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History Department Masters Theses Collection

Theses from 2024 2024.

'Our Sacred Rights': The Southern Baptist Convention and the Rhetoric of Oppression, 1845 and Present Day , Katlyn Durand, History

Theses from 2023 2023

Memories of Hope and Loss: “kerhi maa ne bhagat singh jameya” , Sheher Bano, History

Quṭb al‐Dīn al‐Shīrāzī and His Political, Religious, and Intellectual Networks , Carina Dreyer, History

Imagining the “Day of Reckoning”: American Jewish Performance Activism during the Holocaust , Maya C. Gonzalez, History

Cut Out of Place: The Geography and Legacy of Otto Ege's Broken Books , Melanie R. Meadors, History

Theses from 2022 2022

Heavy Metal in Medieval Europe , Sean M. Klimmek, History

Historic Houses and the Food Movement: Casey Farm and Coastal Growers' Market , Allison L. Smith, History

Theses from 2021 2021

“A Constant Surveillance”: The New York State Police and the Student Peace Movement, 1965-1973 , Seth Kershner, History

Theses from 2020 2020

Our Souls are Already Cared For: Indigenous Reactions to Religious Colonialism in Seventeenth-Century New England, New France, and New Mexico , Gail Coughlin, History

The Art of Not Seeing: The Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Failed Search for Nazi Collaborators in the United States, 1945-1979 , Jeffrey Davis, History

Treating the Revolution: Health Care and Solidarity in El Salvador and Nicaragua in the 1980s , Brittany McWilliams, History

Theses from 2019 2019

Interpreting Access: A History of Accessibility and Disability Representations in the National Park Service , Perri Meldon, History

“Nothing Material Occurred”: The Maritime Captures That Caused Then Outlasted the United States’ Quasi War with France , Emma Zeig, History

Unsettling East Jersey: Borders of Violence in the Proprietary Era, 1666-1719 , Amelia Zurcher, History

Theses from 2018 2018

Wanderers of Empire: The Tropical Tramp in Latin America, 1870-1930 , Jack Werner, History

Theses from 2017 2017

The Economy of Evangelism in the Colonial American South , Julia Carroll, History

Springing Forth Anew: Progress, Preservation, and Park-Building at Roger Williams National Memorial , Sara E. Patton, History

Conformity and Digression: Change of Narrative in a Chinese Peasant's Personal Writing , Danping Wang, History

Theses from 2016 2016

"The Fate Which Takes Us:" Benjamin F. Beall and Jefferson County, (West) Virginia in the Civil War Era , Matthew Coletti, History

Theses from 2015 2015

Araguaia: Maoist Uprising and Military Counterinsurgency in the Brazilian Amazon, 1967-1975 , Thamyris F. T. Almeida, History

"Who's Hiring the Indochinese Worker? Your Competition, Probably": Work, Welfare Dependency, and Southeast Asian Refugee Resettlement in Lowell, Massachusetts, 1975-1985 , Janelle Bourgeois, History

AN EERIE JUNGLE FILLED WITH DRAGONFLIES, SNIPER BULLETS AND GHOSTS: CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF VIETNAM AND THE VIETNAMESE THROUGH THE EYES OF AMERICAN TROOPS , Matthew M. Herrera, History

Combating Slavery and Colonization: Student Abolitionism and the Politics of Antislavery in Higher Education, 1833-1841 , Michael E. Jirik, History

Theses from 2014 2014

Against The Odds: Accounting For The Survival Of The Berkshire Athenaeum , John Dickson, History

Motives of Humanity: Saint-Domingan Refugees and the Limits of Sympathetic Ideology in Philadelphia , Jonathan Earl Dusenbury, History

The City of Minas: The Founding of Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Modernity in the First Republic, 1889-1897 , Daniel Lee McDonald, History

Mishoonash in Southern New England: Construction and Use of Dugout Canoes in a Multicultural Context , Jacob M. Orcutt, History

