Sarah Lawrence offers nine distinctive master’s degree programs and three dual degrees in the arts, humanities, and sciences:
- The Art of Teaching (Master of Science in Education)
- Child Development (Master of Arts)
- Dance (Master of Fine Arts)
- Dance/Movement Therapy (Master of Science)
- Health Advocacy (Master of Arts)
- Human Genetics (Master of Science)
- Theatre (Master of Fine Arts)
- Women’s History (Master of Arts)
- Writing (Master of Fine Arts)
- Joint Degree in Women’s History and Law in cooperation with Pace University Law School (Master of Arts/Juris Doctorate)
- Joint Degree in Child Development and Social Work in cooperation with NYU School of Social Work (Master of Arts/Master of Social Work)
- Joint Degree in Health Advocacy and Social Work in cooperation with NYU School of Social Work (Master of Arts/Master of Social Work)
Sarah Lawrence also offers four five-year programs available to Sarah Lawrence undergraduate students upon successful application:
- BA in Liberal Arts & MSEd in The Art of Teaching
- BA in Liberal Arts & MA in Child Development
- BA in Liberal Arts & MS in Dance/Movement Therapy
- BA in Liberal Arts & MA in Women’s History
Graduate Degree Requirements
The responsibility for seeing that all degree requirements are satisfied rests with the student. Each graduate program has specific requirements as defined on the individual program websites. Graduate students plan their course of study with the individual program director.
Program Options
The following are general characteristics of the graduate programs at Sarah Lawrence. Please refer to the graduate catalog for information on each program’s specific structure and course of study.
Graduate Seminars and Courses – Each master’s program has one or more seminars or courses designed exclusively for graduate students.
Seminar-Conference Courses – Within several graduate programs, small seminars are combined with biweekly individual conferences with the course teacher. In these conferences, student and teacher identify the student’s specific areas of interest and begin to explore them, often via a project or research paper. These independent enterprises help each student develop and refine skills of analysis, interpretation, and writing. Frequently, a conference project becomes the basis for a master’s thesis.
Independent Study – Graduate students who seek to develop an individual research project or creative work more fully, or to undertake an intensive course of reading, may embark on a program of independent study. Permission is obtained from the student’s program director and approved by the dean of graduate and professional studies.
Component Courses – Component courses in dance and theatre are specifically structured to integrate theory and practice. Working with an adviser, students select a combination of several components that together constitute a full program for the Master of Fine Arts degree.
Fieldwork and Internships – In several of the master’s programs, fieldwork—the integration of the theoretical with the practical—is a requirement for the degree, and students receive a pass/fail for their course in fieldwork. The sites for fieldwork are in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and include hospitals, schools, community initiatives, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Many graduate students participate in internships throughout the New York City metropolitan area. In addition to the fieldwork and internship placements made by each graduate program, the Office of Career Services provides information about existing internship programs, makes initial contacts for students who wish to create their own programs, and counsels students individually to help them determine internship possibilities. In certain cases, fieldwork credit may be given for internships.Master’s Project – Most graduate programs require a master’s project, but the forms for the projects vary. The Art of Teaching master’s project consists of a written and oral presentation. The Child Development and Women’s History programs have master’s projects that are original research-based theses. The Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics requires 1,000 hours of supervised fieldwork and a culminating Capstone Project/Thesis. Dance/Movement Therapy requires clinical internships totaling 700 hours, with at least 350 hours of direct client contact and a culminating master’s thesis. The Health Advocacy Program requires 600 hours of supervised fieldwork and a culminating Capstone Project. In the creative arts, the Dance Program requires students to develop a master’s performance project, which includes choreography and performance. The Theatre Program requires a master’s portfolio project, representing complete documentation of the student’s work, including photographs, programs, project design, and important papers. The Writing Program requires a master’s manuscript.
Graduate Transfer Credit
All requests for previously completed transfer credit should be made by the student upon entry to their graduate program or in the semester following course completion.
Students may apply for transfer credit for courses taken at other schools if those courses meet the following conditions:
- They must have been taken at an accredited US college or university, or at an international university of comparable accreditation.
- The grade must be B or above (B– will not be accepted).
Courses that meet the above conditions are evaluated in terms of content by the program director. It is up to the program director’s discretion to evaluate whether the student can transfer in graduate-level credit and whether the transferred credit could replace a course in the program.
A maximum of 10 transfer credits may be applied to the requirements of the degree, with program director review and approval. Transcripts to be evaluated must be official copies sent directly by the issuing institution to the Graduate Studies Office. Student copies cannot be accepted.
Auditing
Students may audit a course with the permission of the instructor and the student’s program director, but they should not expect to have conferences with the teacher or have written work evaluated. The audit will be listed on the student’s transcript if they registered for the course within the registration period and the instructor has informed the Office of the Registrar that classes have been attended throughout the semester. There is no charge for auditing by matriculated Sarah Lawrence students. Students cannot convert an audit into a credit course.