Arts and Letters is an interdisciplinary graduate liberal studies program designed with working professionals in mind. Our two degree programs (MLitt, DLitt) offer courses in seven concentrations that build on Drew University’s strengths in the humanities, the creative/performing arts, religious studies, and teacher education. Options include part-time and full-time study in an array of academic and creative fields. Small seminar-style classes meet in person, online, and in hybrid formats. Our faculty mentors work with students to customize each course of study tailored towards their individual goals. Internships and optional professional certificates assist students in transitioning to new professional opportunities in postsecondary teaching. Our graduates include language arts and history teachers, community college and university professors, creative writers, and directors of nonprofit organizations.
Arts & Letters at Drew is:
Interdisciplinary
Building on the University’s strengths in the humanities, creative/performing arts, teacher education, and religious studies
Breadth across disciplines that span creative, academic, and pedagogical fields
Concentrations in the DLitt are available in Creative Writing, Teaching Writing, Literary Studies, Historical Studies, Fine Arts & Media Studies, Religious Studies, and Teaching in the Two-Year College
Student-Centered
We have a minimum number of required courses for maximum flexibility in two elective-based degree programs at the master’s and doctoral level
Students shape their own learning trajectories by choosing from among a wide selection of elective courses
Students have the option of combining the MLitt or DLitt with concurrent pursuit of professional certificates in Conflict Resolution or Teaching Writing
Students can pursue coursework offered jointly by professors from Drew and the County College of Morris and internships to transition to careers in teaching at the undergraduate level
Students can supplement curricular offerings by pursuing individual tutorials with faculty on topics of the students’ choice
Students who complete the MLitt at Drew can subsequently return to earn the DLitt by taking only 15 additional credits and writing their dissertation
Flexible
Students can choose to pursue their degree on a part-time or full-time basis, each semester
Students can opt to enroll in electives or tutorials in two summer-intensive sessions in addition to the fall and spring semesters
Students can take courses on campus in person, hybrid or online synchronously via Zoom
Our hybrid courses are all taught in specially equipped classrooms that enable the professors to facilitate lively discussion among all participants, whether they are in person or online
Although the majority of our students choose to come to campus at some point in their studies, all required courses are offered online or hybrid to enable students to complete the degree fully online
To read more about Arts & Letters programs and current student perspectives, take a look at the article published in Drew Stories in March 2023.
Now that I've graduated from the Arts & Letters program, I have connected with key members within the scholarly community surrounding my dissertation subject. I owe this to the scholarly transformation I experienced at Drew. I am now an authority of my subject and a part of a global conversation.
”
Master of Letters (33 Credits)
The Master of Letters gives you the option of either completing ten courses (30 credits) and a 50–75 page master’s thesis (3 credits) or taking an additional course in lieu of the master’s thesis to complete a total of 11 courses (33 credits).
The program requires the completion of 12 courses, including two required seminars plus preparing and successfully defending a 150–220 page doctoral dissertation.
Have you earned or are you looking to pursue a certificate at Drew in Conflict Resolution & Leadership or Teaching Writing?
As an MLitt or DLitt student, you may concurrently earn a certificate in Conflict Resolution & Leadership or Teaching Writing.
Already earned a certificate in Conflict Resolution & Leadership or Teaching Writing?
You may apply the credits earned directly towards your MLitt or DLitt program!
I imagined it might be difficult for me to break into nonprofit work, but the directors told me that my degree gave me indispensable curiosity, communication skills, research abilities and this willingness to do hard work to help and honor another life. I did not know that working in AIDS advocacy was the work that my Arts and Letters degree was preparing me for, but as it turns out, it has prepared me in unexpected and invaluable ways.
”
Our Program Director
Dr. Leslie Sprout
Director of Arts & Letters
Professor of Music
Dr. Leslie Sprout’s scholarship focuses on music, modernism, and national identity in twentieth-century France. Additional research interests include the film music of Arthur Honegger and the engagement of European composers with American popular music and jazz between the two world wars. Dr. Sprout’s work has been published in the Journal of the American Musicological Society, The Musical Quarterly, and the New York Times. Her book, The Musical Legacy of Wartime France(UC Press, 2013), received the 2015 Béla Kornitzer Book Award for best faculty book at Drew University. Her research has been supported by the Fulbright program, the American Musicological Society, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris.
Start Terms: Fall, Spring, Summer Deadline: Rolling Admissions Admission Requirements
- For master's program, bachelor's degree from an accredited institution
- For doctoral program, a master's degree in a humanities discipline from an accredited institution
- Completed Application Form
- Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions
- Personal Statement
- Essay Response/Writing Sample
- Resume
- Two Letters of Recommendation
International applicants need to meet additional criteria. See our international admissions page for more information
Concentrations
• Fine Arts and Media Studies
• Historical Studies
• Literary Studies
• Studies in Religion
• Teaching in the Two-Year College
• Teaching Writing
• Writing