The Department of History Offers Students Two Ways of Completing the Master of Arts Degree:
The thesis option, which emphasizes depth of knowledge and research competence acquired through writing a substantial master’s thesis.
The research paper option, which emphasizes breadth of historical knowledge acquired through additional coursework and the writing of smaller research papers.
The Thesis Track:
Coursework and Requirements
- Students Must Complete 32 Hours of Coursework:
- This includes Historian’s Craft (HIST 6000), the introduction to the discipline and to graduate study
- The 3-credit course is offered once a year and usually taken during the student’s first semester in the program
- It is not counted toward the 3 primary field courses
- The 32 hours includes at least, but no more than 6 credit hours of thesis credit, which can be divided up and taken over several semesters
- Thesis credit is arranged by the student, in conjunction with his/her thesis director
- Fields of Study:
- Student will choose as her/his field U.S History and/or World history (all non-U.S. courses are considered world)
- Take 3 courses in each chosen field
- The remaining hours can be allocated as the student sees fit
- Additional Requirements/Restrictions:
- Student can take no more than three 5000-level courses
- Students must take at least one 5-credit hour seminar to prepare him/her to do thesis research
- This can be in the area of his/her thesis or outside it
- Language Exam:
- Student must demonstrate competence in another language by passing an exam before defending the thesis
- The exam requires that a student translate, with the help of a dictionary, a 500-700 word (in the original language) essay
- The exam can be repeated until the student passes it and up to twice per semester
- The language is of the student’s choosing, unless English is not her/his first language
- A member of the history faculty will conduct this examination and choose the test for translation
- Substitute for Language Exam:
- Students can choose to demonstrate competence in quantitative methods
- Satisfactory completion (B- or better) of either PSYCH 2201 Psychological Statistics or SOC 3220 Sociological Statistics, or their equivalent
- Please check with Director of Graduate Studies if you decide to pursue this option
The Thesis
- Thesis Track Definition:
- Is an argument-driven piece of original research based on primary sources on a topic of the student’s interest and choosing
- It demonstrates expertise in a particular area
- Choosing to write a thesis will most likely increase the time to graduation
- Many students choosing this track aim to go on to a Ph.D. program
- Thesis Committee:
- 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
- The student will work with the committee to complete the thesis
- The committee is usually chosen at the beginning of the student’s second year
- 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. See links to all forms below)
- Thesis Defense:
- 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
- Committee members may ask student for further revisions after the defense
- Two weeks prior to the defense, the student needs to submit the M3 and tentative final copy of the thesis to the graduate school
- 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
- Submission of Thesis:
- The thesis is now uploaded (by student) and approved electronically (by thesis advisor)
- After the defense and making the required changes, student will upload his/her thesis
- A step-by-step outline of the process is available here.
- Thesis advisor will must submit final approval of thesis
- S/he can find instructions here.
- The necessary form s/he must fill out is here.
The Research Paper Track
Coursework and requirements
- Fields of Study:
- Student will choose as her/his field U.S History, World History (all non-U.S. courses are considered world), History Education, and/or Public History
- Take 3 courses for each chosen field
- Remaining hours can be allocated as the student sees fit
- Students Must Complete 36 Hours of Coursework:
- This include 3 5-credit hour research seminars in the student’s area of choosing
- The research papers produced from these 3 courses constitute the requirement for graduation
- Research Papers:
- In each of the 5-hour seminars, student will write a research paper based on original primary-source research
- The research paper is argument-driven and not a summary of the literature
- Additional Requirements/Restrictions:
- This includes Historian’s Craft (HIST 6000), the introduction to the discipline and to graduate study
- The 3-credit course is offered once a year and usually taken during the student’s first semester in the program
- It is not counted toward the 3 primary field courses
- Student can take no more than 3 5000-level courses
Required Forms:
To graduate, all students must fill out an M-4 form at the start of their final semester. Instructions for the M-4 form and precise deadlines can be found on the Graduate School website. Students on the Thesis Track must also fill out M-2 and M-3 forms and should consult the Graduate Director for appropriate deadlines.
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
- 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 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