INDEPENDENT STUDY DEGREE PROGRAM

Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Education (MEd) --
One of the Nation's Leading Programs for
Self-Designed Master's Degrees

The Independent Study Degree Program is the oldest graduate program offered at Lesley University. The program's flexible structure allows self-directed adults the opportunity to create their own programs and to pursue an advanced degree in their field of choice. It offers master's degree students the following:

• Individualized, self-designed study programs
• Flexible scheduling
• Ability to pursue studies at home or anywhere in the world
• 12 credit Lesley course option or substantial tuition reimbursement for outside instructional expenses (e.g., courses, tutorials, conferences, internship supervision)
• A team of faculty chosen according to each student's academic fields and professional interests

This program is designed for highly-motivated, independently-minded, and self-disciplined women and men whose fields of study are interdisciplinary or non-traditional. Participants may be unable to attend course-based on- or off- campus programs or have 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 studies, storytelling and narrative analysis, yoga training, Montessori education methods, global education, journalism, eco-psychology, history of decorative arts, global ethics, music pedagogy, program administration, organizational change, training and development, spirituality and many others.

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

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 a faculty team. Upon completion of the approved study plan, the student is awarded the Master of Arts or Master of Education degree.

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