applied process of imagining and actualizing holistic and complex strategies for creating and sustaining a more equitable, just, and humane world.

Core Courses

Emphasis Courses

¹

Examples of issue emphases include racial justice, human trafficking, or children's rights. Context emphases examples include the education, corporate, or government sector. Regional emphases examples include the Middle East, Latin America, or Southeast Asia.

Experiential Learning

Students will seek out and/or create an opportunity for experiential learning that deepens their understanding of social justice and/or human rights. Experiential learning opportunities can include internships, service-learning, consulting projects, and field studies or research (including overseas). The experiential learning requirement should be met through an opportunity that advances the student's understanding of their chosen emphasis. Because the intention is to develop and apply newly acquired skills, students may not use work done previously or their current employment to fulfill this requirement. All experiential learning projects must be approved by the social justice and human rights concentration head in the semester before registering for the course. Students may register for an individualized section of MAIS 695 Experiential Learning or another graduate-level internship or practicum course to fulfill this requirement.

Electives

¹

When topic is New Media and Democracy.

²

 When topic is Gender, Education, and Schooling

³

When topic is Disability in Children's Literature.

⁴

When topic is Contemporary and Critical Social Theories.

⁵

When topic is Gender and Racial Ideology in Jim Crow.

⁶

Chosen in consultation with concentration head.

⁷

When topic is Urban Agriculture.

⁸

When topic is Women and Global Issues.

⁹

When topic is Women, Law, and Justice.

¹⁰

When topic is Narratives of Human Rights: Violations Against Women and Girls.

Research Methods Course

Integrated Learning Experience Course

Project or Thesis

Concentration in War and the Military in Society (WMS)

The concentration in war and the military in society equips students with skills and knowledge to evaluate, analyze, and solve problems related to the use of organized violence, including questions of national security and national strategy, international relations, defense policymaking, and domestic, fiscal, legal, and social policy surrounding the instruments of national defense. Students will engage in interdisciplinary coursework that provides a variety of methods and tools to frame and analyze these questions, using historical and contemporary case studies to better understand the dilemmas and opportunities facing policymakers and military professionals in their efforts to think strategically about a variety of challenges.

All students will complete a capstone research project that provides an opportunity to do deep research into an historic or contemporary case. In addition, students may also complete an experiential learning requirement that combines practical knowledge and real-world experience to engage in problems connected to war and society.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on War and the Military in Society  (27 Credits)

Students take 9 courses from 2 or more interdisciplinary perspectives below to complement the skills and subject matter expertise they have already acquired through formal education and professional experience, or other courses to enhance their portfolio that are chosen in consultation with the concentration head. 

Historical Perspectives

These courses draw upon conflicts from two thousand years of human experience, from ancient Rome to contemporary issues in civil-military relations. The historical perspective focuses upon the past and the way that problems related to war and society have changed over time.

Contemporary Policy Perspectives

These courses focus on the applied study of security and on concrete, modern-day issues related to the particular challenges of organized violence in the twenty-first century.

Theoretical Perspectives

These courses focus on theories of war, peace, and security across a broad range of contemporary and historic cases and through a variety of disciplinary lenses.

Practical or Applied Perspectives

¹

Students seek out and/or create an opportunity for experiential learning that aligns with their educational or professional interests. Experiential learning opportunities can include internships, service-learning, consulting projects, or field studies. Because the intention is to develop and apply newly acquired skills, students may not use work done previously or their current employment to fulfill this requirement. All experiential learning projects must be approved by the war and the military in society concentration head the semester before registering for the course.

Research Methods

Integrated Learning Experience Course

Project or Thesis

Concentration in Women and Gender Studies (WGST)

The concentration in women and gender studies promotes advanced scholarship that transcends traditional boundaries. Students combine required coursework in feminist theory, feminist research methods, critical race theory, queer and sexuality studies, and transnational feminisms with elective course offerings in disciplines such as history, literature, sociology, anthropology, health, education, philosophy, social work, conflict analysis and resolution, or the arts. The program accommodates both full-time and part-time students.

