AboutCynthia Wolfe Expertise Let me help you with questions about adult education and continuing education programs. If you are looking for a program or have questions about adult education in general, I can guide you. If you are a teacher looking for new ideas or methods, I can help. I have resources and ideas to share. I am a member of the National Business Education Association (NBEA), a professional organization devoted to the recognition that business education competencies are essential for all individuals in today's fast-changing society.
Experience I am an instructor at the University of Phoenix, working in online and classroom modalities. I am also a student at Northcentral University, where I am working on a PhD in Business Administration, with a specialty in Management. My MBA is from Troy University, 2001, and I have a BS, Environmental Science, from Troy University, 1980. Read about my experiences as an online student at my blog thinkPhD.
Question Hello again, My question here now is when moving from a Bachelors degree to a Masters, is the scope of my focus supposed to narrow or broaden, I have heard both ways. Since my BS is in History which is a Humanities, would it make sense for me to do a Masters in Humanities, or am I supposed to narrow further say like a MA in U.S. History?
As I mentioned before my husband is military and will be for at least another 8 years or so. I have no clue what my job options will be with us moving every 3 years so I thought it be best I stick with degrees that are versatile. As my Geology professor once said, don't specialize yourself out of a job.
My other part of this question is that although I have a big interest in the humanities, I am not familiar with the types of jobs this degree is good for. What jobs require humanities degrees? Working with people mainly I assume, I have some experience there as I was an Air Force cop for 4 years so I also want to keep my options open for getting back into the federal GS system (only not in law enforcement) with a degree that will work there too. My AS was in Management but I do not care to go more administration. So would a general Humanities degree cover me just fine?
Thank you for helping me sort all of this out. :)
Answer Hello Lianne,
A master's degree generally narrows the student's focus rather than broaden it. A bachelor's degree consists of classes that are more generalized. A master's degree only consists of core classes. If you have a BS in history, it would follow to work on a masters in American history, World history or historic preservation (for example). However, you are not obligated to follow this path. I have a science undergrad degree and an MBA (masters of business administration). When getting ready for grad classes, I had to take some undergrad business courses because they were prerequisites, and I had never had business courses in school.
Right now there seems to be a requirement for foreign language expertise in government service. Are you able to communicate well in a foreign language? With your experience you have many options available to you.
As with any degree, learn all that you can and make the best grades possible. You will appreciate that advise later in your career!
Good luck and thanks for asking this question.
Cindy Wolfe
