History

The faculty in the Department of History offer graduate programs leading to the MA and PhD degrees in History. MA candidates are offered an opportunity to develop knowledge of a specific historical field, to study comparative history, and to learn research techniques. Students with various goals benefit from this degree program, including those planning to advance to PhD study, those seeking positions in the public sector, or in business, and those now holding or looking for educational posts in elementary and secondary schools and community colleges.

Students admitted to the Master of Education (MEd) degree program with a major in Secondary Education may elect history as the subject matter field.

See Master’s Degrees, for general requirements.

Admission. Applications for the master’s program must be accompanied by the applicant’s scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); three letters of recommendation from faculty members or others who are qualified to judge the applicant’s potential for advanced study in history; a résumé; a writing sample; and a statement of purpose.

Forms and instructions for filling them out are available from the graduate administrative assistant, the Division of Graduate Studies Web site (www.asu.edu/graduate), and the Department of History Web site (www.asu.edu/clas/history). MEd applicants must submit scores from both the GRE aptitude and advanced history tests. For MEd program requirements, see MEd Degree in Secondary Education, on this page.

All applications and supporting materials are reviewed by the graduate committee of the department. The committee recommends to the Division of Graduate Studies that the student be granted regular or provisional admission or be denied admission.

Areas of Concentration. In consultation with the supervisory committee, the candidate may select a field of history from the following: Asian, British, European, Latin American, public history, United States, and U.S. Western. For information on the concentration in public history, see Public History Concentration, on this page. Under the United States concentration, students may choose to specialize in a variety of areas; some examples are African-American, American Indian, Chicana/Chicano, and women.

MA Degree in History. A minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate course work are required for the MA in History. Upon matriculation, the student, in consultation with the graduate director, selects a faculty advisor in the student’s area of concentration. The faculty advisor directs the student toward completion of required course work. The 30 semester hours must conform to the following guidelines:

Public History Concentration. Candidates admitted to the MA degree in History with a concentration in public history select two areas of emphasis, one of which is public history, and must complete HST 502 and at least two short courses (of one semester hour each). Beyond these requirements, each of the six emphases within public history has other specific requirements, which are listed in the department’s graduate handbook. The following is a list of the differing minimum number of semester hours for a degree in each of the six emphases: business, 41 semester hours; community history, 40; historic preservation, 40; historical administration, 37; historical editing and publishing, 44; public sector, 39. Course work taken outside of the department for inclusion in the program of study must be approved in advance by the appropriate program director.

MEd Degree in Secondary Education. Candidates for the MEd degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in history must complete 15 semester hours of history course work. Overall, 12 of the 15 semester hours must be in 500-level history courses. If 400-level courses are included in the program of study, documented proof must be provided that they were taken for graduate credit. Contact the department for specific details. All candidates for the MEd must maintain at least a 3.00 G.P.A. in HST courses.

Foreign Language Requirements. The student is expected to have a reading knowledge of one foreign language, but some other research skills may be substituted for this requirement by the supervisory committee.

Thesis Requirements. A master’s thesis or its equivalent is required. Students have two options: They can either write an MA thesis or take the MA thesis equivalent. The MA thesis is approximately 100 pages in length and is based on original research. Students who choose this option must enroll for six semester hours of thesis work (HST 599).

The MA thesis equivalency is composed of two parts: (1) two three semester hour seminars (HST 591) on a broad topic and (2) two three semester hour research courses (HST 592) on a topic derived from the first research course.

Both the MA thesis and the MA thesis equivalent must be prepared according to Division of Graduate Studies requirements, defended, and approved by a thesis committee. Candidates must supply bound copies of the thesis that will be placed in Hayden Library and in the Department of History.

Final Examination. A final oral defense of the thesis or the thesis equivalent is required.

The PhD degree in History offers candidates the opportunity to study past and contemporary civilizations and to learn research and writing techniques that may be used in scholarly careers at leading academic institutions, in historical societies and agencies, in the public sector, and in business.

Major emphasis is placed upon developing a disciplined and inquiring mind, expertise in a chosen subject area, and competence in research methodology. The program is composed of small classes that bring students into a close working relationship with faculty and other students and offers flexibility in designing degree programs.

The five areas of concentration are Asian history, British history, European history, Latin American history, and United States history. Students must select a minimum of three historical fields for examination.

See Doctor of Philosophy, for general requirements.

Admission. Applications for the PhD degree in History must be accompanied by the applicant’s scores on the Graduate Record Examination, three letters of recommendation from faculty members or others who are qualified to judge the applicant’s potential for doctoral study, a writing sample, a résumé, and a statement of purpose. Applications and supporting materials are reviewed by the graduate committee of the Department of History. The committee recommends to the Division of Graduate Studies that the applicant be granted regular or provisional admission or be denied admission.

Program of Study. For students admitted to the doctoral program with a master’s degree or other graduate credits in hand, the requirements for the PhD are an additional 54 semester hours of credit in residence, which should consist of 30 semester hours of historical study and 24 semester hours of dissertation research and writing. All 54 semester hours have to be taken after admission to the program. A minimum of 84 semester hours is required for the doctorate.

