The Master of Arts in History provides its students with an exhaustive array of opportunities to pursue the world’s great personalities, events, nations, trends, periods, conflicts, and markings of progress. The Master of Arts History major has recently been re-designed to best suit your professional aspirations and interests. The new major ensures that you will learn about the "big picture" through exposure to four historical perspectives or concentrations, while allowing you to tailor the major to your individual needs during graduate study. There are two options for completing the MA in History, Thesis or Non-thesis. Non-thesis Option
This option requires a minimum of 36 hours of coursework. A minimum of 21 hours must be taken within one of the concentrations listed below and 9 credits in electives. A non-thesis student receives the MA degree upon successful completion of the required coursework and passing the comprehensive examination. Thesis Option
The thesis option also requires a minimum of 36 hours of coursework. A minimum of 21 hours must be taken within one of the concentrations listed below and 6 credits in electives Work on the thesis should begin no later than the end of the first year of study with the successful completion of RC575/HIS 501 (Historiography) and RC576/HIS 500 (Historical Research Methods). The student must file a thesis proposal, preferably by the end of the first year, and complete an original thesis by the conclusion of the program prior to granting the degree. The thesis requires 3 semester hours (16 week class format). Degree Program Objectives In addition to the institutional and degree level learning outcomes objectives, the Master of Arts in History also seeks the following specific learning outcomes of its graduates. With reference to each of the respective areas of history, graduates in this degree program will be able to: - Appraise different approaches to history and historical method in order to evaluate and propose a specific methodology for a particular project.
- Define, classify, and articulate in oral or written form the major trends, events, and people that have shaped world history, and evaluate them in context by comparison and contrast.
- Define, classify, and articulate in oral or written form the major trends, events, and people that have shaped Ancient, European, American, and Global history, and evaluate them in context by comparison or contrast.
- Examine, analyze, and evaluate at least one specialized historical sub-discipline.
- Synthesize historical issues into a coherent and comprehensive paradigm of the human condition.
- Analyze data, information, and concepts pertinent to various methodologies of historical research.
- Create an historical research proposal in which data, information, and concepts can be evaluated and synthesized.
Degree Program Requirements Core Courses (6 semester hours)
RC576 / HIS 500 - Historical Research Methods
RC575 / HIS 501 - Historiography Major Courses
The Master of Arts in History is a multi-faceted degree that allows a student to select one of several areas within the rich field of general history. A student may currently elect a concentration in Ancient and Classical History, American History, European History, or Global History. Choose one of the following concentrations: Concentration in Ancient and Classical History
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this concentration, the student will be able to: - Explain and critique Ancient Greece’s political, economic, social and intellectual movements.
- Explain and critique Roman history from its beginnings until the Age of Constantine, including the political and social developments in the Republic and the early empire.
- Examine and appraise great Byzantium leaders, the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, the recapture of Constantinople from the crusaders, and the impact of Byzantium culture on Western intellect.
- Explain and assess European social, political, economic and religious institutions and cultural and intellectual phenomena in the light of the changing historical environment from the end of the Ancient World to the Renaissance.
- Explain and assess the medieval church and rise of the Renaissance papacy; growth of humanism, including painters, architects, and sculptors; city-states and monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire; religious upheavals of Protestantism; Anabaptists; the Catholic Reformation.
Concentration Courses (21 semester hours)
Required courses:
OC580 / HS502 / HIS 502 – Ancient Greece / The Greek Civilization
OC582 / HS503 / HIS 503 – Ancient Rome / The Roman Republic and Empire
OC581 / HIS 504 - Late Antiquity & Byzantium
OC560 / HIS 505 - Medieval Europe
OC562 / HIS 506 - Renaissance & Reformation
OC530 / HIS 510 - Graduate Seminar in World History
AND choose one below:
LW560 / HIS 511 - Ancient Warfare
LW576 / HIS 512 - The Wars of Ancient Greece and Macedonia
LW577 / HIS 513 - The Wars of Ancient Rome HS680 / HIS 680 - Special Topic: History - this course, when offered, may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair.
HS690 / HIS 690 - Independent Study – this course may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair. Concentration in European History
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this concentration, the student will be able to: - Explain and assess the medieval church and rise of the Renaissance papacy; growth of humanism, city-states and monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire; religious upheavals; and the Catholic Reformation.
- Distinguish the major social, political and cultural changes of the Enlightenment in Europe from the death of Louis XIV to the fall of Napoleon.
- Discern the origins of World War I in Europe and assess the combatants, strategy and tactics, technological innovation; war in France; war at sea; the peace settlement; and the occupation.
- Compare and contrast the economies, industry, society and culture of the United States, Great Britain, Japan, and Germany during World War II.