The Politics of Psychiatric Experience , Shuko Tamao, History

Commodore Perry's Expedition, 1852-4: Layered Experiences and Perceptions of the U.S., Japan, and the Kingdom of Ryukyu , Erika Tomoyose, History

Theses from 2013 2013

The Regional Influences on Religious Thought and Practice: A Case Study in Mormonism’s Dietary Reforms , Samuel Alonzo Dodge, History

Henry Thoreau's Debt to Society: A Micro Literary History , Laura J. Dwiggins, History

Colonial Role Models: The Influence of British and Afrikaner Relations on German South-West African Treatment of African Peoples , Natalie J. Geeza, History

From Main to High: Consumers, Class, and the Spatial Reorientation of an Industrial City , Jonathan Haeber, History

The Terrorist Doppelganger: Somoza and the Sandinistas , Thomas A. Hohenstein, History

The Third Reich in East German Film: Defa, Memory, and the Foundational Narrative of the German Democratic Republic , Jaimie Kicklighter, History

Nationalism and the Public Sphere: Tracing the Development of Nineteenth-Century Latin American Identities , Lisa Ponce, History

Theses from 2012 2012

Citizens and Criminals: Mass Incarceration, "Prison Neighbors," and Fear-Based Organizing in 1980s Rural Pennsylvania , Erika Arthur, History

The Praxis of Horst Hoheisel: the Countermonument in an Expanded Field , Juan Felipe Hernandez, History

Si Se Puede: The United Farm Workers, Civil Rights, and the Struggle for Justice in the Fields , Roneva C. Keel, History

Good News , Eesha Williams, History

Theses from 2011 2011

"Super Successful People": Robert Schuller, Suburban Exclusion, and the Demise of the New Deal Political Order , Richard Anderson, History

SCAR'd Times: Maine's Prisoners' Rights Movement, 1971-1976 , Daniel S. Chard, History

Intellectuals and Local Reforms in Late Qing Wuxi: 1897-1904 , Lei Duan, History

An End to the “Vichy/Algeria Syndrome”?: Negotiating Traumatic Pasts in the French Republic , Justin W. Silvestri, History

The Politics of Labor Militancy in Minneapolis, 1934-1938 , Kristoffer Smemo, History

Eugenothenics: The Literary Connection Between Domesticity and Eugenics , Caleb J. true, History

Theses from 2010 2010

"Flying is Changing Women!": Women Popularizers of Commercial Aviation and the Renegotiation of Traditional Gender and Technological Boundaries in the 1920s-30s , Emily K. Gibson, History

Bolivia's Coca Headache: The Agroyungas Program, Inflation, Campesinos, Coca and Capitalism In Bolivia , John D. Roberts, History

Theses from 2009 2009

For Love or Money: Labor Rights and Citizenship for Working Women of 1930s Oaxaca, Mexico , Sandra K. Haley, History

A New Vision of Local History Narrative: Writing History in Cummington, Massachusetts , Stephanie Pasternak, History

Drawing Defeat: Caricaturing War, Race, and Gender in Fin de Siglo Spain , Joel C. Webb, History

Theses from 2008 2008

Reconstructing Molly Welsh: Race, Memory and the Story of Benjamin Banneker's Grandmother , Sandra W. Perot, History

Theses from 2007 2007

"Somebody understood us" :: Nancy Macdonald and the Spanish Refugee Aid/ , Marta H. Healey, History

Abandoning nature :: European philosophy and the triumph of equal temperament/ , Noel David Hudson, History

American workers, American empire :: Morrison I. Swift, Boston, Massachusetts and the making of working-class imperial citizenship, 1890-1920/ , Justin Frederick Jackson, History

Men of the meanest sort :: military leadership and war in the New England colonies, 1690-1775/ , Seanegan P. Sculley, History

Theses from 2005 2005

"This place is not meant for recreation. It is meant for inspiration" :: the legacies of Clara Endicott Sears/ , Megan M. Kennedy, History

Theses from 2004 2004

Woodrow Wilson's conversion experience :: the President, the woman suffrage movement, and the extent of executive influence , Beth A. Behn, History

