Ever consider earning a degree that you’ll never use, in a subject you really like? Most college students are bound by core requirements and mandatory electives geared toward a specific profession. What if you’re already an accomplished professional — say, a heart surgeon interested in architecture?

Take Richard Gordan, a clinical cardiologist with offices in Newark and Wilmington. Though he finds the medical profession highly satisfying, Gordon says he always wanted to pursue intellectual endeavors that he’d never had time for. “As a pre-med student,” he says, “I had been involved almost entirely in scientific studies. I believed the MALS program would enable me to enrich myself and to further my intellectual opportunities.”

When MALS was established in 1988, most of its students were DuPont retirees. Now the average age is 47 and “everybody works full time,” says Gary May, director. “It’s no longer a program just for retirees.” The demographic shift is a result of the changing nature of the professions, May says. “We have business people who have been focused on their careers, especially physicians who had to take a lot of chemistry, biology and other sciences, people who’ve lost touch with the liberal arts.” May says he expects the demographics to stay steady over the next 10 years. “As baby boomers get older, they’ll want to come back to this program.” He says some students are teachers who want to earn a master’s to help in their careers, but unlike a master’s in education, which focuses on how to teach, the teachers study subject content.

Five medical doctors are also currently enrolled in the MALS program. As partial retirement arose on his horizon, Gordon decided to pursue learning for the sake of learning, a luxury that he, like most busy workers, had never been able to afford.
The diversity of classes and students interested Dr. Lou Bartoshesky. A pediatrician who works with genetics at A. I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Bartoshesky says, “I had taken courses at Delaware from time to time anyway, so when I saw this in the catalog, it looked like it would be fun. It has been fun — not easy, but fun. There’s a lot of reading and writing papers for each class, but the classes are small, seminar-style.”
Bartoshesky says the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people is another plus. “There are lawyers, business people, social workers and school teachers — lots of diversity,” he says. “Some students are my age, some are right out of college.” He enjoys comparing his life experiences with those of younger students. Bartoshesky says a good example is a course he took on American history that covered 1960 to 1980. “Comparing the way my generation looked at the Vietnam War with the way younger people look at it was interesting. “Though the younger students [weren’t] alive then, they had a more objective view,” he says. “To them, those years were history. It provided a mix of conversation.” Bartoshesky says he was initially drawn to science and public-policy courses. “I sort of moved away from them. I take classes that are different for me in environmental issues and archeology. When I was interviewed (for the program) I was asked, ‘What are you going to do with this degree?’ I said ‘nothing.’ They said, ‘That’s the right answer.’”

May says MALS students are eager to learn and that teaching them is a joy. “I get more out of it than they do. Each student who enters a MALS classroom puts a human face on an experience,” he says. “Some have marched in Selma, Ala., or have participated in other historical events that I may have only read about or seen a documentary on.” May says having older, more experienced students in the classes makes for stimulating conversations. “Undergraduates are sometimes shy or used to receiving their education passively,” May says. “With MALS, the class may have already started when I walk into the room. It keeps me revived and recharged to go back to the undergrads. The students are very engaged,” May says. “They like to challenge the professor and exchange ideas. In MALS, [students] are there for the joy of learning and to establish friendships.”

Maryanne Brown-MacKay knows the program well. She started as an administrative assistant in the MALS office when the program was established in 1988. Before starting work at the university, Brown-MacKay earned a bachelor of science in business administration with a concentration in human-resource management. “I knew I’d only go to middle management, and that I was not corporate material — too pro-worker. I thought it would be good to pursue a different venue,” she says. “Having snatches of conversation with different professors sparked my interest, so now I’m also a MALS student.” She says the program is not career-oriented. Brown-MacKay cringes, however, when she says the MALS program is referred to as a “terminal” program. “It just means you can’t get your PhD. It’s too broad-based.” MALS-degree students have transitioned into PhD programs, but there’s no doctorate in MALS. Students can opt to earn a certificate in museum studies or a certificate in advanced study by taking an additional six courses.

In MALS, students study a broad range of subjects. “The core requirements may be history, anthropology, biology or English,” May says. “But the students only have to pick two out of six. Six electives are required as well.” Brown-MacKay says, “We package the electives. Usually taking courses this advanced requires years of pre-requisite courses. In MALS, the courses are geared toward a general audience. In bio-ethics, for example, the professor won’t focus purely on science, but will take a more humanistic approach.”
She is completing her thesis on the history of the small street where she grew up in Penns Grove, N.J., and is typical of the MALS student who is able to juggle home and work responsibilities with school demands. “Students have full-time jobs and families,” May says. “We can adjust to that. People ask themselves, ‘Why should I go back to school?’ I say it’s a perfect time. It’s not like school they are used to. They didn’t have these courses. It’s their turn to come back to a different kind of education.” Brown-MacKay says returning-adult students appreciate the intellectual stimulation. “People often feel stagnate after working all day,” she says. “They’re making important decisions at work, then going home to half-hour sitcoms with laugh tracks. Their brains deteriorate. There’s no one to share great stories with. To have conversations that are stimulating is addictive.”

Students nearing completion of course requirements may opt for either a thesis paper or a synthesis project on any topic they choose. For example, one student wrote a two-act play. Another wrote and illustrated a children’s book. A dentist did a synthesis project on George Washington’s teeth. Now he’s the director of a dental museum in Baltimore. “The MALS program is a way of fulfilling dreams,” May says. The projects are not fluff, he adds. “They must follow the graduate office’s rules for a thesis. They need 70 to 80 pages of serious text,” he says. “Every moment is spent looking for answers. This is where dreams meet facts.”

Currently enrolled are 110 matriculated students in various stages. Graduates include News Journal editors John Taylor and Norm Lockman and former U.S. attorney Carl Schnee.
Classes meet Monday thru Thursday evenings 6 to 9 at the Newark, Wilmington and Georgetown campuses. “MALS combines UD faculty and the most fascinating course work from disciplines such as history, English, drama, anthropology and more,” says May. Bartoshesky says, “The main thing is how much fun it is. There are expectations. They’re not cupcake courses and professors are understanding that we all have day jobs, but we are expected to get things done.” Gordon says MALS has exceeded his expectations. “Whatever profession you’re in, the more aware of the past you are, the better prepared you are for the future. I encourage anyone who can to take this program.”

Senior Editor Patricia Lake is currently pursuing a master’s degree in English & Publishing. You may reach her at plake@delawaretoday.com.