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Department of History
Chair: Dr. Philip P. Boucher The Program The M.A. in History at UAH is both an academic and a professional degree. The degree can serve a variety of purposes. It can serve as a preliminary step to the pursuit of a doctorate in history elsewhere, as professional enhancement for someone currently teaching in a primary or secondary school, as preparation for a professional degree in law or the social sciences, or as an intellectual end in itself. The courses you take and your thesis, should you choose to write one, will demand serious historical inquiry on your part, stretching your intellectual capacity and at the same time teaching you the professional skills of the trade. The courses you take will be balanced between ones in history of the United States and of Europe. They will differ from most undergraduate courses not only in the more specific nature of their content, but also in their greater emphasis on historiography and research techniques. The M.A. with a thesis requires twenty-four hours of course work and six hours of thesis credit, as well as an oral defense of the thesis at the end of your graduate studies. The M.A. without a thesis requires thirty-three hours of course work and successful completion of both oral and written comprehensive examinations at the end of your graduate studies. Normally you will be examined both orally and in writing in three areas of historical study. A supervisory committee consisting of your advisor, another History professor, and a professor from outside the History Department will examine you at the end of your graduate program. The Non-Traditional Fifth -Year Program in History & Education program combines the requirements for a standard M.A. in History with course work in Education as prescribed by the UAH Education Department and the Alabama State Board of Education. Students seeking this degree will be assigned two advisors, one in the History Department and one in the Education Department, who will work with you to determine your particular Program of Study. Foreign Language Requirement Students pursuing an M.A. in history have the option of earning the degree with or without a foreign language. The department requires students who intend to pursue a Ph.D. elsewhere to demonstrate proficiency in one of the following academic foreign languages: French, German, Greek, Latin, Russian, or Spanish. The department considers skill in an academic foreign language part of the cultural and intellectual equipment of a graduate historian, even one whose primary field of interest or research does not require moving beyond English. Admission Requirements Admission to the graduate program requires that you hold an undergraduate degree in history or that you have completed some other degree that demanded at least 24 semester hours of history. The department may consider your application even if you have not completed these undergraduate requirements in history, but will then usually demand a certain amount of preparatory undergraduate work before admission. The decision to admit you will be based upon a careful assessment of your potential ability. The following minimum credentials will usually result in a favorable admissions decision: •An undergraduate degree in history or another
degree which included at least 24 semester hours in history; Your initial interview will be with the department
chair and shortly thereafter you will be assigned a faculty advisor.
If you decide to write a thesis, you may request a reassignment to an
advisor with expertise in your area of interest. Your advisor will help
you file your official Program of Study, outlining the specific courses
and requirements you intend to fulfill to complete your degree. If you
intend to write a thesis, the department will require that you have
a formal thesis proposal approved by your thesis committee in the first
semester in which you register for thesis credit. |
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