Letter from the Dean

Dear Students,

For almost half a century, Lesley University has provided advanced professional training for women and men through graduate study. The Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences carries on this tradition by offering unique programs for adults who are seeking to establish or enhance their professional identities in the social and behavioral sciences, the arts and humanities, and in education. The focus on the arts and social sciences forms the basis for ways of investigating the human condition and provides a focus on a variety of frames for constructing knowledge and informing professional practice. The Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences includes the Division of Counseling and Psychology, Division of Creative Arts in Learning, Division of Expressive Therapies, Division of Interdisciplinary Inquiry, and International and Collaborative Programs. Approximately 3,000 students are pursuing advanced degrees in the programs of the school at sites across the nation and abroad in Europe, the Middle East and Canada. The school is committed to the premise that all members of the community must develop an understanding of and appreciation for individuals in their cultural contexts. The school makes a consistent effort to develop a heterogeneous community of students and faculty that reflects the world's diversity of race, gender, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age and ability, and respects the integrity of different learning styles and educational backgrounds.

Throughout the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, the faculty support the conviction that teaching, learning and clinical training exist in and must respond to the changing social, political and economic environment in which students and graduates live and work. Programs are crafted to promote an atmosphere that supports creativity and intellectual development, to stimulate scholarly and research collaborations among students and faculty, and to create and sustain working partnerships with professional and community organizations. Moreover, the school honors the life and professional experiences of students by encouraging them to take agency of their learning and incorporate their unique perspectives and backgrounds into their courses of study.

The school is dedicated to the mission of preparing effective practitioners and innovative leaders who possess the knowledge, skills and commitment to enact meaningful change in their professions and in the larger society. I encourage you to take full advantage of the rich resources of the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences; its expert faculty, committed staff and remarkable network of professional and community organizations -- in order to discover a rewarding and successful experience, both personally and professionally. I wish you well!

Julia Halevy, Dott. Ped.
Dean
Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences