The Doctor of Liberal Studies degree, abbreviated (D.L.S.), for the Latin Doctor Liberalium Studiorum, is an advanced

academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

offered by

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

and other

research universities A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of knowledge production", along with "intergenerational knowledge transfer and the ...

. Doctor of Liberal Studies programs are typically geared for accomplished professionals seeking a rigorous interdisciplinary academic program that can be tailored to their established expertise. Admissions to D.L.S. programs are very competitive, and cohorts typically consist of six to 15 students. All D.L.S. candidates already hold advanced degrees, typically more than one. The D.L.S. is a research doctorate that prepares students to make original intellectual contributions in their fields of study, and are not primarily intended for the practice of a profession. Rather than pursue research in a single discipline, D.L.S. students create new knowledge through the synthesis of interdisciplinary research. The

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...

and the National Science Foundation recognize numerous non-professional, research-oriented doctoral degrees (such as the Doctor of Liberal Studies) that require a dissertation or corresponding project as equivalent to the

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(Ph.D.) and does not discriminate between them. Through the required foundational courses in the humanities, specifically philosophy, theology, history, art, literature, and the social sciences, the Doctor of Liberal Studies establishes the intellectual and scholarly context needed to carry out serious interdisciplinary study and research in ethics and crucial issues in contemporary thought. Graduates of the program typically return to their established career domains, including national security, journalism, health care, education, law and other areas. A growing number has also secured respected university positions, including those on the tenure-track and in higher education administration; though some colleges and universities only accept Ph.D. applicants, particularly for programs that require advanced research methods. Pablo Molina, DLS profile (Georgetown University) , http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/molina/

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Liberal Studies Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refer to st ...