Information on History Masters Programs

The Department of History at the University of Programs offers several programs for advanced study. The most popular program is the Masters of Arts (MA) in History. In addition, the Department offers a specialized curriculum in Museum Studies that can be pursued as a certificate or an MA degree (for more information, see https://cms.umsl.edu:8443/entity/open.act?id=3bf3bdfd80ce0e360089a55d858036b9&type=symlink&#highlight
Beginning in the Fall 2012 semester, the Department will debut a certificate in History Education for teachers and other educators who wish to learn the latest thinking about engaging public audiences in the study of history. Undergraduates currently enrolled in the History BA program may pursue a combined BA/MA degree in the accelerated 2+3 program.

Below you will find a synopsis of the MA program and the 2+3 program For official descriptions of all programs as listed in the UMSL Bulletin, follow UMSL Bulletin link on Graduate page menu.

Master of Arts in History  The Department of History offers students two ways of completing the Master of Arts degree:

1) the thesis option, which emphasizes depth of knowledge and research competence acquired through writing a substantial master’s thesis;
2) the research paper option, which emphasizes breadth of historical knowledge acquired through additional coursework and the writing of smaller research papers.

The Thesis Track:

1) Coursework and requirements:

a. Students opting for this track take 32 hours of coursework;

i. This includes Historian’s Craft (HIST 6000), the introduction to the discipline and to graduate study;

1. the 3-credit course is offered once a year and usually taken during the student’s first semester in the program;

2. it is not counted toward the 3 primary field courses.

ii. The 32 hours includes (up to) 6 hours of thesis credit, which can be divided up and taken over several semesters;

iii. thesis credit is arranged by the student, in conjunction with his/her thesis director.

b. Fields of study:

i. Student will choose as her/his field U.S History and/or World history (all non-U.S. courses are considered world);

ii. and take 3 courses in each chosen field;

iii. the remaining hours can be allocated as the student sees fit.

c. Additional requirements/restrictions:

i. student can take no more than 3 5000-level courses;

ii. students must take at least one 5-credit hour seminar to prepare him/her to do thesis research;

iii. this can be in the area of his/her thesis or outside it.

d. Language exam:

i. Student must demonstrate competence in another language by passing an exam before defending the thesis;

ii. The exam requires that a student translate, with the help of a dictionary, a 500-700 word (in the original language) essay;

iii. The exam can be repeated until the student passes it and up to twice per semester;

iv. The language is of the student’s choosing, unless English is not her/his first language;

v. A member of the history faculty will conduct this examination and choose the test for translation;

e. Substitute for language exam:

1. Students can choose to demonstrate competence in quantitative methods;

2. by satisfactory completion (B- or better) of either PSYCH 2201 Psychological Statistics or SOC 3220 Sociological Statistics, or their equivalent

3. Please check with Director of Graduate Studies if you decide to pursue this option.

2) The Thesis:

a. a thesis is an argument-driven piece of original research based on primary sources on a topic of the student’s interest and choosing;

b. it demonstrates expertise in a particular area;

c. choosing to write a thesis will most likely increase the time to graduation;

d. many students choosing this track aim to go on to a Ph.D. program;

e. The thesis committee:

i. The student chooses a committee of history department faculty, including a director and two additional members, one of which can be outside the department and/or university;

ii. the student will work with the committee to complete the thesis;

iii. the committee is usually chosen at the beginning of the student’s second year;

iv. the student cannot register for thesis credit until her/his committee is selected and the M-2 (History only M2) filled out and submitted to the director of graduate studies; ( https://cms.umsl.edu:8443/entity/open.act?id=dc444a2280ce0e360ed47b1bcf8d7091&type=file&#highlight) see links to all forms below);

f. The thesis defense:

i. the student will defend the thesis in front of his/her committee (and other members of the department) after s/he has completed the final draft;

ii. committee members may ask student for further revisions after the defense.

iii. two weeks prior to the defense, the student needs to submit the M3 and tentative final copy of the thesis to the graduate school.

iv. Deadline for the Defense: In order to meet program requirements, students must defend the thesis no later than 4 weeks before the end of the semester in which they intend to graduate.

g. Submission of Thesis:

i. The thesis is now uploaded (by student) and approved electronically (by thesis advisor);

ii. After the defense and making the required changes, student will upload his/her thesis;

iii. A step-by-step outline of the process is available at: http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/files/pdfs/ETD%20Submission%20Manual.pdf

iv. Thesis advisor will must submit final approval of thesis;

1. S/he can find instructions at: http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/files/pdfs/Faculty%20Advisor%20Instructions.pdf

2. The necessary form s/he must fill out is at: http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/files/pdfs/Faculty%20Advisor%20Instructions.pdf