- Assess modern European history since the Congress of Vienna to include social, economic, cultural and political experiences common to Europe; developments sharply differentiated from those in most other parts of the world.
Concentration Courses (21 semester hours)
Required courses:
OC562 / HIS 506 - Renaissance & Reformation
OC561 / HIS 507 - History of the Enlightenment
OC530 / HIS 510 - Graduate Seminar in World History
NS576 / HIS 650 - Modern European History
LW507 / HIS 550 - The Great War
LW631 / HIS 560 - World War II in Context
AND choose one below:
LW517 / MLH 541 - British Military History
LW522 / MLH 542 - German Military History
LW520 / MLH 543 - Russian Military History HS680 / HIS 680 - Special Topic: History - this course, when offered, may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair.
HS690 / HIS 690 - Independent Study – this course may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair. Concentration in American History
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this concentration, the student will be able to: - Compare and contrast historical context of 18th century British and colonial American political and constitutional philosophies, social norms and societal structure, economics, religious concepts, and foreign and diplomatic policy.
- Discern and assess the political, economic, cultural, and social aspects of the Civil War, including the causes and the conflict's aftermath.
- Explain changes in American society such as industrialization, immigration, and urbanization; isolationism and collective security; World War I; changing values; stock market crash; the Great Depression, and the cultural, social, political, military, and economic growth to the present.
- Critique the history of expressive and material culture; historical contexts of various artistic movements; cultural imperialism; cultural appropriation, creativity, and identity; and expressions of social difference and deviance in the United States.
- Discern the origins, content, and judicial interpretations of the U.S. Constitution and the Supreme Court’s evolving decisions on issues as States’ rights, civil rights, the Commerce Clause, Due Process in criminal and other proceedings, and protected freedoms.
Concentration Courses (21 semester hours)
Required courses:
OC531 / HIS 520 - Graduate Seminar in U.S. History
LW567 / HIS 522 - The American Revolution in Context
CW500 / HIS 531 - Civil War: Seminal Event in American History
OC550 / HIS 570 - The United States in the 20th Century
OC553 / HIS 571 - U.S. Constitutional History
OC542 / HIS 572 - History and Popular Culture
AND choose one below:
LC516 / HIS 541 - America’s Indian Wars
OC551 / HIS 542 - African-American History
OC552 / HIS 543 - History of American Women HS680 / HIS 680 - Special Topic: History - this course, when offered, may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair.
HS690 / HIS 690 - Independent Study – this course may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair. Concentration in Global History
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this concentration, the student will be able to: - Contrast and contrast the history, scope, and consequences of the American, French, Mexican, Russian, Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese, and Iranian revolutions.
- Distinguish the historical development, central beliefs, and practices of each of the major world religions.
- Explain and debate the modern individual in relation to the concept of the self, the history and role of the family, and in free and totalitarian societies.
- Discern the relationship of social class to insurgency as well as diagnose the factors of urbanization and internal upheaval.
Concentration Courses (21 semester hours)
Required Courses:
LC526 / HIS 508 - The Great Revolutions
LC527 / HIS 509 - Insurgency and the Peasantry
OC530 / HIS 510 - Graduate Seminar in World History
OC619 / OC571 / HUM 570 - Individual and the World I / The Individual in Society
OC620 / OC572 / HUM 571 - Individual and World II / Individuals, Societies, and the Spirit
OC543 / REL 540 - History of Religion
AND choose one below:
NS562 / HIS 660 - History and Cultures of Latin America
OC570 / HIS 671 - History and Cultures of Central Asia
NS541 / HIS 672 - History and Cultures of Southeast Asia
HS680 / HIS 680 - Special Topic: History - this course, when offered, may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair.
HS690 / HIS 690 - Independent Study – this course may be applied to fulfill major course requirements or elective requirements with permission of the Department Chair. Comprehensive Examination (0 Semester Hours)
HS700 / HIS 700 - Comprehensive Examination - Taken by Non-thesis students once all other degree requirements have been met. Thesis Option (3 semester hours)
HS798 / HIS 798 - Master’s Capstone Seminar in History After completing all core requirements, concentration, and electives, the student is eligible to enroll in HS798 / HIS 798, Capstone Seminar in History. This capstone seminar option includes a thesis, or a major research project or paper in lieu of the final comprehensive examination, which has no credit hours. Those who elect this option may reduce their electives by three semester hours to accommodate the seminar option credit. This option is desirable for those students who wish to focus on specific subject matter of an interdisciplinary nature or who would like to continue their education at a higher level. Electives (6 semester hours for Capstone Seminar students/ 9 semester hours for Non-Capstone Seminar students)
Select from graduate courses outside the required or major requirements but within history or military history disciplines. Total Hours: 36 semester hours |
