Master of Arts in History

In this program students are encouraged to focus their studies on some of the distinctive areas of strength in the departments of graduate curriculum. This includes European cultural and social history; history education; global history and contemporary world and the Americas. Students are strongly advised to take graduate courses in other relative disciplines such as Arts, English, Language, and Literature. This degree is awarded to students who have completed one of the options (option 1 and option 2) as described. The thesis option (option 1) requires twenty-six hours of course credits, in addition to the six hours of thesis credits that students can take towards the research and writing of their thesis. The thesis may be based on research in primary sources or on an analysis of a selected problem from historical literature. Its length should be between 75 and 125 pages, exclusive of graphics, footnotes, and the bibliography. The field study option (option 2) requires thirty-five hours of graduate credit, plus four hours of directed readings on a topic that a student selects and explores under the direction of one of the department’s faculty. A student’s mastery of the selected field will be assessed in an examination.