Hardball diplomacy and ping-pong politics: Cuban baseball, Chinese table tennis, and the diplomatic use of sport during the Cold War , Matthew J. Noyes, History

Theses from 2000 2000

John F. Kennedy, the development of counterinsurgency doctrine and American intervention in Laos, 1961-1963 , Daniel C. Koprowski, History

Theses from 1998 1998

Eadric Streona :: a critical biography/ , Terry Lee Locy, History

Theses from 1997 1997

Sectionalism and national consciousness in the early Republic :: the case of New England Federalists, 1800-1815/ , Denis A. Kozlov, History

Theses from 1996 1996

A stabilizing influence :: the "war of the dictionaries," 1848-1861/ , James F. Leach, History

I ain't got no home in this world anymore: sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and the Southern Tenant Farmer's Union , James D. Ross, History

Theses from 1995 1995

Marching through hell :: the British soldier in the First World War's East African campaign/ , Taylor Harper, History

The daughters of rural Massachusetts :: women and autonomy, 1800-1860/ , Glendyne R. Wergland, History

Theses from 1994 1994

Law and public life in thirteenth century Montpellier/ , Charles E. Bashaw, History

Into the hornet's nest :: how shall they hear without a preacher/ , Jean Sherlock, History

Theses from 1993 1993

The committees of correspondence, inspection and safety in old Hampshire County, Massachusetts, during the American Revolution/ , Carolyn D. Hertz, History

Theses from 1992 1992

The education of a field marshal :: Wellington in India and Iberia/ , David G. Cotter, History

"Webs of significance" :: Italian textile labor and the fabric of society, 1750-1850/ , Dorothy M. Dumont, History

Aspects in creating a gentleman :: education and the Grand Tour in eighteenth-century England/ , Lisa C. Mangiafico, History

Theses from 1991 1991

American Catholicism and the political origins of the Cold War/ , Thomas M. Moriarty, History

The ass worship controversy/ , Robert E. Ravens-seger, History

The development of local religious tolerance in Massachusetts Bay Colony/ , Andrew Leonard Sweet, History

Theses from 1990 1990

Bucking the tide :: Charles Phelps and the Vermont land grant controversies, 1750-1789/ , Peter E. Dow, History

Populism and the Guatemalan revolution :: politics and power in transition, May 1944-March 1945/ , Todd R. Little, History

Theses from 1988 1988

Very special circumstances :: women's colleges and women's friendships at the turn of the century/ , Rosalind S. Cuomo, History

Charlemagne and kingship :: the responsibility of absolute power/ , Jane Swotchak Ourand, History

Chinese political movements and historiography on American history/ , Wenjun Xing, History

Theses from 1984 1984

The distorting image : women and advertising, 1900-1960/ , Judith A. Freeman, History

Amherst soldiers in the American Revolution/ , Martha N. Noblick, History

Theses from 1983 1983

Genealogy and social history :: the early settlement of Lebanon, Connecticutt, as a case study. , Robert Charles Anderson, History

Theses from 1982 1982

Morphology of the 1980 Massachusetts business elite. , David P. Perlman, History

Theses from 1981 1981

The way that good folks do: Junior Achievement and corporate culture. , Edwin Gabler, History

Theses from 1978 1978

Lindomania or the Penny Press observed :: a study of the 1850 New York press in action. , Janet Lehrman Brown, History

Signal: a study in Geman propaganda of the Second World War. , Jeffrey Alan Hanson, History

Theses from 1977 1977

The status of West Indian immigrants in Panama from 1850-1941. , Sadith Esther Paz B., History

The Peace of Nicias/ , Milo Milton Williams, History

Theses from 1976 1976

The British War Office ;: from the Crimean War to Cardwell, 1855-1868. , Paul H. Harpin, History

The Santa Cruz strikes: a case study in labor relations in the Yrigoyen era/ , Robert Nelson Landback, History

An examination of the laws of William the Conqueror. , Steven D. Sargent, History

