A master's degree. With a purpose.

In the MAIS program, ideas about a better world are not just discussed. They are put into practice.

Program director Susan Carter believes that learning is most effective when coupled with relevant direct application to daily lives and contemporary issues. The MAIS program integrates action, experiential learning and communal engagement into coursework, encouraging students to apply scholarly knowledge to the causes and concerns of the larger community. Students are encouraged to take the service-learning seminar Compassion in Action and include a service component to their practicums.

The result? Our students forge new relationships and create personal networks. Partnerships and alliances are established within the Lake Oswego, West Linn and Portland neighborhoods. The positive actions of our MAIS students help grow a rich and ongoing dialogue between the institution and our surrounding communities.

Faculty, students and alums in the community

Susan Carter partnered with Dr. Riane Eisler and the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence for an event in January 2013.

The MA in Interdisciplinary Studies Department and the Department of Religious Studies brought alum Dr. Jerilyn Felton to campus to facilitate a lecture on pastoral care and canine companion-assisted ministries.

Alum Shelly Parini-Runge Shelly developed a new model of community outreach called "appreciative organizing."

Alum Nancy Gibson proposed a new way to deal with e-waste and donations of inappropriate or broken medical equipment to the developing world. She presented her proposal at several conferences, including the Society for Applied Anthropology annual conference.