Symposium Substitute

As per M.A.L.S. degree requirements, each M.A.L.S. student is required to complete

• two Symposia – M.A.L.S. 120 – (one offered each summer term), or
• One Symposium and one Research Methods module – MALS 130 –, or
• One Symposium and one approved Symposium Substitute.

An acceptable Symposium substitute should be a conference with a substantive academic theme/topic that simulates the MALS summer symposium in intent by presenting myriad views and perspectives on the topic from a multi-disciplinary approach. The conference should be related to the student’s independent work (or plan of study) in the MALS program, and should provide critical analysis of the topic, or subject.

Petition:

Petitions to substitute a conference for the second symposium should be submitted to the MALS Curriculum Committee, and should include:

1. A cover letter stating the rationale for the conference topic/event; i.e., how your coursework and/or your independent work relate to the theme of the conference.
2. Pertinent information about the event, including the schedule, speakers, topics to be covered, etc…

Please print out this information, and include it with your petition – do not simply reference a web site, or URL, as petitions must be copied and distributed.

Deadlines:

Deadlines for Symposium Substitute petitions are the same as Curriculum Committee deadlines:

February 1, for conferences in the spring (March and April),
April 15, for conferences in the summer (May, June, July, and August),
August 1, for conferences in the fall (September and October)
October 15, for conferences in the winter (November, December, January, February).

Upon approval, and attendance, at a Symposium Substitute conference, students will be required to submit an 8 – 10 page reaction paper in order to receive credit for attendance at the conference (this is the minimum requirement for receiving credit for a symposium substitute).