Welcome to Graduate Liberal Studies at Duke

Your master’s, your pace.

Many graduate degree programs start with a field, set curriculum, or particular career or professional goal in mind.

Graduate Liberal Studies at Duke starts with you: your interests, your questions, your needs, your background and experiences, your vision for your own future.

Duke GLS is a flexible, self-designed master’s program grounded in the interdisciplinary liberal arts. With part-time and full-time options, we offer learners of all ages and backgrounds strong academic and professional development support and access to the scholars and resources of one of the finest universities in the world.

Through nine courses and a capstone master’s project, you chart your own path of learning. You can pursue a thread of inquiry, examine a problem via multiple methodologies or cross-cultural perspectives, or follow your curiosity as one step leads to another. You can prepare for a professional transition or further graduate study, explore ways to apply your growing knowledge, or enjoy learning for its own sake.

Along the way, GLS will help you develop a robust, personalized, and relevant toolkit of skills: qualitative or quantitative research and analysis; oral communication; digital skills; writing for many types of audiences; and presenting your ideas in essays or through exhibits, photography, performance, music, film, or online.

And you can do it all, in a small, diverse, warm, and welcoming community of fellow learners, based in our "little house" at 2114 Campus Drive.

Want to learn more? Visit our About page, send us a query, or come to an information session!

We'd love to help you open the door to your Duke future.