M.A. in Engaged Humanities & the Creative Life

This program asks both: what do you want to do creatively and what do you want to do academically? At a fundamental level, to study the Humanities is to study being human by investigating literature, the arts, philosophy, history, religion, and other inherently human interests. Pacifica's program in Engaged Humanities and the Creative Life goes further to examine how individuals can be active and powerful in the world through the study of creativity and culture. Pacifica's Humanities program invites students in the visual, performing, narrative, studio, and media arts; the creative side of advertising, marketing, and product development; teachers of art, literature, and the humanities; professionals in creative fields such as architecture, interior design, and fashion, and the film, television, and music industries; and any others who want to live and work more creatively, or foster creativity in themselves and others. The program culminates in the completion of a substantial creative project or portfolio. Learning Format: The M.A. Program in Engaged Humanities takes advantage of distance-learning technology that allows students to work and learn in their home environments. Additionally, four times each year, they gather on the Pacifica's Santa Barbara campus for an expanded week in residence. These four day retreats focus on face-to-face engagement between the program’s faculty and the Humanities cohort. There is time for community-building through shared meals, social events, film screenings and art viewings, guest lectures, and circle councils.