Students at Harrison Middleton University design a program of study focusing on the subjects or authors that interest them. In the Master of Arts in Philosophy and Religion students do an in-depth study of authors of Philosophy and Religion and the ideas they write about. For example, students may include, but are not limited to, the following great ideas: angel, animal, art, beauty, being, cause, chance, change, duty, emotion, eternity, experience, fate, God, good and evil, habit, happiness, honor, immorality, infinity, judgment, knowledge, life and death, logic, metaphysics, mind, philosophy, principle, prophecy, prudence, reasoning, religion, sign and symbol, temperance, theology, time, truth, virtue and vice, will, and wisdom. Students may choose, but are not limited to, the following great authors of Philosophy and Religion: Plato, Aristotle, Lucretius, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Plotinus, Aquinas, Calvin, Bacon, Descartes, Spinoza, Pascal, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and 20th Century authors of Philosophy and Religion. During the first course The Great Conversation: The Cornerstone Course, the student, with the guidance of the Instructional Team, will make the decisions concerning her or his program of study that meets the curricular requirements of the University.

Upon completion of the Master of Arts in Philosophy and Religion degree program, graduates will be able to design, implement, and complete a self-directed program of study in the liberal arts. They will have achieved the ability to think critically about major ideas in Western thought and to engage in rigorous discussion about fundamental questions of human existence. Successful completion of the master’s program requires, and in turn enhances, mastery of critical, analytical, synthetic, creative, and problem-solving skills through discussion and essay writing. Design and completion of a culminating thesis, practicum, or field project demonstrates an ability to carry out sustained library or field research on a designated topic as well as to synthesize and apply knowledge and skills acquired in the course of study. Specifically, the master’s level student will be able to construct logical, coherent, well-supported, creative, and compelling verbal and written arguments; to identify, analyze, evaluate, and exploit textual ambiguity while exploring complex ideas; and to develop synthetic arguments that draw upon multiple strains of thought. The hallmark of graduate study is a student’s ability to draw profound conclusions and create original insights that move beyond the text.