Liberal Studies Post-Master’s Certificate

Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Patricia Turrisi

Graduate Coordinator: Ms. Ashley Hudson

The Post-Master’s Certificate in Liberal Studies (PMCLS) requires the completion of 20 hours in Graduate Liberal Studies beyond the master’s level. The certificate is intended to accommodate the needs and interests of those students who wish to continue their course work in graduate liberal studies beyond the master’s level. The orientation of the PMCLS, like that of the MALS degree, is not professional or vocational in nature, but is geared toward life-long learners who are primarily motivated by a love of learning and who wish to further expand their interests and deepen their understanding of themselves, the environment, and social and cultural concerns related to the local, regional, national, and global communities.

Admission Requirements

Applicants who have received a MALS degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington need only complete an application for graduate admission.

Applicants who have received a MALS degree from other institutions must submit the following documents to the Graduate School Office:

An application for graduate admission
Official transcripts of all college work (undergraduate and graduate)
Application and supplemental documents must be submitted by the published deadline.

Students seeking admission to the PMCLS program must hold a master’s degree in Liberal Studies with an academic record of 3.5 GPA or better from a regionally accredited college or university in this country or its equivalent in a foreign institution.

At the discretion of the GLS Program Direction, the admission procedure may include an interview with the graduate coordinator of the program and a representative from the advisory committee.

Certificate Requirements (20 total credit hours)

The certificate requires 20 credit hours in graduate liberal studies beyond the Master’s level, which will include 18 elective credit hours and the successful completion of a qualifying exit exam, GLS 599 , which carries two credit hours.
GLS 591 (Directed Individual Study in Graduate Liberal Studies) courses may not be applied toward satisfaction of certificate requirements.
Cross-listed 400/500 courses may not be applied toward satisfaction of certificate requirements.
Three hours of graduate liberal studies credit may be transferred from another regionally accredited graduate liberal studies program.
Students must maintain an overall 3.5 average in all graduate courses applied toward satisfaction of certificate requirements.
Certificate requirements must be completed within four years after enrollment.

Required Qualifying Exit Exam

GLS 599 - Post-Master’s Certificate Qualifying Exam in the PMCLS program is intended to provide certificate candidates with the opportunity

to present a retrospective assessment of the meaning and significance of their experience as Graduate Liberal Studies students on both the master‘s and post-master‘s levels and
to examine the value and relevance of Graduate Liberal Studies in the contemporary world, particularly in regard to those agendas of inter-disciplinary, cultural diversity, internationalism, and active citizenship that inform the GLS at UNCW.