Christian Distance Learning

Antioch University McGregor is imbued with an entrepreneurial spirit and strives to provide high quality, socially responsive, flexible, and innovative educational programs. Antioch University McGregor seeks to pass on to its graduates a legacy of passion for lifelong learning and a commitment to the application of knowledge toward the betterment of our workplaces, our communities, and the wider society.

Individualized Liberal and Professional Studies (ILPS) Concentrations & Guidelines

• Community Change & Civic Leadership
• Creative Writing
• Integral Knowledge Systems (IKS)
• Visual & Performing Arts
• New Actors Workshop
• Applied or Research Psychology
• Counseling Psychology

ILPS Mission

The ILPS program strives to be distinctive in a world of standardization and common denominators by creating the space for students to individualize their curricula. We encourage a commitment to ongoing personal, professional and cultural learning, creative, artistic and analytic expression and the engagement in transformational practices. In the context of a supportive, student centered learning environment, we challenge students to develop a critical and reflective conscience, to examine and transcend the limitations of hegemonic thinking and to meet high academic expectations. We promote the integration of theory and practice, and study and reflection with application and engagement. We believe that these aims need to be grounded in an awareness of, sensitivity to and respect for our shared humanity in a culture that welcomes diverse ways of knowing and being in a variety of contexts.

About the Program

For more than 25 years, students at Antioch University have been individualizing their graduate study in many liberal arts, fine arts, or social science fields, while continuing to live and work in their home communities. The Individualized Liberal and Professional Studies (ILPS) Department offers qualified students a unique opportunity to pursue graduate education through an individualized, limited-residency program. Our master of arts program is designed for the reflective, committed, and self-directed learner who seeks to affect social, organizational, or personal change. Students pursue their study through two intensive seminars and a combination of individualized coursework and online study, making it possible for students to combine graduate education with professional, personal, and community commitments.

The ILPS Department is committed to the educational needs of adult learners. We realize that adults have responsibilities that necessitate a flexible approach to graduate education. Thus, the ILPS Department offers a graduate program with the following features:

• Two short-term residencies in Yellow Springs, Ohio, at the beginning and midpoint of the program
• Study with Antioch faculty and experts whom you select
• Courses designed to fit your learning preferences
• Flexible schedule to fit your lifestyle
• Learning that is self-directed
• Integration of theory and practice
• Selected online coursework
• Online learning communities with faculty and students
• Capstone learning options (thesis or project)
• 60 quarter-credit master of arts degree

We also realize that ILPS students have years of experience and self-motivation that they can bring to their education. The ILPS master of arts program helps you to identify meaningful educational and professional goals, integrate theory and practice, and conceptualize and produce a thesis or capstone learning project appropriate to your field of study.

We strive to assure that all graduates of our program achieve the following academic goals:

• Mastery and application of a body of knowledge in one?s field
• The ability to organize learning activities around goals
• The ability to integrate theory and practice or technique
• The ability to collaborate with academic professionals in the field
• The ability to establish and maintain a network of academic resources
• The ability to write and speak effectively as is appropriate to their academic field or discipline

During the admissions phase, the student proposes a field of study that reflects his or her background, interests, and goals. Once the student enrolls in the program, this plan of study is formalized in an individualized curriculum. Because of the program?s limited-residency nature and Antioch's educational philosophy (which holds that students are to be active participants in designing their own educational process), students are expected to take primary responsibility for defining their individualized curricula and for finding resources and people to support them in their study.

Degrees have been earned through the ILPS Department in many fields of study, including the following:

  Acting
  Adult Education
  Art and Art History
  Community Change & Civic Leadership
  Communication  
  Community Development
  Counseling Psychology
  Creative Writing  
  Education  
  Film Studies  
  History  
  Integral Knowledge Systems (IKS)
  Intercultural Studies  
  Liberal arts    
  Liberal Studies    
  Literature    
  Management    
  Organizational Development
  Peace Studies    
  Philosophy    
  Playwriting    
  Psychology (Applied or Research)
  Studio Art    
  Theater Direction

Whereas the ILPS Department does not confer degrees in clinical psychology, it does confer degrees in counseling psychology and other psychology-related fields. For licensure purposes, some states (including Ohio) do not recognize the ILPS psychology degree. Information about certification can be found at National Board for Certified Counselors website.

Students earn a master of arts degree with a concentration in their selected area. Students in this program cannot earn an M.B.A., M.S.W., M.Ed., or M.F.A. degree. Fields of study in pure mathematics or the sciences (i.e., chemistry, physics, mathematics, medicine) may not be pursued through the ILPS master of arts program.

There are some admissions and program requirements specific to students whose emphasis is in creative writing, psychology, or visual and performing arts.

Narrative Evaluation

Antioch University is committed to a narrative evaluation process for assessing student learning. Instead of providing letter grades, instructors are required to submit narrative evaluations of the student's performance.

The ILPS Department takes the evaluation process one step further, using it as an opportunity for students to reflect upon what they?ve learned, recognize and acknowledge the knowledge that they have gained, and identify how they could improve upon their learning. Thus, in the ILPS master of arts program, both students and instructors have the responsibility to reflect upon and evaluate student learning.