About

The Drew University Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, located just outside New York City in Madison, NJ, specializes in graduate level interdisciplinary humanities degrees. The Caspersen School offers forward-thinking programs that enrich the mind, open opportunities, and expand public discourse, while providing our students with tools and authority for engaging the world. We are student focused, with small classes that foster close mentoring relationships between students and faculty. At Caspersen, our faculty's attention is on our students.

All of our programs can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis and offer scholarships opportunities. Some brief information on each of our 5 programs is listed below, for more information on the Caspersen School and its programs, please visit our webpage at drew.edu/grad.

Degree Programs

Arts & Letters | History & Culture | Master of Arts in Teaching | Master of Fine Arts in Poetry | Medical Humanities

Arts & Letters

A graduate level liberal studies degree, the Arts and Letters program offers students courses in a variety of fields. The Arts and Letters program's interdisciplinary structure recognizes that in the contemporary world, a thorough grounding in the humanities offers the necessary intellectual and personal development for individuals to stay informed. We stress a broad liberal arts education at the graduate level and takes as a guiding principle Henry Adams' belief that a valid education prepares a citizen to meet any emergency with economy and force.This program acknowledges the timely issues-and timeless speculations- emerging throughout the world. Degrees offered: Master of Letters (M.Litt) and Doctor of Letters (D.Litt).

Arts and Letters courses are all scheduled once a week in the evening, 4:30 pm or later, in order to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. The Caspersen School offers a variety of scholarship opportunities including merit aid ranging from 25-75% of tuition for full-time students, and 50% off of tuition for full time employees of K-12 and higher education institutions, as well as, seniors age 62 and over.

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History and Culture

History and Culture is an interdisciplinary graduate program in modern intellectual and cultural history. The History and Culture program offers a masters (MA) and doctorate (PhD) in History and Culture. While its geographic focus remains European and American, the course of study emphasizes the production and dissemination of knowledge in global contexts. Students are trained to consider a range of intellectual and cultural problems of pressing contemporary relevance from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The program also emphasizes preparation for non-academic as well as academic careers. Through internships, seminars and workshops, doctoral candidates receive hands-on training in various fields including publishing, digital media, museum curation, and philanthropic organization.

Designed to get students in the job market as soon as possible, the History and Culture MA can be completed in as little as 3 semesters, and the Ph.D in History and Culture can be completed in 5 years. However, these degree programs are also accommodating of working professionals, offering a part-time enrollment option and courses in the late afternoon and evening.

A variety of scholarships are available for History & Culture students, including merit scholarships for full-time and part-time masters and doctoral level students ranging from 20% to 100% of tuition. Additionally, there are a limited number of fellowship opportunities, which consist of 100% of tuition plus a stipend.

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Master of Art in Teaching

The Master of Art in Teaching is an initial certification program designed for students with a bachelor's degree who want to teach elementary, middle or high school. Each student will be dual certified in Teacher of Students with Disabilities (special education) and their certification area: Certification areas are available in the following subjects:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Elementary Education
• English
• French
• Italian
• Math
• Physics
• Spanish
• Social Studies
• Theater Arts

The Master of Art in Teaching program can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis. Our one-year, full-time track begins in June and ends the following May. Education classes are supplemented by three courses in an academic subject area, as well as three distinctive fieldwork experiences. The two-year, part-time track is a means to the same end. Part-time students complete the same coursework, but maintain a more flexible schedule. Classes are offered in early evenings, allowing students who are employed full-time the opportunity to pursue graduate study without giving up their professional lives. Full-time study is required for all students during the final semester of student teaching.

Merit Scholarships ranging from 10% to 80% are available to all Master of Art in Teaching applicants.

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Master of Fine Arts in Poetry & Poetry in Translation

The Master of Fine Arts in Poetry Program is a two-year, low-residency program for poets and poet translators. Students hone and develop their talent, as well as gain knowledge of the craft and poetics of contemporary American writers, and writers from other eras and cultures, and offers some of America’s most talented poets as faculty mentors. The program is divided into short, intense residencies and mentorship semesters. During residencies, students and faculty come together on Drew’s beautiful campus in Madison, New Jersey. Residencies consist of ten days of public readings, lectures, workshops, as well as close work and planning between students and mentors for the mentorship semester. During the mentorship semesters students return home to complete the work agreed upon during their previous residency while under the watch and care of experienced mentor-poets. The program culminates in a fifth residency, at which graduating students participate in a panel discussion and offer a public reading of the work they have completed over the course of their time in the MFA Program in Poetry.

The Caspersen School offers a variety of scholarship opportunities including Merit aid ranging from 10-50% of tuition, and 25% off of tuition for full time employees of K-12 and higher education institutions, as well as, seniors age 62 and over.

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Medical Humanities

The Medical Humanities program offers a variety of graduate level degrees, including a certificate (CMH), masters (MMH) and doctorate (DMH) in Medical Humanities, as well as a Certificate in Research Ethics. Designed to allow you to investigate healthcare connections across the humanities, the Medical Humanities program examines the intersection of human experience and medical knowledge by engaging in a discursive dialogue centered on what medicine means in relation to the individual and society. The demand for professionals who understand and can convincingly synthesize the ethical, historical, and practical aspects of medicine as they relate to the implementation, control and dissemination of health care continues to grow. In our present society, where advances in science and technology often outpace our ability to understand and cope with new concepts and situations, the need for medical humanitarians is particularly acute.

The Medical Humanities program can be complete on a part-time or full-time basis, courses are all scheduled once a week in the evening, 4:30 pm or later, in order to accommodate the schedules of working professionals. The Caspersen School offers a variety of scholarship opportunities including merit aid ranging from 25-75% of tuition for full-time students, and 50% off of tuition for nurses, as well as, seniors age 62 and over.

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