Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts

The Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts, in all its degree programs other than those in Art, emphasizes careful reading and reflection upon the most important primary texts that have shaped the thinking of all of mankind, especially as that thought has emerged in the West.  These transcendent moments of learning are filled with profound insights, often expressed in language of unparalleled beauty and power, ideas that are deeply imbedded within us and from which we cannot separate ourselves, though higher education today, too frequently, is neglectful or even scornful of them.  In the Braniff Graduate School we treat these texts as essential in the conviction that they are our best guide to the future and that through the contemplation of them our imagination will be quickened, our understanding of truth and justice refined, and our ardor to serve the good refreshed. 

Most of our graduate programs, therefore, are based on a core consisting of these texts, and many encourage interdisciplinary studies.  One such interdisciplinary program is the Institute of Philosophical Studies, under whose aegis Ph.D.’s are offered in Literature, Philosophy and Politics.  This is the nation’s only Ph.D. program with a core curriculum required of all students and consisting of great books drawn from different disciplines.

Other interdisciplinary programs are the Master’s degrees in American Studies and Humanities. In addition to these the Braniff Graduate School offers Master’s degrees in English, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology and Theology.  For the texts at the core of each of these degrees and a description of how each department approaches its discipline, please consult the pages on this website under the separate Master’s programs. 

The Braniff Graduate School also offers an M.A. in Art and a Master of Fine Arts.  Although of course not based on texts, the art program here is also distinctive in its approach and expects students to have a knowledge of the tradition of art and to use it to inform their own work.