Farmer's daughter, innkeeper's daughter, minister's daughter ;: young women of the early republic. , Thomas Paul Smith, History

Theses from 1975 1975

Aufbau-Reconstruction and the Americanization of German-Jewish immigrants 1934-1944. , Dorothee Schneider, History

Theses from 1974 1974

Anglo-American blood sports, 1776-1889: a study of changing morals. , Jack William Berryman, History

Theses from 1973 1973

Between a crown and a gibbet: Benjamin F. Butler and the early war years. , David M. Nellis, History

Theses from 1972 1972

Imperial looting and the case of Benin. , Mary Lou Ratté, History

Theses from 1971 1971

The attitudes of the American business community to the Soviet Union, 1917-1933. , Patricia J. Behenna, History

Religious conversion in Tlaxcala, 1520-1550. , Edmund C. Hands, History

The early career of Pliny Earle: A founder of American Psychiatry , Constance M. Mcgovern, History

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Home > CLA > HISTORY > HISTORY_THESES

History Masters Theses Collection

This collection contains open access and campus access Masters theses, made possible through Graduate Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The full content of open access theses is available to all, although some files may have embargoes placed on them and will be made available as soon as possible. The full content of campus access theses is only available to those either on the UMass Boston campus or with a UMass Boston campus username and password. Click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link on the record page to download Campus Access publications. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan.

Theses from 2023 2023

Margaret Cross Norton in Context: Norton’s Portrayal in American Archival Theory, the Social Conditions of Her Time and the Evolution of Presidential Libraries in the United States , Marie H. Bowen

Culture Wars: North Carolina, Representation, and the Vote on the Federal Constitution of 1787 , Maria A. Carlson

“Each Heart Alone Knoweth Its Own Bitterness”: The Jackson Family in Clarke County, Virginia, from Enslavement to Jim Crow , Melanie E. Garvey

Deconstructing Reconstruction: The Portrayal of The Reconstruction Era in High School History Textbooks , Eleanor Katari

Radical Routes: The Formation of the Boston School Bus Drivers Union Local 8751 , Maci Mark

Limitations & Liberation: Republican Motherhood and Female Advancement in Nineteenth Century America , Hannah Russell

The Armenian Genocide as Presented by the American Press , Grace A. Wargovich

Theses from 2022 2022

Northeastern Pennsylvania's Forgotten Labor Massacre: Analysis pf the English Language Record of the Lattimer Massacre , Jamie C. Costello

Shadow of the Vietnam War on the Senate Persian Gulf Debate of 1991 , Austin DiBari

Popular Memory, Silence, and Trust: A Mother and Son’s Relationship to School in the Shadow of the Prince Edward County Closures , Rory S. Dunn

The Arrows, The Shield: Mapping, Identity, and Tradition in Colonial Cempoala, Mexico , Savvas Papadopoulos

The Unsung Influence of the National Day of Mourning: A Study of Indigenous Activism, Race, and Memory , Erika T. Tauer

The Role of the Catholic Church’s Teachings on Slavery and Secession Affecting Allegiances During the American Civil War , David J. Thompson

Theses from 2021 2021

Celebrating Chinese American Veterans: Commemoration and America's Collective Memory Of War , Kevin Lee

Community in a Time of Crisis: How the People of Provincetown, Massachusetts Worked to Combat the HIV/AIDS Epidemic , Danielle Maria Lisbon

Uncommon Ground: Pawtucket-Pennacook Strategic Land Exchange in Native Spaces and Colonized Places of Essex County and Massachusetts Bay in the Seventeenth Century , Kristine Malpica

The Decline of the Massachusetts Know-Nothing Party: The Impact of Slavery and Temperance in 1855 , Alexander Rodrigues

The Boston Black United Front and Community-Centered Alternatives to the Carceral State , Joseph W. Sikowitz

Theses from 2020 2020

Operation Nickel Grass: Richard Nixon and the Yom Kippur War , Luke George Bergquist

Essential Labor: Marginalized People in the American Whaling Industry, Southeastern Massachusetts , Brielle E. Berical

