History, MA

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Intended candidates for the MA degree must present a minimum undergraduate preparation of 18 upper division credit hours in history or a closely allied field such as Asian Studies or American Studies. Students who lack this preparation or who wish to undertake study in an area of history other than that of their undergraduate preparation must make up deficiencies either before or during graduate study. In the latter case, the student will be admitted only conditionally, pending removal of the deficiencies.

The prospective MA candidate may select either Plan A (thesis) or Plan B (non-thesis). Both plans require the intended candidate to give evidence of competence in a foreign language appropriate to the field of major interest. In addition, students in the U.S. or East Asia history areas in either Plan A or Plan B must also meet seminar distribution requirements, which raise the minimum required 600-level work to 18 credit hours.

Plan A (Thesis) Requirements

Plan A requires a minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate work, at least 15 of which must be in courses numbered 600 and above (including HIST 602 ), plus 6 credit hours of HIST 700 - Thesis Research , a written thesis, and a final oral examination, which is a defense of the thesis.

Plan B (Non-thesis) Requirements

Plan B requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of graduate work, at least 18 of which must be in courses numbered 600 and above (including HIST 602 ), comprehensive examinations in two fields of history (a major and a minor), a final oral examination covering those two fields of history, and submission of two major research papers from graduate seminars, one in the major field and the other in the minor field.