Department of History

Master of Arts Degree in History, American and European Concentrations

General Requirements

The requirements for the M.A. degree in History are spelled out in detail in the Graduate School Bulletin. The major outlines of the program are as follows:

• Students are required to take 30 hours consisting of a major concentration of 21 hours and a minor concentration of 9 hours. Students in these concentrations are expected to pass a language proficiency examination or take an extra three hours of course work in either their major or minor.
  
  
• Concentrations, both major and minor, may be chosen from U.S. or European history. In addition, with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, students may construct a minor from the wider world area, including African, Asian, and Latin American. Public history may not be taken as a minor, only as a concentration. Please see the Public History web site for information about the museum studies and historic preservation concentrations.
  
  
• All students must complete the two-course, 700-level colloquium sequence, normally in their first year of study. The colloquia are designed to introduce students to interpretive and methodological approaches in their chosen area of study. American and European majors must take the colloquium sequence in their concentration (HIS 701-702 for American, HIS 705-706 for European).
  
  
• All students, during their first year of studies (and before their first 700-level seminar), are required to take one HIS 709, a course designed to introduce students to historical research at a graduate level.
  
  
• Students are required to take the two-course, 700-level seminar sequence in their concentration, normally in the second year of study (HIS 703-704 for American; HIS 707-708 for European).
  
  
• The Graduate School requires that students must complete at least half of their hours at the 600-level or above.