A Dogged Resolve: The Doctrine and Decline of Mormon Plural Marriage, 1841-1890 , Jaclyn Thornock Gadd

The Hyde Park Thought Club: Pioneers in the Women’s Club Movement -- A Case Study 1868 – 1902 , Patrice A. Gattozzi

The Ghosts of Empires Past: The Red Army Faction’s Violent Relationship with Cold War Neo-Imperialism, 1969-1974 , Renee Danielle Jean

Reassessing the Factors that Led to the Evacuation of Japanese in World War Two , Mark S. Lewis

Black Masters; The Ownership of Slaves by Free People of Color in the Antebellum South 1780-1861 , Michael O. Magbagbeola

"To Have and Enjoy": Seating in Boston's Early Anglican Churches, 1686-1732 , Erica Jill McAvoy

Scholars, Spinners and Economies of Scale: Public Education on Exhibit in the Textile Era in New Bedford, Massachusetts , Arthur P. Motta Jr.

Beyond the Big Top: The Legacy of John Ringling and the American Circus , Casey L. Nemec

“Even if it Means Our Battles to Date are Meaningless” The Anime Gundam Wing and Postwar History, Memory, and Identity in Japan , Genevieve R. Peterson

"Full of Light and Fire": John Brown in Springfield , Louis J. Rocco Jr.

The Psychogram , Nathaniel M. Sullivan

Washed Away: Native American Representation in Oklahoma Museums and High Schools, 2000 – 2020 , Catherine E. Thompson

Theses from 2019 2019

Revelation and Concealment; The Words and World of Omar ibn Said , David Gabriel Babaian

Anabasis Aquilonos: The Interplay of Exemplarity and Scientific Historiography in B.H. Liddell Hart’s A Greater than Napoleon: Scipio Africanus , Daniel T. Barbre

The Language of the Herodians: An Analysis of Herodian Material Culture , Alexander J. D'Amore

Theses from 2018 2018

The Charge of Deserting Their Sphere: The Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society and Women’s Place in the Abolitionist Movement , Megan Irene Brady

Competing Goals: The Boston Teachers Union and the Boston Busing Crisis , Matthew R. Clark

"The Right to Play" The Establishment of Playgrounds in the American City , Kyle James Fritch

Good Girls Gone Bad: Interpreting the White Slavery Scare As A Response To Changing Women's Roles in the Progressive Era , Rachael Gorski

Innocent Victors: Atomic Identity at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee , Kathryn Leann Harris

William Monroe Trotter and His Contributions to the Early Civil Rights Movement , Katherine N. Jahl

Lapidary Medicine in Early Modern Spain , Dana L. Marquis

A Seemingly Insurmountable Problem: Carl Stokes and the Failure of Cleveland Now! , David M. Rainey

The Creation of the OSS And Anglo American Intelligence Co-Operation In Yugoslavia: A Case Study In Diverging Agendas , Christopher J. Royack

Luis V. Manrara & the Truth About Cuba Committee, Inc.: A Microhistory on the Effect of Socio-Economic Advantages and Politics on Early Cuban Acculturation within American Society , Francis E. Tansey

“Wicked and Illegal Traffic”: Newspaper Portrayal of Nigerian Women in the Cannabis Trade (circa 1970 – 1980) , Edet A. Thomas

Theses from 2017 2017

Mendez V. Westminister (1945): A Case that Brought Race to Center Stage , Samantha R. Albert

A Light in the Darkness: Constructing a View of Victorian Gynecological Surgery through Examination of Medical Treatises , Mandy M. Jimenez

Riot and Resurgence: The Antebellum African American Community of Providence, Rhode Island , Christopher J. Martin

Reverend James D. Eaton and Congregationalist Missionary Education in Revolutionary Mexico , Lucas A. Mihalich

Indian, Black, Mustee, and Music: Race, Identity, and Culture in Native Communities During the Age of Whaling , Tara M. Munro