For students admitted to the doctoral program directly from a baccalaureate program, the requirements for the PhD are 84 semester hours of course work, which should consist of 60 semester hours of historical study and 24 semester hours of dissertation research and writing. A minimum of 54 semester hours must be taken while the student is in residence after admission to the doctoral program. These hours should conform to the expectations of students who enter with a master’s degree or other graduate credits in hand.

Upon matriculation, the student, in consultation with the graduate director, selects a faculty advisor in the area of concentration. Together the faculty advisor and student select a PhD program committee consisting of at least three faculty members. In consultation with the student, the committee draws up the program of study and helps direct the student to the completion of required course work.

The program of study (a minimum of 60 graduate semester hours of history) required of all students in the doctoral program must conform to the following guidelines:

Foreign Language Requirements. Demonstration of a satisfactory reading knowledge of two foreign languages is required before the student may take the comprehensive examinations. For the second language, the student’s program committee is free to approve the substitution of a demonstrated capacity in some other research skill, such as quantitative or statistical analysis, archival management, historical preservation, oral history, or educational technology.

Preliminary Reviews. During the first academic year of residence, students are required to schedule a preliminary review with their program committee. A preliminary review is an oral interview during which a student defends the program of study and his or her progress in the program to that point. Students who fail this review must withdraw from the program.

It is recommended that students make arrangements for the preliminary review by February 1 and have the preliminary review completed by March 1. It is further recommended that the student demonstrates a satisfactory reading knowledge of at least one foreign language before scheduling the review.

Comprehensive Examinations. Candidates for the doctoral degree must display a command of the historical knowledge in their chosen fields of study. This command is determined through a series of written and oral assessments known collectively as the comprehensive examinations. Comprehensive examinations are taken after the student has completed 60 semester hours of graduate course work. Students are allowed to retake the written portions of the comprehensive examination only once. Only upon successful completion of the written portions of the examination are students allowed to sit for the oral portion. The comprehensive examinations are conducted by the program committee.

Dissertation Committee. Upon satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination, a supervisory committee for the dissertation is selected. In consultation with the director of Graduate Studies, the student chooses a chair of the dissertation committee. In consultation with the chair, the student then chooses two other faculty members to serve on the dissertation committee. The role of the committee is to approve the subject and title of the dissertation and to advise the candidate during the completion of the research and writing of the dissertation.

Dissertation Prospectus. Before a candidate is permitted to begin researching a dissertation topic, the candidate must prepare a prospectus of four to seven pages outlining the thesis. The prospectus presents the connection between the thesis and relevant historiography. The prospectus must be presented to the dissertation committee by the end of the semester following the comprehensive exams. The topic must be in one of the candidate’s fields of study and should include the following:

Consult the graduate handbook for more information on the composition of a dissertation prospectus.

Dissertation Requirements. The dissertation must be an original contribution to knowledge and demonstrate the student’s proficiency in independent research.

Final Examination. A final oral defense of the dissertation is required.

The department offers several public history emphases preparing students to apply the skills of the historian in careers beyond the classroom. Public historians focus their historical insight, expertise, and critical abilities in the broad—that is, public—community. Six areas of emphasis are offered within public history: business applications, community history, scholarly publishing, historic preservation, historical administration, and the public sector. Graduate course work in public history may be included in both master’s and doctoral programs of study.

The public history core combines specially designed course work and specific program requirements with traditional degree requirements. The department imposes additional admission requirements and includes periodic evaluations of public history students’ progress. (The business applications emphasis requires prerequisites in the business field.) Enrollment is limited to provide careful preparation and advising. The curriculum integrates required course work in a public history component with courses in a geographic area concentration. As a special feature of the program, short courses are taught each year by visiting public historians. Each emphasis requires completion of two short courses. Courses from other disciplines, such as anthropology, business, public administration, fine arts, geography, political science, and architecture (architectural history and preservation planning) may be included in a program of study when students have the necessary prerequisites and if the courses meet particular student needs or are required within the various emphases of the concentration. Students who select the scholarly publishing option must be admitted to the Scholarly Publishing Certificate program and complete all certificate requirements. (See Scholarly Publishing, for more information.)

Course work for all areas of the program begins each fall semester with a required special workshop during the fall orientation week before classes start. Students are admitted for the fall semester, though some class work outside the public history field may be started earlier. With concentrated full-time study, the master’s public history component may be completed in four semesters, depending on the public history area selected for emphasis. In some instances, the mandatory internship or other program requirements must be completed during the summer months.

Each student in the program completes a core of courses appropriate to an area of emphasis. Basic to each core is the completion of HIS 502 Public History Methodology during the first semester of study. The work introduced in this methodology class is continued in the public history research seminar (HIS 591), required or optional, depending on the area of emphasis.

At the satisfactory completion of the training work and upon the recommendation of the appropriate director and the department, a certificate of completion is issued by the department. Assistance is provided in job placement.

Students interested in this curriculum should consult the department’s graduate handbook, which provides detail about public history work.