The Research Paper Track

1) Coursework and requirements:

a. Fields of Study:

i. Student will choose as her/his field U.S History and/or World history (all non-U.S. courses are considered world);

ii. and take 3 courses each chosen field;

iii. the remaining hours can be allocated as the student sees fit;

b. Student opting for this track takes 36 hours of coursework;

i. This include 3 5-credit hour research seminars in the student’s area of choosing;

ii. The research papers produced from these 3 courses constitute the requirement for graduation.

c. Research papers:

i. in each of the 5-hour seminars, student will write a research paper based on original primary-source research;

ii. the research paper is argument-driven and not a summary of the literature.

d. Additional requirements/restrictions:

i. Student take Historian’s Craft (HIST 6000), the introduction to the discipline and to graduate study;

1. the 3-credit course is offered once a year and usually taken during the student’s first semester in the program

2. it is not counted toward the 3 primary field courses.

ii. Student can take no more than 3 5000-level courses.

Required forms

The student must fill out various forms to complete the degree. These forms are Graduate School forms, not from the History department. Regardless, they must all be turned into the director of graduate studies.

a. All forms must be typewritten; they will be returned, if filled out any other way;

b. All deadlines are Graduate School deadlines—hence, the date listed is the date that the Graduate School must have the form. Do not wait until the last minute to fill out the required form.

c. Completed forms need to be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies.

d. M-1: http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/current/Masters%20Level%20Forms.html

e. Students must list all the courses they have taken and intend to take for the completion of the MA.

f. The M1 must be submitted by the 8th week of the semester in which the student is expected to complete 2/3 of the required credit hours for graduation.

g. THESIS TRACK students must submit the M-1 by completion of 22 hours;

h. RESEARCH PAPER TRACK students must submit M-1 by completion of 24 hours.

i. All forms must be submitted to the DGS.

j. M-2: https://cms.umsl.edu:8443/entity/open.act?id=dc444a2280ce0e360ed47b1bcf8d7091&type=file&#highlight (History only M2).

k. The M-2 must be filled out only by students pursuing the Thesis Track;

l. The M2 should be submitted no later than the beginning of the student’s second year of enrollment;

m. The bottom half of the M2 form is left blank. That portion will be filled out by thesis committee members;

n. After the M-2 has been signed off on by thesis committee members, it needs to be submitted to the DGS.

M-3: http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/files/pdfs/M3.pdf

a. The M-3 must be filled out only by students pursuing the Thesis Track.

b. Preliminary approval of Master's Thesis is due 5 weeks before the end of final semester.

c. The form must be signed by all members of the Thesis Committee and then submitted to the DGS.

M-4: http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/graduate/files/pdfs/M4.pdf

This form—the application for a Master's Degree—is due by the end of the 3rd week

of classes in the final enrolled semester. This form is for the standard

“exit-checking” of each candidate’s academic records. Following submission,

the candidate will be notified only in the case of deficiencies or problems in the records.

Admission Requirements  All applicants, regardless of the track they choose or whether they complete the program on campus, online, or a combination of the two, must meet both the general criteria of the Graduate School (see Graduate School webpage) and departmental standards:

The applicant need not have majored in history, but s/he must demonstrate high academic potential.

Only students with at least a 3.25 grade point average in their undergraduate major are considered. Successful applicants have higher grades.

To apply, applicants must submit:

three academic letters of recommendation (those from family friends or co-workers will not suffice);

official copies of all undergraduate and graduate (if applicant has done graduate work) transcripts;

a high-quality academic writing sample;

and an online application (see UMSL homepage for link).

The admissions committee takes the entire above requirement into its decision.

Please note: the application deadlines are: March 15 (for fall semester) and Oct 15 (for spring semester).

The 2+3 B.A. and M.A. in History

The 2+3 B.A./B.S./ Ed and M.A. in History enables students of demonstrated academic ability and educational maturity to complete the requirements for both degrees (137 credit hours) in five years of full-time study.

Student can apply for admission when s/he has completed at least 75 hour but no more than 105 credit hours;

Must have at least a 3.35 grade point average.

Student will hold provisional status until s/he has 105 hours.

After completing 105 credit hours, student may be admitted to the graduate program based on the recommendation of the Graduate Director and approval from the Dean of the Graduate School.

Before contemplating admission, student should see the Director of Graduate Studies to discuss his/her application.

The Graduate School tightly monitors the progress of students in this program. A student must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher throughout the combined program. Should s/he fall below a 3.0 GPA, the Graduate School will officially remove the student from the 2+3 program, although the student is still eligible to complete the B.A. or B.S. degree.

Students who withdraw from the 2+3 will be awarded the B.A. or B.S. degree when they complete all remaining requirements for the degree.

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Information on History Masters Programs

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