Expendable: Eight Soldiers From Massachusetts Regiments Executed For Desertion During the United States Civil War , Stephen F. Ragon

Theses from 2016 2016

Exploring Reconstruction in the Territory of New Mexico , Krystle Eugley Beaubrun

'For the Sake of the Salvation of our Souls': An Analysis of Hildegard of Bingen's Authority and Reformist Theology in Relation to the Founding of Mount St. Rupert , Alexandra G. Borkowski

Rebuilding the City on a Hill: The Currents of New England Sectionalism and Liberal Christianity in Garrisonian Abolitionism , Zachary Boutin

'For the Benefit of Mankind': Franklin Roosevelt's Development of Trusteeship for the Postwar World , Tasnin R. Chowdhury

Run Aground: Cultural Transformation in Southeastern Massachusetts' Aquatic Spaces, 1637-1711 , Jonathan Dennis Green

In Freedom's Cause: An Exploration of Suffragette and Chartist Militancy in Britain , Ashley Kennedy-MacDougall

Countdown to Martial Law: The U.S-Philippine Relationship, 1969-1972 , Joven G. Maranan

He was a Camera: Christopher Isherwood, Weimar Germany, and Transationalism in the American Gay Rights Movement , Kristof R. Nelson

Somewhere Between Exploitation and Partnership: English and Native Alliances Surrounding the Raids on Deerfield and King William’s War , Caitlyn J. Remmes

The Barbadoes Family and the Pursuit of African-American Equality in 19th Century America , Robert J. Shaw

Theses from 2015 2015

Traitor or Pioneer: John Brown Russwurm and the African Colonization Movement , Brian J. Barker

A Queen's Legacy: The Lives of Elizabeth Woodville and Jacquetta of Luxembourg , Heather E. Bump

We're Just Like You: Strategies of Gay Activism against the Religious Right, Politics and Conservatism, and the AIDS Crisis , William G. Burton

Gay Outlaws: The Alpine County Project Reconsidered , Jacob D. Carter

George Loney Wallace and the Wrentham State School: 1906-1930 , Lindsay Fulton

Charles Francis Adams: A Study on the Crucial Role of Adams in Maintaining British Neutrality During the American Civil War , Jonathan S. McIsaac

The Massachusetts Bay Circuit , Corey W. Medeiros

É Para Sair de Portugal a Todos os Custos! The Policia Repressiva de Emigração Clandestina (1896-1911) and the Politics of Azorean Emigration to the United States , Sonia Patricia da Silva Pacheco

The Integration of African Americans in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Massachusetts , Caitlin E. Pinkham

Anti-Catholicism and Gender Norms: Reassessing the Charlestown Convent Riot, 1834 , Daniel S. Sousa

Theses from 2014 2014

Crowning a Florentine Princeps in a New Rome: The Civic Humanism of Leonardo Bruni and the Rise of Cosimo de' Medici, "Pater Patriae" , Jason F. Amato

The Transvaal Constitution and Responsible Government: How Churchill influenced Apartheid , Christopher H. Beckvold

"Tenacious of Their Lands": Fortifying the District of Mashpee, 1834-1842 , Nicole Alexis Breault

Assent and You Are Sane: "John Brown Was Right" , Jermain S. Corbin

Saving the "Original Paradise": Health Tourism, Tropical Disease, and the Problem of Cuba in the American Imperial Imagination, 1848-98 , Liana DeMarco

Panthersprung: The Vital Inheritance of the Agadir Crisis , Patrick E. Doerr

Lusitania: An Examination of Captaincy and Seamanship in the Face of Disaster , Robert J. Goulding

“So Succeeded by a Kind Providence”: Communities of Color in Eighteenth Century Boston , Eric M. Hanson Plass

Constructing A Vernacular Narrative: Communal Memory of Boston's West End , Eleanor Martinez Proctor

Theses from 2013 2013

Generations Apart: Cultural Revolution Memory and China's Post-80's Generation on the Chinese Internet , Vincent R. Capone

