The master of arts (MA) in history may serve as a final degree or as prelude to an additional graduate degree. In addition, the degree may be used to professionalize the standard secondary school teaching license. The MA degree in history prepares students for a wide variety of education and career paths by offering a choice of five concentrations. The thesis concentration is especially useful for those who intend to pursue a doctoral degree. The general concentration requires no thesis, and is suited for students wishing a more broadly based education to prepare them for a number of history-related fields. The digital history concentration introduces students to computer-based methods of research and presentation of scholarship, which is especially useful in public history careers. The history teaching concentration prepares existing secondary educators to teach dual credit high school courses, or any students who wish to teach at the junior or community college level. The ethnohistory concentration provides grounding in both historical and anthropological methods for students who wish to study past cultures that did not create bodies of written sources.
33 credits
Required Core (3 credits)
| HIST 612 | Seminar in Modern Historiography and Research Methods | 3 |
Directed electives (15 credits)
A minimum of five courses in American, European, and/or world history distributed over a minimum of two geographic areas. Students must select from the following courses: HIST 621, HIST 622, HIST 623, HIST 631, HIST 632, HIST 633, HIST 641, HIST 650, HIST 661, HIST 670, or HIST 671. Courses in other departments may be used to fulfill the Directed Elective requirement with the approval of the History Department Curriculum Committee, or if they fulfill the requirements of a specific History MA Program concentration.
American History
| HIST 621 | Studies in American History to 1877 | 3 |
| HIST 622 | Studies in American History Since 1877 | 3 |
European History
| HIST 631 | Studies in Early European History | 3 |
| HIST 632 | Studies in Modern European History | 3 |
World History
American, European, and/or World History (depending upon course topic and/or student project)
Courses in this section may apply to any of the geographic fields, depending on the course's content and student's choice of research topics or major project in the course.
| HIST 623 | Special Topics in US, European, or Atlantic World History | 3 |
| HIST 633 | Special Topics in Comparative History | 3 |
| HIST 661 | Seminar in Digital History | 3 |
| HIST 670 | Introduction to Teaching History | 3 |
| HIST 671 | Seminar in History Education | 3 |
Three 500- or 600-level courses in history or with approval in related fields (9 credits)
Students may count a maximum of 9 credit hours of 500-level coursework toward the degree.
Concentration-Specific Requirements (6 credits)
Students must choose one of the five following concentrations within the major. Some of these concentrations designate specific courses students must take. In addition, each concentration requires 6 credits of specialized coursework.
Thesis concentration, 6 credits
Any student may choose to write a thesis. The history department strongly recommends that students who intend to continue their graduate education at the doctoral level write a thesis. Students enroll for 6 credits of THES 698, which may be taken in one semester or in two segments of 3 credits each over two semesters.
General concentration, 6 credits
Students who choose not to write a thesis must complete 6 additional credits of 600-level history course work in lieu of a thesis.
Digital History concentration, 6 credits
Students who choose the Digital History concentration must take HIST 546 (or a suitable alternative digital methods course if they took HIST 446 as undergraduates, as arranged through consultation with the Director of the MA program) and HIST 661 as electives. They must also take CRPR 698 for 6 credits, or CRPR 698 for 3 credits plus 3 additional credits of 600-level work. Suitable alternatives to HIST 546 and HIST 661 may be offered in the event that these courses are not available.
History Teaching concentration, 6 credits
Students who choose the History Teaching concentration must take HIST 670 and HIST 671 as directed electives. They must also take THES 698 or CRPR 698 for 6 credits, or CRPR 698 for 3 credits plus 3 additional credits of 600-level work. Suitable alternatives to HIST 670 and HIST 671 may be offered in the event that these courses are not available.
Ethnohistory Concentration, 6 credits
Students who choose the Ethnohistory concentration take 6 credit hours of coursework from among ethnohistory-related ANTH and HIST courses as electives. At least 3 of these 6 credit hours must be from ANTH coursework. All students in this concentration are required to take ANTH 571. They must also complete a 3-credit CRPR 698 project using both anthropological and historical methods.
Accelerated Master's Program
Undergraduate students accepted to the Accelerated Master's Program (AMP) may take any 500-level graduate history courses.