History, MA

The UCCS History Department offers a Master’s degree (MA) in History. The Department of History processes applications for admission to the program and offers courses required for the MA. The graduate program maintains high standards; it is taught only by full-time faculty with appointments to the University of Colorado Graduate Faculty. Students do not specialize in a regional history. Rather, all graduate students are exposed to a breadth of regions, time periods, and historical approaches through their course of study. Beyond quality of instruction and breadth of exposure, the core strength of the UCCS Master’s in History is its rigorous training of graduate students in the process of writing a primary-source-based research paper, grounded in the relevant historiography and theory, which makes an evidence-based argument. All graduate students complete three full research papers, which they defend in an oral examination during their last semester.

Students who complete the MA program at UCCS acquire the essential skills of the historian without having become overly specialized at an early stage in their graduate training. See also Requirements for Advanced Degrees and the general requirements of the Graduate School  in this catalog.

Learning Outcomes and Core Competencies

During their MA studies in particular historical fields of study, graduate students will hone skills, including the ability to:

• Articulate original arguments, critical analyses, and complexity of reasoning in writing and oral discussion.
• Use, integrate, and discuss primary source evidence effectively in writing and oral discussion, based on an understanding of the methods of historical research and analysis.
• Use, integrate, and discuss secondary sources and historiography effectively in writing and oral discussion, based on an understanding of the methods of historical research and analysis.
• Use, integrate, and discuss methodological, conceptual and theoretical approaches effectively in writing and oral discussion.
• Demonstrate clarity of thought and critical thinking in the organization, form, framing, and development of arguments.
• Use proper writing mechanics, appropriate authoritative voice, and active verbs/sentence structures.
• Document sources properly in citations and bibliography.

Admission Requirements

Applying to the History MA program is a two-tiered process, addressing requirements both for the Graduate School and for the Department of History. Application forms will also vary depending on whether you are a current UCCS student and/or UCCS alumni, or new to UCCS. The M.A. in History Program reviews applications continuously through the year (rolling deadline). To be considered for entrance into the program, applicants should have their materials submitted ideally a few months before the start of the semester. Applications will continue to be reviewed until two weeks before the official starting date of any given semester. Applications not completed two weeks before any given semester will not be considered for that semester. Please go to the UCCS Graduate School Admissions website at http://www.uccs.edu/graduateschool/prospective-students/admissions.html for more information on admission tracks.

Writing Sample: For purposes of admission to the History graduate program, a writing sample is required. Writing samples in the range of 10-20 pages which highlight students’ research, writing, and analytical skills are ideal. Shorter writing samples will be accepted if necessary.

General Requirements

• 30 credit hours are required for the MA in History degree.
• In history courses, no grade lower than B- will count toward the completion of coursework for the Master’s degree. Candidates must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 in their graduate courses, or face departmental probation.
• MA candidates are required to pass an oral exam that covers the coursework that they have completed. The oral examination committee will consist of three professors. Candidates will also present, and defend before the history faculty, a portfolio of three papers (submitted in triplicate) that they have written in research seminars. Candidates may have no more than six credit hours of coursework pending at the time they attempt this examination. The examination, for which a student must register, will be given each semester, including summers, at times agreed upon by candidates and the history faculty.
• The department offers to evaluate the academic progress of graduate students after two semesters of coursework, if they request this review. The purpose is to apprise students of their progress in professional training as historians.