History, M.A.

Degree Requirements

• Credit Hours: Students are required to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in History at the graduate level.  Up to 12 credits can be at the 400 or 500 level.
• Grade Point Average: Students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 and a minimum GPA of 3.0 in courses applied to the degree.
• Graduation Requirement: Students have the option of either taking a comprehensive examination or completing a thesis.
  • Master's Thesis:  The thesis must be based on original research that demonstrates a critical engagement with primary sources and the secondary literature and is developed in multiple chapters. Students must first prepare a thesis prospectus, which must be approved by their thesis committee, before writing and successfully defending the thesis in an oral examination. A maximum of six hours of credit for HIST 697 can be taken for writing the thesis.
  • Comprehensive Examination:  Students who choose this option must register for HIST 795 while preparing for their exam.  In their final semester, they complete comprehensive exams in their major and minor fields, based on their coursework and in consultation with a faculty adviser for each field. The comprehensive exams include a written component and an oral defense.
• Benchmarks: For details, go to the History Degree Progress tab

Curriculum Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CORE COURSE:		3
HIST 700	Historiography
PRIMARY FIELD		12
Select one of the following sequences:
HIST 701 & HIST 702	Readings in Medieval History and Seminar in Medieval History
HIST 705 & HIST 706	Readings in Early Modern History 3 Hr and Seminar in Early Modern History
HIST 717 & HIST 718	Readings In Modern European History and Seminar in Modern European History
HIST 725 & HIST 726	Readings in African History and Seminar in African History
HIST 731 & HIST 732	Readings In American History: 1585-1763 and Seminar in American History: 1585-1763
HIST 757 & HIST 758	Readings in United States History: 1787-1850 and Seminar in United States History: 1787-1850
HIST 759 & HIST 760	Readings in United States History: 1840-1898 and Seminar in United States History: 1850-1898
HIST 763 & HIST 764	Readings in United States History: 1898-Present and Seminar in United States History: 1898-Present
HIST 765 & HIST 766	Readings in United States Diplomatic History and Seminar in United States Diplomatic History
HIST 773 & HIST 774	Readings in Appalachian Regional History and Seminar in Appalachian Regional History
Any 2 HIST courses related to the field at the 400 level or above. *
SECONDARY FIELD AND ELECTIVE:		9
Select any 3 HIST courses 400 level or above *
COMPLETION OPTION:		6
Select one option:
Thesis
HIST 697	Research
Examination:
HIST 795	Independent Study
Total Hours		30

*

 Except HIST 697, HIST 700, HIST 790, HIST 789, HIST 797.

Major Learning Outcomes

History

Students earning a M.A. in History will be able to:

• Examine and evaluate primary and secondary sources, historiographical methods, and debates among historians.

• Compose a research question and agenda that identifies the state of their field, potential weaknesses of our current historiographical understanding, or the limits of current debates.

• Use their understanding of the historical and historiographical literature to conduct research and produce and defend an original argument that makes a contribution to their field of study.