Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts

The history of the University of Dallas is closely linked with the names of Braniff and Blakley. These are permanently enshrined in the Cowan-Blakley Memorial Library, the Braniff Graduate Building, the Braniff Memorial Tower and the Braniff Graduate School.

Senator William A. Blakley, lawyer, statesman and industrialist, was a member of the first advisory board of the University of Dallas. Both Senator Blakley and Tom Braniff, founder of Braniff International Airways, had been vitally interested in private higher education. Before their deaths in 1954, Tom and Bess Braniff knew of plans for the proposed university and had expressed hope that it would become a reality. Efforts to found the university captured the interest and support of Senator Blakley, who was devoted to the principles of private higher education and aware of the need for more educational centers of excellence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The Blakley-Braniff Foundation was dissolved in 1964, with all of its assets going to carry out its purposes and objectives. Senator Blakley and the other directors of the Foundation chose the University of Dallas for the site of the Braniff Graduate School as the highest and best tribute to the memory of Tom and Bess Braniff in perpetuity and accordingly made a $7.5 million grant for its establishment.

The Graduate School offered its first courses in 1966. The Braniff Graduate Building was completed in 1968, along with the mall and the Braniff Memorial Tower.

The Graduate School sets minimum standards for all graduate degrees. Each program establishes rules and requirements that supplement those of the Graduate School.

The Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts supports the doctoral program of the Institute of Philosophic Studies, the Master of Fine Arts and the master’s programs in Art, American Studies, Classics, English, Humanities, Leadership, Ministry, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology and Theology. It seeks to offer graduate programs which recall these disciplines to their first principles and which will prepare students for careers in a variety of fields.

Braniff Graduate School Policies

Admissions

Fees, Expenses, and Financial Policies

General Policies

Master's degree policies