Tom & Alissa

I re-discovered the Draper Interdisciplinary M.A. Program in Humanities & Social Thought at NYU yesterday and had a lightbulb moment. I’m definitely applying, in addition to Gallatin.

From the Q&As:

Many students use the Draper Program as a transition between undergraduate and doctoral studies. While completing the requirements for the Draper master’s degree, students clarify and refine questions that will be at the heart of their PhD research. Some students want to pursue a doctorate in a field that has little connection to their undergraduate work; in the Draper Program, they can begin to acquire fluency in conversations relevant to their new interests. If their doctoral intentions build on their undergraduate focus, they use Draper to establish a graduate-level scholarly record that increases the likelihood of a successful PhD application.

Other Draper students use the Program to choose among several possible PhD concentrations. If you want to earn a PhD but aren’t sure which discipline best suits your research interests, the Draper Program lets you consider different disciplinary possibilities. Many of our students arrive at Draper intent on a particular discipline only to realize that they are more excited by another field of study.

Draper also suits those whose undergraduate focus does not resemble their current interests. A biology major, for instance, now wants to study urban anthropology. Or a musician or a visual artist or an accounting major and now wants to immerse in Derridian literary analyses or the philosophy of science.

Finally, Draper is a good place for you if you have no desire to pursue a doctorate but want to participate in the intellectual excitement and academic challenge of graduate school.