Tapping into the MALS Program

Morgan Hamilton joined MALS using the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) benefit. Hamilton talks about how the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the students in MALS bring a richness and clarity to her study-work-life balance, and enrich her research.

Like all the Ivy League schools, Dartmouth encourages employees to increase their knowledge and skills by taking courses toward completion of a degree or to enhance their knowledge of a particular subject area. Known as the Tuition Assistance Program, this benefit encourages lifelong learning by helping to cover the cost of courses at Dartmouth.

Morgan Hamilton is one student who is taking advantage of this benefit and has enrolled in her first year of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program. Hamilton joined Dartmouth in 2010 when she took the position of Project Coordinator/Stewardship Associate several years after completing her undergrad degree at the University of Vermont with a double major in English and Anthropology. In summer 2015, she was promoted to Assistant Director for Administration and Advancement.

She began taking note of the opportunities the tuition assistance program (TAP) afforded when she observed colleagues completing their MALS degrees. “A lot of allowances seemed to be made for people to balance life, work, and school,” she noted, commenting on the flexibility of MALS.

MALS reviews applications twice annually, but does not offer rolling admissions, and students may matriculate into the program at the beginning of any of Dartmouth’s four terms. All degree requirements must be satisfied within six academic years of entry into the program, which means a full time employee can choose when a course will work for their work/life schedules.

The decision to take on graduate studies can be a daunting one, particularly for a student who brings several years of life experience outside the classroom, but Hamilton says she feels very at home. “I was really hesitant about being back in class,” she says, “but the diverse body contributes to the dynamic of the class. I’m learning from the experiences others bring to the discussion,” she says.

There is a broad mix of students in each cohort: students who are new graduates, who bring a fresh approach to academic discourse, and a mixture of full and part time students from a range of backgrounds with diverse aspirations.

Hamilton now has one term under her belt and says of her current course Globalization & Its Discontents, “I have a lot of ideas. But I’m very interested in the mechanisms of movement and diaspora; how and why people get access to services and resources. The process of globalization is viewed usefully through interactions between groups of people.”

She also notes the current program ties very neatly with her undergraduate interests when she studied archeology. “Archeology is the study of material culture to learn how humans lived and interacted in the past. Now I’m studying the creation and life-cycles of present-day objects to learn more about our trajectory for the future.”

The program has also helped find life-work balance, Hamilton states, “This is a good opportunity for me to take a very hard look at myself.  I am structuring my day a little better, and am getting good at prioritizing the workload. It’s my choice to continue my education, so I feel I have a lot of agency in determining how I study and what I take from each class.”

In addition to graduate studies and a full time job, Hamilton also finds time to compete with the local roller derby team, the Upper Valley Vixens, along with several other women on campus from faculty to students, and of course, staff. “I’m really happy living in the Upper Valley,” she concludes, “it’s a remarkable place.”

Welcome to MALS, Morgan!