Master of Arts in History

Lead Faculty: Dr. Alex Zukas

The Master of Arts in History offers a broad yet focused program of graduate training in historical research and writing. The program is well-suited for teachers who would like a discipline-based Master’s degree beyond the credential. It is also excellent preparation for a career with the State Department, teaching History at the community college, doctoral studies in History, or any career in the public or private sectors requiring advanced research, analytical, and writing skills.

The graduate curriculum offers balanced coverage of the major theoretical, regional, comparative, thematic, topical, global, and epochal approaches to the research and writing of History. It equips students with the advanced research, analytical, and writing skills needed to produce historical scholarship of professional quality and to participate in the transformative and trenchant discussions of professional historians. At the conclusion of their course of study, students will present original research findings either by writing a traditional Master’s thesis or creating a Web-based multimedia Master’s project. Either option will be the result of extensive historical research.

Program Outcomes

By the end of the program, students will possess the methods, knowledge, and skills to produce historical scholarship of professional quality and to engage the ongoing scholarly discussions within the general field of history and within their chosen area(s) of specialization.

Specifically, by the end of this program, students will be able to:

• Articulate their capacity for continued learning, growth and scholarly activity in the discipline of history and their specific field(s) of interest.
• Exhibit professional and technical expertise consistent with the standards of disciplinary and/or content-area professional historical associations. Analyze the various ethical and professional issues that emanate from historical scholarship.
• Evaluate and interpret historical texts, including primary and secondary sources, in a multifaceted and nuanced manner.
• Apply a scholarship-based understanding of key historiographical theories and philosophies to a variety of historical subjects.
• Employ their knowledge of the conventions and methods of historical inquiry to propose and initiate promising research projects.
• Conduct advanced historical research that engages disciplinary perspectives, uses relevant resources, and contributes to scholarly understanding.
• Create sophisticated and professionally-informed written works or websites in a prose and visual style that is clear and effective.
• Assume leadership roles in professional and occupational organizations in communities in which they live and work.
   

Requirements

Degree Requirements

To be admitted to the Master of Arts in History program, students must have a Bachelor of Arts in History or a closely-related field in the social sciences or humanities. Students with a minor in history may be admitted after approval by the Program Lead Faculty. To receive the Master of Arts in History, students must complete at least 45 quarter units.

A total of 4.5 quarter units of graduate credit may be granted for equivalent graduate work completed at another institution, as it applies to this degree, and provided the units were not used in earning another advanced degree. Coursework transferred from other universities must first have the approval of the Program Lead Faculty. Students should refer to the General Catalog section on graduate admission requirements for specific information regarding admission and evaluation.

All students are encouraged to select a thesis advisor early in their program from the program faculty based on areas of interest and planned thesis or multimedia project but they must choose a thesis advisor approved by the Program Lead Faculty no later than the start of their fifth course. Students should consult regularly with their thesis advisor regarding course selection and their research proposal. The student’s thesis advisor and faculty members teaching HIS 695 and/or HIS 696 will give final approval to the student’s research prospectus and the thesis advisor and faculty member teaching HIS 698 or HIS 699 will give final acceptance to the Master’s thesis or multimedia project as satisfying part of the requirements for the Master of Arts in History degree.

Program Core Requirements (6 courses; 27 quarter units)

HIS 600 Seminar in History and Theory
HIS 618A Seminar in Modern Europe I (if not used to fulfill another program
requirement)
or
HIS 618B Seminar in Modern Europe II (if not used to fulfill another program
requirement)
HIS 620A Seminar in United States History I (if not used to fulfill another program
requirement)
or
HIS 620B Seminar in United States History II (if not used to fulfill another program requirement)
HIS 630 Seminar in World History
HIS 695 Directed Research Methods
HIS 698 Media/Technology Project*
(Prerequisites: HIS 696 and all other program requirements must be
completed before enrolling in this course.)
or
HIS 699 Thesis *
(Prerequisite: All other program requirements must be completed before
enrolling in this course.)

*Course is two-months long

Program Electives (4 courses; 18 quarter units) Select from the following list of courses:

HIS 618A or HIS 618B
Seminar in Modern Europe I or II
(if not used to fulfill another program requirement)
HIS 620A or HIS 620B
Seminar in United States History I or II
(if not used to fulfill another program requirement)
HIS 640 Seminar in Comparative History
HIS 645A Special Topics in History I
HIS 645B Special Topics in History II
HIS 649A Seminar in a Period/Movement I
HIS 649B Seminar in Period/Movement II
HIS 658 Seminar in Modern China
HIS 668 Seminar in Modern Middle East
HIS 678 Seminar in Modern Africa
HIS 688 Seminar in Latin America
HIS 696 History and Applied Media
(Prerequisite: HIS 695)
 

Program Information

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Online Education

This program is available online.

Program Locations

• Spectrum Business Park Campus