Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study

The Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (C.A.G.S.) is designed for individuals with professional experience who wish to develop and expand their skills beyond the master's level in their field. Of the program requirements, twelve credits of coursework offered at the Cambridge campus are incorporated into the study plan, two semesters of a 3-credit interdisciplinary seminar for post-master's degree candidates, and six credits of research and evaluation coursework.

This program is appropriate for women and men whose fields of study are non-traditional or interdisciplinary; for people whose schedules allow for only limited attendance at a course based on-campus program; or for those with unique professional or personal situations which make systematic independent study their preferred mode of education. For example, students have successfully created and completed degrees in fields including, but not limited to: museum education, holistic counseling, Montessori education methods, dance therapy, global education, journalism, eco-psychology, history of decorative arts, integrative psychotherapy,or training and development.

Students develop their own unique plan as part of the application process. The initial study plan includes goals, learning documentation and methods, and ideas for the preparation of the final project. Learning methods include a combination of activities appropriate to the student's field of interest, such as tutorials, directed reading, coursework at Lesley University or elsewhere, fieldwork, practica, or apprenticeships.

Upon acceptance, the study plan becomes the student's program of study. Students carry out their graduate studies over a period of one to three years, with advisement from their faculty team. Upon completion of the approved study plan, the student is awarded a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Independent Study.