These classes will be offered in the upcoming Summer 2026 semester. Check MavLINK for enrollment appointments and to enroll.
MA CCT Courses offered Summer 2026
CACT 8000: Intro to Critical and Creative Thinking
This course is the foundational introductory course for the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking program (MA CCT). It focuses on the development of students' skills as critical thinkers and creative problem solvers as well as the cultivation of students' capacity to recognize and leverage tools, resources, and ideas toward finding innovative solutions to everyday problems.
Prereq: Graduate status and acceptance into MA CACT program or permission of instructor. By permission number only. Please contact the MA CCT office (Tim) for permission number and eligibility.
Instructor: Brian Kanouse
CACT 8080: Independent Study
This course is designed for those students who are independently pursuing an area of study that is not covered under the existing curriculum. The student will be supervised by a member of the faculty of the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking program. All course assignments, readings, requirements, and expectations will be clearly communicated to the student in advance. May be repeated for credit for a total of six credit hours.
Prereq: Admission into the MA CCT program, successful completion of 6 hours of CACT coursework, including CACT 8000, and permission of faculty member. Not open to non-degree graduate students.
Instructor: Joseph Price
CACT 8215: Values and Virtues
This course explores advanced topics in ethics with particular emphasis on value theory and virtue ethics. Topics to be considered include the meaning and status of value claims, sources of value, intrinsic goods, agent-relative goods, practical reason, moral development, happiness, moral ambiguity, moral luck, the identification of virtues, and relationships of care, trust, and responsibility. This course supports the Ethics and Values concentration in the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking. Cross-listed with PHIL 3060.
This course supports the Ethics and Values concentration in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking.
Instructor: Kevin Patton
CACT 8510: Seminar in Leadership
This course introduces students to classical and contemporary scholarship on leadership theory, research, and application. Students gain a foundation in models of leadership, assess their own leadership styles, and learn to integrate what they learn in corporate, governmental, non-profit, or community organizations. Cross-listed with PSCI 8120.
This course supports the Organizational Science & Leadership concentration in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking. Note: By permission number only. Please contact the MA CCT office (Tim) for permission number and eligibility.
Instructor: Don Simmons
CACT 8540: International Leadership and Strategy
This course introduces students to international leadership and strategy theory, research, and application. Cross-listed with PSCI 8220.
This course supports the Organizational Science and Leadership and the Interdisciplinary Security Studies concentrations in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking. By permission number only. Please contact the MA CCT office (Tim) for permission number and eligibility.
Instructor: Michelle Black
CACT 8640: Creative Nonfiction in Digital Environments
Students in this course will study creative nonfiction in digital environments, analyze rhetorical situations created in digital environments, which might include, in addition to other modalities, sounds, animations, and hypertext, and create multimodal essays. The course will also focus on the study and analysis of craft-elements of creative nonfiction: narrative persona, tone, rhythm and style, scenic construction, among others. Students taking this course will learn to read with interpretative and analytical proficiency a broad range of creative nonfiction in digital environments. Cross-listed with ENGL 8640.
This course supports the Writing and Critical Reflection concentration in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking.
Instructor: Jody Keisner
MA CCT Courses offered Fall 2026
CACT 8000: Intro to Critical and Creative Thinking
This course is the foundational introductory course for the Master of Arts in Critical and Creative Thinking program (MA CCT). It focuses on the development of students' skills as critical thinkers and creative problem solvers as well as the cultivation of students' capacity to recognize and leverage tools, resources, and ideas toward finding innovative solutions to everyday problems.
Prereq: Graduate status and acceptance into MA CACT program or permission of instructor. By permission number only. Please contact the MA CCT office (Tim) for permission number and eligibility.
Instructor: Brian Kanouse
CACT 8060: Topics: Work and Family
This course examines the contemporary problems that individuals, families and communities in the U.S. have in integrating work and family/personal life. Cross-listed with SOC 8356/4350.
This course supports the Cultural and Global Analysis and/or the Organizational Science and Leadership concentrations in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking.
Instructor: Sam Ammons
CACT 8060: Topics: Geography, Gender, and Entrepreneurship
An advanced seminar focused on links among geography, gender and work, emphasizing leadership and entrepreneurship. The course considers theory and method in addition to empirical work. The nature of space, of gender, and of work, are examined. Topics include the gendering of work, the geography of entrepreneurship, gender and leadership. Cross-listed with WGST 8156/4150, GEOG 8156/4150, and ENTR 8156/4150.
This course supports the Cultural and Global Analysis concentration in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking.
Instructor: Karen Falconer Al-Hindi
CACT 8080: Independent Study
This course is designed for those students who are independently pursuing an area of study that is not covered under the existing curriculum. The student will be supervised by a member of the faculty of the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking program. All course assignments, readings, requirements, and expectations will be clearly communicated to the student in advance. May be repeated for credit for a total of six credit hours.
Prereq: Admission into the MA CCT program, successful completion of 6 hours of CACT coursework, including CACT 8000, and permission of faculty member. Not open to non-degree graduate students.
Instructor: Joseph Price
CACT 8090: Graduate Project
The Graduate Project is an applied student project under the direction of a faculty advisor. In the project, the student will apply interdisciplinary knowledge and skills gained within the program to address a problem or to expand knowledge within or across disciplines. The product or artifact produced by the student may take a variety of forms.
Prereq: Permission from program advisor and approval of project proposal. By permission number only. Please contact the MA CCT office (Tim) for eligibility.
Instructor: Joseph Price
CACT 8216: Health, Religion and Human Rights
This course examines the intersections among public health, religion, and human rights. It considers how human rights impact public health and vice versa; how human rights and religious thought impact each other; how religious communities approach issues of public health; and how religious thought and practice affects people's health. Topics include infectious diseases such as HIV and COVID-19; issues of stigma and discrimination in public health; social determinants of health such as poverty and environmental quality; and women's and LGBTQ+ health. Students will gain skills of textual analysis, dialogue, and argumentative reasoning in both written and verbal form. Cross-listed with RELI 8216/4210.
This course supports the Ethics and Values and/or the Sustainability and the Environment concentrations in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking.
Instructor: Bharat Ranganathan
CACT 8510: Seminar in Leadership
This course introduces students to classical and contemporary scholarship on leadership theory, research, and application. Students gain a foundation in models of leadership, assess their own leadership styles, and learn to integrate what they learn in corporate, governmental, non-profit, or community organizations. Cross-listed with PSCI 8120.
This course supports the Organizational Science & Leadership concentration in the MA in Critical and Creative Thinking. Note: By permission number only. Please contact the MA CCT office (Tim) for permission number and eligibility.
Instructor: Don Simmons
For more information on any of the concentrations in the MA CCT, or to view course listings and course descriptions, please see the Graduate Catalog. For questions about enrollment or registration, please contact Tim Kniseley.