Once Lords and Emperors: Chivalry and the Making of Clerical Masculinity in High Medieval Normandy , Charles S. Carroll

Fort Devens: Civil Rights Unrest and African-American Identity in a Northern Military Camp during World War I and World War II , Janine Hubai

The Hidden Experience: Untold Stories of Immigrant Agency During the Settlement House Movement in Boston , Deirdre L. Kutt

General Von Seeckt and Sino-German Cooperation , Yue Lan

"Our Brothers In This Country": Captivity and Kinship in the Colonial Northeast , Steven C. Moore

The Teacher Revolt: Militancy, Grassroots Mobilization, and Local Autonomy in the National Education Association and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (1960-1980) , Jamie A. Rinaldi

Germs, Pigs and Silver: King Philip's War and the Deconstruction of the Middle Ground In New England , Benjamin M. Roine

Men of Uncommon Substance: Sailor Literature and American Identity in Antebellum America, 1805 - 1840 , Pete Sprayregen

Technology Transfer and Diffusion in the Context of Globalization: A Study of a Critical Decade in the Ottoman Empire through the Experiences of Henry Eckford, 1830-1840 , Gulumhan Huma Yildirim

Theses from 2012 2012

The Forgotten Children: The Educational Demographics of an Austrian Diocese 1848-1852 , Mathew Richard Boyeson

Gaetano Salvemini: A Lesson in Thought and Action , Michael Christopher DiClemente

The Cultural Assault on the Female Gender during the Weimar Years , Jaime Alexandra Gaudet

Immigrants as Americanizers: The Americanization Movement of the Early Twentieth Century , Alexis Claire Hanley

Union Army Doctrine: The Role of the Artillery During the Campaign for Vicksburg , Stephanie A. Peacock

Botticelli's La Primavera: Painting the Cosmos of Human Ideals , Leatha Eleni Tzioumis

Women Under National Socialism: The Case Study of Melita Maschmann , Lynda Maureen Willett

Theses from 2011 2011

Diplomatic and Military Objectives and Their Impact on Operation Olympic: The Invasion of Kyushu, Japan, November 1st, 1945 , John Joseph Favara

The Debate over Indian Removal in the 1830s , George William Goss

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Thesis Statements

What is a thesis statement.

Your thesis statement is one of the most important parts of your paper.  It expresses your main argument succinctly and explains why your argument is historically significant.  Think of your thesis as a promise you make to your reader about what your paper will argue.  Then, spend the rest of your paper–each body paragraph–fulfilling that promise.

Your thesis should be between one and three sentences long and is placed at the end of your introduction.  Just because the thesis comes towards the beginning of your paper does not mean you can write it first and then forget about it.  View your thesis as a work in progress while you write your paper.  Once you are satisfied with the overall argument your paper makes, go back to your thesis and see if it captures what you have argued.  If it does not, then revise it.  Crafting a good thesis is one of the most challenging parts of the writing process, so do not expect to perfect it on the first few tries.  Successful writers revise their thesis statements again and again.

A successful thesis statement:

• makes an historical argument
• takes a position that requires defending
• is historically specific
• is focused and precise
• answers the question, “so what?”

How to write a thesis statement:

Suppose you are taking an early American history class and your professor has distributed the following essay prompt:

“Historians have debated the American Revolution’s effect on women.  Some argue that the Revolution had a positive effect because it increased women’s authority in the family.  Others argue that it had a negative effect because it excluded women from politics.  Still others argue that the Revolution changed very little for women, as they remained ensconced in the home.  Write a paper in which you pose your own answer to the question of whether the American Revolution had a positive, negative, or limited effect on women.”

Using this prompt, we will look at both weak and strong thesis statements to see how successful thesis statements work.

While this thesis does take a position, it is problematic because it simply restates the prompt.  It needs to be more specific about how  the Revolution had a limited effect on women and  why it mattered that women remained in the home.

Revised Thesis:  The Revolution wrought little political change in the lives of women because they did not gain the right to vote or run for office.  Instead, women remained firmly in the home, just as they had before the war, making their day-to-day lives look much the same.

