Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences: Spur change through postgraduate discovery

As far as college towns go, Boston is one of the US’s most exciting. With over 138,000 university students making up 20 percent of the city’s population, it is an “academic nirvana” within Massachusetts.

Boston is America’s quintessential college town – this is where one can potentially find more talent per square foot than anywhere else in the country. For graduate students, there is nowhere better to gain diverse insights, expand their thinking and collaborate with brilliant minds.

Boston’s history of higher education traces back to 1863 when the Jesuits opened Boston College (BC). Its oldest and largest division is the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, a graduate school which hosts over 1,000 students at any given time.

This makes the college small enough to know you as a person while being large enough to prepare you for a rewarding career and life ahead.

Here, students pursue graduate degree programmes in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Their depth of inquiry calls for a combination of intellectual rigour and character formation, which widens the scope of postgraduate education.

Boston College

Students here aim for more than a paper qualification; through a focused study of their course, they traverse the depths of self-discovery to find their place in modern communities.

Dean Gregory Kalscheur, SJ said: “In the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, we strive to prepare our students for both the rigorous and dynamic search for truth, wherever that search may lead, and for the ongoing formation of their minds, hearts, and imaginations for lives of freedom and integrity oriented toward service of the common good.”

Championing research as a social driver

As a Tier One research institution known for academic excellence and cutting-edge studies, the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences takes research and teaching beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. It spends millions of dollars annually on research activities across fascinating fields of the future.

Intellectual, scientific exploration is championed in more than 35 research centres and institutes. Students from any of the 13 PhD, 15 Master of Arts or two Master of Science programmes can immerse themselves in cutting-edge work pertinent not just to their academic careers, but the very fabric of a civilised society.

Graduate scholars are encouraged to approach complex studies of pressing contemporary issues from as many angles as possible, coming up with solutions that upgrade solutions across industries. They find role models in a talented and driven faculty, made up of 425 inspiring members, all experts in their own right.

A good example is biology professor Christopher Kenaley, who researches the biomechanics and physiology of viperfish using 3D models printed in his Higgins Halls laboratory. Using this robotic jaw, he is now able to study the anatomy of the dragonfish family, which are predators of the ocean’s deep twilight zone.

Kenaley’s research underscores the far-reaching and influential impact of research activities at the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. At the Centre for Social Innovation, for instance, BC faculty have joined forces with the NationalI Institutes of Health to use innovative approaches for improving environmental health interventions and their implementation.

Delving deeper into health science, an international research team led by Boston College Professor of Biology Thomas N Seyfried uncovered a drug and diet pairing that fights brain cancer. They found that combining a calorie-restricted, high-fat, low-carb diet with a tumour-inhibiting antibiotic destroys two major cells in aggressive brain cancer – a condition notoriously resistant to traditional treatment protocols.

Through a wide field of research initiatives such as these, postgraduate students can zero in on their areas of expertise and interest, thus beginning their journey of giving back to their communities.

Discovery of self and community

Though hard science and solutions are the aims of graduate research, they are not the be-all and end-all of programme outcomes. Through the study of liberal arts and sciences, Morrissey students develop critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and creative imagination skills that are crucial in creating real, lasting change.

Boston College

This development can be attributed to a multi-pronged focus on the religious, ethical, and personal growth of each student.

The college also provides support through multiple means, including financial assistance in the form of tuition scholarships, fellowships and teaching and research assistantships.

Brilliant students who qualify for Department Academic Aid may receive academic awards with stipends and scholarships, as well as research grants.

Alternative loan options are also available for students with decent credit scores.

The road to success is laid out at the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences – now all that is left is for you to begin the journey.

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