The Graduate School
The Graduate School at Converse offers innovative leaders and creative thinkers the next step in their professional journey.
We offer many of our Education Undergraduate Programs within The Graduate School. Our undergraduate Education students have a variety of resources and staff support within The Graduate School.
The Department of Leadership, the Department of Education, and The Department of Marriage and Family Therapy offer liberal and professional education necessary for roles of leadership, service, and citizenship.
Departments
Meet the Dean
South Carolina poet James Dickey wrote, “And this is the house I pass through, on the way to power and light.”
I hope that you will find your studies at Converse to be that transition to power and light: the light of knowledge and learning that will empower you to go into your community and make a difference.
Those of you who have chosen teaching as your profession know how valuable your contributions are to the future of our country. Educating the next generation is the most important job anyone can ever have. Your students’ futures and the future of our communities rest in your hands. Whether a bachelor’s degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching, a Master of Music, a Master in Education or an Educational Specialist’s degree, all of you are invaluable to improving and enhancing life for your fellow citizens, making you agents of transformation.
Our MLA programs increase content knowledge; our MFA program increases creativity. Our MFT program surrounds our students with clinical experiences that prepare them for successful careers. Our Professional Leadership programs foster wise leaders in a variety of contexts: public education, higher education, healthcare, the non-profit sector, business, and the ministry. For all our programs, the light and power of knowledge and caring shines out from our graduates.
I wish you great success in your studies and in your careers. The experiences you gain at and through Converse will provide you with the tools you need to build a strong and productive future.
Lienne F. Medford, Ed.D., Dean of the Graduate School
Beyond the Classroom
MFA Creative Writing Program Celebrates Multiple Achievements
From selection to a prestigious jury panel to receiving a Pushcart Prize, summer was a time of significant achievement for the alumni, students, and faculty of Converse’s Master of Fine …
Converse Hosts Hub City Bowl-Making Session
On Saturday, July 15, 2023, Converse University’s Department of Art and Design collaborated with Hub City Empty Bowls to host a bowl-making session. Hub City Empty Bowls is a grassroots …
MFA Grad Selected as 2023 Pulitzer Prize Judge
MFA alumna Cinelle Barnes ’15 (Creative Nonfiction) was selected as a judge for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize Awards memoir category. Barnes earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Converse. She …
Converse Grad Publishes Book on Art Education & Sustainability
Converse graduate Joy G. Bertling ’05, PhD, has published Art Education for a Sustainable Planet: Embracing Ecopedagogy in K-12 Classrooms through Teachers College Press. Released in June 2023, this book explores how …