Admitted Students
Progress Toward the Degree
Full-time students are those enrolled for at least nine hours per semester. They are expected to complete all of the requirements of the MA degree by the end of the fourth semester of study. University requirements state that all requirements for a master’s degree must be completed within eight years of the student’s enrollment.
Student’s entering the Ph.D. program are expected to take their comprehensive examinations soon after their fourth semester of residency. Upon successful completion of the comprehensive examinations, a student becomes a doctoral candidate. Research and writing of the dissertation normally takes two years after admission to candidacy. University requirements state that doctoral candidates are allowed no more than five years to complete the degree after their admission to candidacy.
For details on residency requirements, transfer credits, petitions, etc., contact the Director of Graduate Studies.
Programs & Degree Requirements
The graduate programs are designed to prepare students to be professional historians through mastery of subject matter; familiarity with trends in historiography; development of skills of analysis, organization, and criticism; experience in research techniques and bibliographic work; and the preparation of seminar papers, theses, and dissertations. Students can select concentrations leading to preparation for careers in teaching and scholarship and as specialists for various branches of government, business, and service.
In addition to individual degree requirements, requirements common to all of the programs are:
1. All students must file a plan of study with the Director of Graduate Studies by their third semester in residence.
2. A full-time student must maintain continued enrollment for one credit hour in History 799, Graduate Colloquium; part-time students must attend the colloquium for at least two semesters. Credit for this course will not count towards the degree.
3. Students must remove all “incompletes” in courses by the end of the following semester.
4. At least 60 percent of course credits counted toward meeting the degree requirements must be at the 600 level or above. No courses below the 400 level can be counted for an advanced degree.
5. A student who wishes to change the major field of study and select a new thesis/dissertation advisor must have such a change approved by the Graduate Studies Committee.
