Individualized Studies - Complementary Discipline Blocks
To help students develop a plan of study, below are curated lists of classes in a variety of disciplines that can be combined to meet the degree requirements. A pplicants can simply identify two fields and use the fields’ associated course lists to create an individualized MA degree. Within these fields, the MAIS program can help you find a graduate faculty member to support your degree. Please contact mais@gmu.edu with questions.
Discipline Blocks
Anthropology
ANTH535 Anthropology and the Human Condition – Seminar I ANTH 536 Anthropology and the Human Condition – Seminar II ANTH 650 Methods in Anthropology ANTH 616 Anthropology of the City ANTH 721 Culture, Power, and Conflict
Art History
Communication
COMM 600 Introduction to Graduate Studies COMM 650 Research Methodologies in Communication COMM 725 Qualitative Methods or COMM 750 Research Methods II or COMM 775 Media Content Analysis Two theory courses
Computational Social Science
CSS 600 Introduction to Computational Social Science CSS 605 Object-Oriented Modeling in Social Science CSS 610 Agent-based Modeling and Simulation Two from the following:
CSS 620 Origins of Social Complexity CSS 625 Complexity Theory in the Social Sciences CSS 645 Spatial Agent-Based Models of Human-Environment Interactions CSS 692 Social Network Analysis CSS 739 Topics in Computational Social Science
Creative Writing Fiction
Creative Writing Nonfiction
Creative Writing Poetry
Criminal Justice
CRIM 511 Evidence-based Crime and Justice Policy CRIM 512 Implementing Crime and Justice Policy CRIM 513 Leadership in Justice Organizations CRIM 514 Legal and Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice CRIM 515 Criminal Justice Research Methods and Data Analysis
Criminology, Law and Society
Economics
Energy and Sustainability
EVPP 533 Energy Policy GGS 507 Geographic Approaches for Sustainable Development PHYS 581 Topics in Renewable Energy or GEOL 521 Geology of Energy Resources One from the following:
BIOD 760 National Security Technology and Policy ECON 695 Special Topics in Economics EVPP 505 Selected Topics in Environmental Science EVPP 638 Corporate Environmental Management and Policy EVPP 642 Environmental Policy GGS 525 Economics of Human/Environment Interactions POGO 550 Topics in Policy and Government PUBP 710 Topics in Public Policy
European History
Folklore Studies
FOLK 501 Advanced Introduction to Folklore and Folklife FOLK 510 Folklore and Ethnographic Research Methods FOLK 601 Folklore Theory and History Two from the following:
FOLK 550 Topics in Public and Applied Folklore FOLK 560 Topics in Genre and Theory FOLK 570 Topics in Regional Folklore Studies
Global Affairs
Global History
Higher Education Leadership
HE 703 Higher Education in the Digital Age HE 721 History of Higher Education HE 610 Research Methods in Higher Education HE 624 Finance and Fiscal Management in Higher Education HE 606 Cultural Pluralism in Higher Education HE 705 Access and Social Justice ( could be useful)
Linguistics
Literature
ENGH 500 Research in English Studies Four from the following:
ENGH 511 Graduate Literature Survey ENGH 513 Topics in Literary and Cultural Studies ENGH 526 Special Topics in the History and Criticism of Children's Literature ENGH 551 Introduction to Literary Theory ENGH 590 Topics in Folk Narrative ENGH 620 Topics in Pedagogy ENGH 642 Seminar in British Literature ENGH 644 Seminar in American Literature ENGH 661 Seminar in African-American Literature ENGH 665 Seminar in Global Culture ENGH 685 Selected Topics, Movements, or Genres of Literature in English
MEIS 500 Critical Issues and Debates in Middle East and Islamic Studies HIST 575 Approaches to Middle East and Islamic History GOVT 632 Politics and Societies of the Middle East RELI 644 Islamic Texts and Contexts One course from MEIS elective list
Philosophy
PHIL 640 History of Ethical Theory Four other courses in PHIL
Professional and Technical Writing
ENGH 501 Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing ENGH 502 Research Methods in Professional and Technical Writing ENGH 503 Theory and Practice of Editing ENGH 505 Document Design ENGH 509 Proposal Writing and Development ENGH 612 Cultures of Professional Writing ENGH 613 Technical Communication ENGH 689 Advanced Proposal Writing
Psychology
Religious Studies
RELI 600 Interdisciplinary Pathways in the Study of Religion RELI 630 Theories and Methods in the Study of Religion Three from RELI course lists
Science Communication
COMM 639 Science Communication COMM 660 Climate Change and Sustainability Communication Campaigns COMM 735 Crisis Communication 2 STEM/Science related grad courses
Social Entrepreneurship
INTS 550 Social Innovation In Action INTS 535 Leadership in a Changing Environment One from the following:
GBUS 540 Analysis of Financial Decisions GBUS 697 Special Topics in Graduate School of Business MBA 711 Entrepreneurship
Two from SOCE course lists
Social Justice and Human Rights
INTS 540 Contemporary Issues in Social Justice & Human Rights INTS 537 Critical Race Studies WMST 602 Queer Theory Two from the following:
EDUC 892 Social Justice and Equity in International Education HE 705 Access and Social Justice INTS 538 Representations of Race SOCI 623 Racial and Ethnic Relations: American and Selected Global Perspectives WMST 504 Gender, Sexuality, and Disability WMST 508 Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights
Sociology
Spanish
SPAN 502 Hispanic Sociolinguistics SPAN 510 Methods of Literary and Cultural Studies Three additional courses in SPAN cultural studies, literature or linguistics
Spanish Heritage Language
FRLN 575 Heritage Language Education SPAN 502 Hispanic Sociolinguistic SPAN 574 Critical Approaches to Teaching Spanish-language Culture SPAN 575 Teaching Spanish for Social Justice SPAN 503 Spanish Linguistics for Educators or approved elective
Spanish-Bilingual and Multicultural Education
FRLN 575 Heritage Language Education SPAN 502 Hispanic Sociolinguistic SPAN 574 Critical Approaches to Teaching Spanish-language Culture SPAN 575 Teaching Spanish for Social Justice EDUC 537 Introduction to Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Learners or EDCI 560 Methods of Teaching in Foreign/World Languages
Student Affairs
HE 606 Cultural Pluralism in Higher Education HE 624 Finance and Fiscal Management in Higher Education HE 644 Organization and Administration of Student Affairs HE 645 The Contemporary College Student HE 646 Student Development Theory HE 705 Access and Social Justice ( could be useful)
Teaching Writing
ENGH 602 Pedagogical Research ENGH 620 Topics in Pedagogy ENGH 685 /86 Selected Topics, Movements, or Genres of Literature in English ENGH 690 Special Topics in Writing and Rhetoric ( when topic is pedagogy)ENGH 697 Composition Theory
TESOL
LING 520 Introduction to Linguistics LING 521 Applied Linguistics: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) LING 522 English Grammar and Pedagogy LING 523 English Pronunciation and Pedagogy LING 582 Second Language Acquisition
U.S. History
War and Military in Society
Women and Gender Studies