Of the coursework required for this concentration as described below, at least 21 credits must be in core courses related to the study of women and gender. Students must earn a grade of B- or higher in the core courses.

Students interested in pursuing a dual master's program linking the MAIS degree and a master's degree in another discipline should discuss their interest with the graduate program directors of both programs and review the university policies regarding Individualized Dual Master's Degree Programs.

Core Courses

¹

Students may take additional courses from these areas and count them toward their elective credits.

Electives

Integrated Learning Experience Course

Project or Thesis

Individualized Concentration (IND)

This concentration is for students who wish to design a graduate program to meet the special needs of their careers and life plans. Students usually choose this option because traditional graduate programs do not meet their specific goals. Students, with help from their faculty advisor, design a unique program of study that includes courses from several academic departments.

Students have access to most graduate courses offered by Mason but must meet all course prerequisites.  Each student must submit a curriculum worksheet approved by the student's advisor and director during the first semester enrolled. Any subsequent amendments must have the approval of the student's advisor and the director.

Disciplinary Focus

Complementary Disciplines

Research Methods

Integrated Learning Experience Course

Optional Project or Thesis

Students interested in pursuing a dual master's program linking global affairs or interdisciplinary studies (concentration in women and gender studies) with a discipline other than that listed below should discuss their interest with the graduate program directors of both programs and review the university policies in AP.6.9.6.

Global Affairs, MA and Interdisciplinary Studies, MAIS (concentration in women and gender studies) Dual Degree

The Global Affairs and Interdisciplinary Studies Programs offer a dual master's program where a student can earn both a Global Affairs MA and the Interdisciplinary Studies MAIS (concentration in women and gender studies) with 54 credits rather than 66 credits. This program is governed by university policy AP.6.9.6

Application Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions. For information specific to this dual master's program see Application Requirements and Deadlines.

Requirements

Total credits: 54

Required Global Affairs Courses

Required Women and Gender Studies Courses

Required Methods Course 

Capstone

Project or Thesis

Total Credits: 54

Students interested in pursuing a dual master's program linking philosophy or interdisciplinary studies (women and gender studies concentration) and a discipline other than that listed below should discuss their interest with the graduate program directors of both programs and review the university policies in AP.6.9.6.

Philosophy, MA and Interdisciplinary Studies, MAIS (Concentration in women and gender studies) Dual Degree

The Department of Philosophy and the School of Integrative Studies offer a dual master's degree program where students can earn both the MA and the MAIS (concentration in women and gender studies) in 55 credits rather than 67 credits. This program is governed by university policy AP.6.9.6.

Application Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions. For information specific to this dual master's degree see Application Requirements and Deadlines.

Requirements

Students pursuing dual master's study linking the Philosophy MA and the Interdisciplinary Studies MAIS with a concentration in women and gender studies will complete WMST 630 Feminist Theories / PHIL 658 Feminist Theory  and 3 additional credits of WMST courses approved by the Department of Philosophy to apply to the philosophy degree as elective credit. Six credits of approved PHIL credits will apply to the MAIS degree as elective credit.

Students interested in pursuing a dual master's program linking sociology or interdisciplinary studies (concentration in women and gender studies) with a discipline other than that listed below should discuss their interest with the graduate program directors of both programs and review the university policies in AP.6.9.6.

Sociology, MA and Interdisciplinary Studies, MAIS (concentration in women and gender studies) Dual Degree

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Interdisciplinary Studies Programs offer a dual master's program where a student can earn both a Sociology MA and the Interdisciplinary Studies MAIS (concentration in women and gender studies) in 57 credits rather than 69 credits. This program is governed by university policy AP.6.9.6.

Application Requirements

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions. For information specific to this dual master's degree see Application Requirements and Deadlines.

Requirements

Total credits: 57

Required Sociology Courses

Required Women and Gender Studies Courses

Required Methods Course

Capstone, Project, or Thesis