Master of Arts in American Studies

• Program Overview
• Who Can Benefit From This Program?
• M.A. Students Comment on Program
• Faculty
• University Resources
• Application Procedure
• Tuition and Fees
• Course Listings
• Course Catalog
• Reference Guide for Graduate Students 

Program Overview

During the last half century, American Studies has evolved as a dynamic, interdisciplinary field of academic study in colleges and universities across the country. Growing numbers of students have undertaken a systematic study of the American experience as revealed in its history, politics, literature, sociology, philosophy, religions, and visual and performing arts.

For more than a quarter of a century, Fairfield University has shared in the vitality of this exciting field with a very successful undergraduate program. Based on the success of this program and the expanding interest in this field, the university initiated a Master of Arts program in American Studies in the Fall of 1997. Full-time members of the university faculty participated in designing this new degree program in order to more fully utilize the extraordinary institutional and regional resources available.

This graduate program consists of three core courses that provide a general introduction to the method and matter of American Studies. Each student will then work with a faculty advisor to develop a course of study which best meets his or her intellectual and career goals. The built-in flexibility of the curriculum allows one to specialize in a particular area or pursue a more generalized view of the American experience. To complete the degree, each student will select a topic of interest for his or her capstone independent project.

Fairfield is well-located in the "academic corridor" between New York and New Haven, which offers a wealth of research resources in libraries, museums, theaters, art galleries, and historic sites.

Who Can Benefit from this Program?

The Master's program is open to all qualified persons who wish to add an interesting dimension to their previous education. It will be of special interest to many middle school and secondary school teachers who, because of rising interest in the subject within their school systems, would like to be masters qualified in American Studies. It will also be of value to those students seeking a solid preparation before pursuing a Ph.D. in either the humanities or social sciences. Traditionally, American Studies has had great appeal for adult learners going back to school for no other reason but their eagerness to understand the times and the culture in which they live. Furthermore, international students will gain from this program a solid grounding in all aspects of the American culture.

The Master of Arts in American Studies:

M.A. Students Comment on Program

Dr. Leo O'Connor was sure that the calculated risk he was proposing would be worth the investment. So was Dr. Orin Grossman, then Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and today Fairfield's Academic Vice President. With the subsequent approval of the University President Fr. Aloysius Kelley and the Board of Trustees, the College's first Master of Arts program was launched in 1998 - in American Studies.

"I assumed we'd attract a lot of middle and secondary school teachers looking to get their master's in something interesting," recalls Dr. O'Connor, professor of American Studies and director of both the undergraduate and graduate programs. "We got our share of teachers, but to our surprise they've been far outnumbered by individuals thinking about changing careers, looking for personal enrichment, or some combination of both."

American Studies has long fascinated Dr. Leo O'Connor, who with students (left to right) Kate O'Gara, Allyn Arden, and Jennifer Nelson, explored the tombstones of early settlers in the Town of Fairfield.

Kathleen (Kate) O'Gara, for example, is a former social studies teacher currently at home raising two children, Sean (3) and Megan(1). "What attracted me to the American Studies program, in addition to interaction with like-minded adults, was my own desire to become more interdisciplinary," she says. "After seven years of teaching, I wanted a better understanding of the connection between different fields and the forces that influenced them."

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, O'Gara finds the small seminar format of her classes very beneficial. "Every professor I've had so far has been masterful at facilitating discussion and learning. We learn so much from each other."

According to Dr. O'Connor, the 75 students currently enrolled in the program come from an impressive variety of undergraduate colleges and universities. These include, among others, Duke, Cornell, Yale, Connecticut College, Wesleyan, Smith, Fairfield, Amherst, UCLA, Barnard, and Mount Holyoke. "Their quality has enhanced the quality of the program," says Dr. O'Connor, who came to Fairfield as an English professor in 1965 and shifted focus to create the undergraduate American Studies major in 1978. "I got intrigued by the synergies between the literature I was teaching and film, art, and history," he recalls. "Gradually, teaching in the traditional 'discipline' model seemed narrow and confining." Thus American Studies became Fairfield's first interdisciplinary major, and a model for numerous area studies majors and minors that have followed.

The American Studies M.A. requirements include eleven courses - four required and seven electives that can be self-designed to shape a specialty or expanded to study across a spectrum that includes American art, history, politics, philosophy, religion, music, theatre, and literature.

"While I'm most interested in history and political science," says retired investment manager, Allyn Arden, "the American Studies program is giving me the opportunity to look across the whole spectrum. I'm working harder now than I ever have - and I've studied at NYU, the University of Michigan, and the University of London. The professors here have challenged me to think in new ways. It's pretty rigorous."

Another challenge for Arden has been the need to fine-tune his writing skills. "I had not written a full declarative sentence in 30 years," he quips, having instead worked mostly with numbers as a senior executive at Chase Bank in London and later as an investment manager on Wall Street. "But I love school, and after I moved to Connecticut two years ago, I was looking for a challenge." His neighbors in Westport recommended Yale or Fairfield, so he explored both and became intrigued by the interdisciplinary approach of American Studies at Fairfield. "I love it!" he says. "I've been very impressed."

So has Jennifer Nelson. She, too, was new to the Fairfield area and looking for a focus. Having worked in the environmental field in Virginia, she was unsure of what she wanted next. "Financially and time-wise, I had the enviable opportunity to learn for the sake of learning," she explains, "and I decided to go for it. When I saw the American Studies brochure, I said to myself, 'That's it.'"

A paper she wrote for class on "Bloomers" has been accepted for publication in Popular Culture, an international scholarly journal. "I feel so lucky to have had this chance to learn about things I felt I ought to know." Jennifer noted: "Who we are as a people and what America is about has proven to be a valid, vibrant area of study."

Those words certainly ring true for Dr. O'Connor, who says that in his wildest dreams he couldn't have imagined a job he enjoys as much. "Teaching American Studies is my vocation and my avocation. Yet I realize that without the enthusiastic contributions of the participating faculty, there would be no M.A. in American Studies. The one constant, the one thing that has remained true during my 39 years at Fairfield is that it's an environment that welcomes new ideas. Being able to recharge with new challenges is what keeps me engaged with my profession.

And what keeps students like Jennifer Nelson coming for more. "No matter what your goals," she says, "American Studies is truly a life-enriching program."

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