The Master of Arts (MA) degree in History can be obtained at UCCS. The Department of History processes applications for admission to the program, offers courses required for the MA degree, and administers the final oral examination. See also Requirements for Advanced Degrees and the general requirements of the Graduate School in this Catalog.
The MA student should have a good foundation in history and a sufficient knowledge of the allied humanities and social sciences to afford an adequate background for graduate work. A candidate may be required to correct any apparent deficiencies.
Learning Outcomes, History, MA
Students with an MA in History will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of basic historiography in chosen fields, as evident in the student’s portfolio of research papers and performance on oral examination
- Formulate historical questions
- Devise and apply strategies to research their questions using primary source material
- Answer their questions in the forms of academic writing
- Discuss their understanding and research in oral form
The following departmental rules with respect to the Master of Arts degree supplement, but in no way supersede, the requirements of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado.
MA Admission
Application Deadlines: All graduate applications must be completed by March 1 for admission for the following fall semester, and by October 15 for admission for the following spring semester.
Exceptions require the approval of the history department graduate faculty committee.
Writing Sample: For purposes of admission to the graduate program, a writing sample will be required.
MA Requirements
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 course work 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 course work 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 course work 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 course work, if they request this review. The purpose is to apprise students of their progress in professional training as historians.
Required Course Work
All course work will be taken within the Department of History, with the possible exception of the elective requirement described below; further exceptions may be granted by the department’s graduate faculty and according to Graduate School regulations.
- HIST 6000 Historiography (3 credit hours) is required of all graduate students
- Three Readings/Research sequences (see Historical Field Options)
- HIST 9600 Independent Study
- Elective course, 3 credit hours
History 9600
Students will also take 3 credit hours of Independent Study (HIST 9600) to prepare for oral exams and presentation of a portfolio of three papers (in triplicate) to the history faculty (See General Requirements above).
Elective Requirement
In addition to History 6000, History 9600, and the three readings/research sequences, each MA student is to take one elective for three credits. This must be either an extra readings seminar; or, by permission of the history department graduate faculty committee, a 3000-or 4000-level history department undergraduate course; or, by permission of that committee, a course at the 3000-level or higher in another department. Regarding these undergraduate courses, there is no guarantee of availability for any particular course; any prerequisites need to be observed; no course counted for the BA degree may count for the MA credit; and, at the discretion of the instructor, extra assignments could apply to graduate students.
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