2012-2013 Academic Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2012-2013 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Bachelor of Arts/Master of Arts in History (B.A./M.A.)


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Programs of Study

Overview


The M.A. in History provides the highly-motivated student with an opportunity to work intensively under the direction of one or two faculty members, as junior and senior honors students in upper-level undergraduate courses that include graduate students, and as M.A. students working in a graduate seminar with Ph.D. students, in upper-level undergraduate courses that include graduate students, and in individually-designed tutorials under the direction of a faculty advisor. By undertaking intensive research in primary sources in the undergraduate honors program, students are typically able to complete the Master’s degree in only one additional year beyond the B.A. degree.

Departmental eligibility requirements


The M.A. in history is open only to history undergraduate majors who successfully complete the honors program in history.

Program of study


In the senior year, students take eight courses, three of which are in the Honors Program: one directed readings course (299.1) in the general area of the student’s research, and two Honors Thesis courses, one each semester, in which the student conducts research in primary sources and completes an honors thesis (followed by an oral defense with the thesis advisor and one other department faculty member). Typically, of the five remaining courses, the student would probably take several other history courses, mostly at the 200 level. Several of these would likely be related to the student’s area of specialization. Our students typically specialize in the main areas of our graduate program, American History or Holocaust History, because these are the only areas in which we regularly offer upper-level undergraduate research seminars and graduate seminars. In the fifth year, the student typically takes one graduate seminar each semester, one 200-level course (with an additional graduate level assignment such as a research paper), and one directed reading or directed research course on a tutorial basis. Typically, the directed research or the graduate seminar is taken for two academic credits, so that the student takes four graduate credit units each semester. The M.A. student has two options in fulfilling the research requirement for the master’s degree:

Option 1:


The traditional master’s thesis, which is usually done over two semesters (one thesis research course each semester) often with the writing being completed after the academic year is finished. While this is recommended for those students who intend to continue on in a Ph.D. program, it is difficult to complete all the required course work and a master’s thesis within one academic year.

Option 2:


One research paper in each semester (either from a graduate seminar or a directed research course. The two research papers are usually revised (on the advice of one or more faculty members) and then submitted to the director of graduate studies who, with one or more other faculty members, determine that the two research papers are the equivalent in research experience to the traditional master’s thesis.

Program advisor


(Signature Required on Application: Part 1)
Professor Drew McCoy
History Department
Jefferson Academic Center
508-793-7789
dmccoy@clarku.edu

Advice for students


The most important advice for students wishing to enter the B.A./M.A. program in history is that they need to acquire the necessary research and writing skills as an undergraduate in order to complete the rigorous research requirements for the master’s degree within one year. The student ideally should decide by the sophomore year to become a History major, and should take History 120, Writing History, in the second semester of the sophomore year. Then in the junior year, the student should take several 200-level history courses, and at least one seminar, in preparation for the honors program in History in the senior year. The honors program, with three courses in the senior year, two of which are devoted to research and writing the honors thesis, provides excellent training for the rigors of graduate-level work in the fifth year.

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Programs of Study