Degree Options
M.A. students may choose from among three different options: thesis; project; and written examination. Please note that the thesis option, but not the project and written exam options, requires students to fulfill the department’s foreign language requirement.

Thesis: This option is appropriate for those who wish to pursue a Ph.D., either immediately after receiving the M.A. or at some point in the future. A thesis is a lengthy monographic work (usually 50 to 150 pages long) that addresses a topic of importance to historians in an original way.

Project: Occasionally, when student background or experience allows, and when faculty availability and expertise exists, students may complete a project in lieu of the traditional thesis. A project may take the form of a narrative history, a documentary film or website, or some other effort approved by the committee.

Written examination: This option consists of an eight-hour written exam given at the end of one’s graduate career. It is designed for students who do not plan to pursue a Ph.D. in history. It is especially useful for secondary school teachers who want to attain the M.A. in a timely manner.

All three options require the following courses:
 

• HIST 511, Historiography (5)
• HIST 512, History Graduate Reading Seminar (5)
• HIST 515, History Graduate Research Seminar (5)
• HIST 512 OR HIST 515 (5)
• HIST 700, Thesis, Exam, or Project study (6)
• Department-Approved Electives from 500 level courses in History (10)
• Department-Approved Electives from 400 or 500 level courses in History OR other approved fields (courses must pertain to student’s thesis) (9)

Total 45 Credits

Graduate Fields of Study

Whether pursuing the thesis, project or exam option, students must choose a primary field of study from a list of fields approved by the faculty. Currently, the Department of History offers the following primary fields. Fields other than those listed need prior approval from the student’s advisor.

• Colonial/Revolutionary America
• 19th Century America
• 20th Century America
• Modern Britain and the Empire
• Modern Ireland
• Modern France
• Modern Germany
• American Foreign Relations
• American West
• Comparative Gender and Colonialism
• American Environmental History
• American Women’s History
• Pacific Northwest History
• American Social History
• American Cultural History
• Africa and the Black Diaspora
• Pre-colonial Africa
• Colonial Africa
• Contemporary Africa
• Middle East to 1914
• Middle East since 1914
• Native American History
• Modern Latin America
• Colonial Latin America
• Ming/Qing China
• 20th Century China
• Imperialism
• Modern Japan
• Modern Southeast Asia
• Pre-Imperial Russia
• Imperial Russia
• Urban History
• Soviet Union
• Environmental History

For additional ifnormation regarding the Graduate Program Requirements, please visit the Graduate Handbook here.