PhD Human Science

Each degree has goals and related student learning outcomes that are reflected in the program curriculum offerings and requirements. All programs include student development of competencies in the area of research and scholarship. Specific plans for meeting both program goals and individual goals are developed at the beginning of the program at the Residential Orientation and in subsequent work with faculty mentors. These are reviewed and revised periodically throughout the MA and PhD program.

The program goals and student learning outcomes for the Human Science programs are for students to:

• Work to engage others in life-enhancing change efforts grounded in an expansive understanding of human and social phenomena.
• Combine a cross-cultural and historical overview of the different perspectives on the nature of knowing, becoming integrated practitioners who are self-reflective and empathetic.
• Bring innovation and creativity in promoting an interdisciplinary perspective beyond disciplinary and paradigmatic boundaries.  
• Place their work within an expanded geopolitical, temporal, and socio-environmental context.
• Display an awareness of their own strengths and liabilities based on the values of authenticity and compassion.

In addition to their own student goals and outcomes, developed with advisors at the beginning of the program, human science graduate students are expected to:

1. Possess a comprehensive understanding of human science, so that they can:

• Articulate the relevant Human Science perspective on contemporary issues
• Derive and apply ethical principles from human science
• Make independent scholarly contributions

2. Develop an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural understanding of history, allowing them to: 

• Explain and reflect upon pre-modern, modern, and contemporary ?theories of knowledge? and modes of inquiry
• Understand the research methods of different disciplines, their advantages and limitations
• Identify and evaluate their own perspectives and assumptions

3. Promote interdisciplinary scholarship, including: 

• Developing an effective critique of naïve empiricism
• Describing the major human science approaches, including phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, constructivism, and systems theory
• Applying theories and methods from different disciplines in an interdisciplinary context, in a way that is useful to practitioners
• Critically analyze both human science and other contemporary modes of inquiry including critical theory, postmodernism, feminism, and multiculturalism

4. Engage others in effective measures to implement positive change, including:

• Communicating effectively across cultures and demonstrating sensitivity when working with individuals, groups, and organizations
• Using the perspective of the whole person, including social, economic, cultural, political, environmental, and religious context, to develop practical solutions
• Creating authentic relationships through appreciation of individual and cultural diversity

Apply now!

Or, to  find out more about the PhD in Human Science  program is right for you, please email admissions@saybrook.edu or call 800-825-4480.