Master's programs are carefully designed to serve multiple purposes, including the development of professional competence and the capability for continued self-directed learning, as well as preparation for advanced graduate study for those students interested. The professional degrees, often considered terminal degrees, are designed to prepare scholar-practitioners for career and leadership roles in business, government, the arts, and human/ health service delivery fields.
The graduate program of the university has in recent years continued to build upon its strong liberal arts base by introducing new programs in such areas as classics and Japanese. In addition, significant efforts have been made to meet the evolving societal needs of Northern California, and especially the San Francisco Bay Area, by introducing new graduate programs in such areas as conservation biology, resource management and environmental planning, museum studies, physical therapy, women studies, gerontology, marriage and family counseling, ethnic studies, and the professional programs in art, cinema, creative writing, music, and theatre arts.
The university has also given considerable attention to the development of interdisciplinary programs to meet the varied needs of its graduate students. Most colleges of the university offer college-based graduate programs (e.g., interdisciplinary studies in creative arts, education, ethnic studies, humanities, and social science), as well as more specialized interdisciplinary programs such as gerontology and museum studies. In addition, students may structure an individualized special major program, typically including course work that focuses on a selected theme from at least three departments across the campus.
On the following pages will be found general information about graduate study and about how to begin and complete a master's degree. For detailed information about a specific program, the student should refer to that program's entry in this Bulletin and/or contact the program's graduate adviser. Answers to questions of a more general nature may be found on the following pages or in other sections of this Bulletin or sought by contacting the Graduate Division of the university.
last modified January 16, 1995