This revision is an improvement over the first attempt because it states what standards the writer is using to measure change (the right to vote and run for office) and it shows why women remaining in the home serves as evidence of limited change (because their day-to-day lives looked the same before and after the war).  However, it still relies too heavily on the information given in the prompt, simply saying that women remained in the home.  It needs to make an argument about some element of the war’s limited effect on women.  This thesis requires further revision.

Strong Thesis: While the Revolution presented women unprecedented opportunities to participate in protest movements and manage their family’s farms and businesses, it ultimately did not offer lasting political change, excluding women from the right to vote and serve in office.

Few would argue with the idea that war brings upheaval.  Your thesis needs to be debatable:  it needs to make a claim against which someone could argue.  Your job throughout the paper is to provide evidence in support of your own case.  Here is a revised version:

Strong Thesis: The Revolution caused particular upheaval in the lives of women.  With men away at war, women took on full responsibility for running households, farms, and businesses.  As a result of their increased involvement during the war, many women were reluctant to give up their new-found responsibilities after the fighting ended.

Sexism is a vague word that can mean different things in different times and places.  In order to answer the question and make a compelling argument, this thesis needs to explain exactly what  attitudes toward women were in early America, and  how those attitudes negatively affected women in the Revolutionary period.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a negative impact on women because of the belief that women lacked the rational faculties of men. In a nation that was to be guided by reasonable republican citizens, women were imagined to have no place in politics and were thus firmly relegated to the home.

This thesis addresses too large of a topic for an undergraduate paper.  The terms “social,” “political,” and “economic” are too broad and vague for the writer to analyze them thoroughly in a limited number of pages.  The thesis might focus on one of those concepts, or it might narrow the emphasis to some specific features of social, political, and economic change.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution paved the way for important political changes for women.  As “Republican Mothers,” women contributed to the polity by raising future citizens and nurturing virtuous husbands.  Consequently, women played a far more important role in the new nation’s politics than they had under British rule.

This thesis is off to a strong start, but it needs to go one step further by telling the reader why changes in these three areas mattered.  How did the lives of women improve because of developments in education, law, and economics?  What were women able to do with these advantages?  Obviously the rest of the paper will answer these questions, but the thesis statement needs to give some indication of why these particular changes mattered.

Strong Thesis: The Revolution had a positive impact on women because it ushered in improvements in female education, legal standing, and economic opportunity.  Progress in these three areas gave women the tools they needed to carve out lives beyond the home, laying the foundation for the cohesive feminist movement that would emerge in the mid-nineteenth century.

Thesis Checklist

When revising your thesis, check it against the following guidelines:

• Does my thesis make an historical argument?
• Does my thesis take a position that requires defending?
• Is my thesis historically specific?
• Is my thesis focused and precise?
• Does my thesis answer the question, “so what?”

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How to Research and Write a Compelling History Thesis

The Importance of Research for Writing a History Thesis

Just as history is more than a collection of facts about past events, an effective history thesis goes beyond simply sharing recorded information. Writing a compelling history thesis requires making an argument about a historical fact and, then, researching and providing a well-crafted defense for that position.

With so many sources available—some of which may provide conflicting findings—how should a student research and write a history thesis? How can a student create a thesis that’s both compelling and supports a position that academic editors describe as “concise, contentious, and coherent”?

Key steps in how to write a history thesis include evaluating source materials, developing a strong thesis statement, and building historical knowledge.

Compelling theses provide context about historical events. This context, according to the reference website ThoughtCo., refers to the social, religious, economic, and political conditions during an occurrence that “enable us to interpret and analyze works or events of the past, or even the future, rather than merely judge them by contemporary standards”.

The context supports the main point of a thesis, called the thesis statement, by providing an interpretive and analytical framework of the facts, instead of simply stating them. Research uncovers the evidence necessary to make the case for that thesis statement.

To gather evidence that contributes to a deeper understanding of a given historical topic, students should reference both primary and secondary sources of research.

Primary Sources

Primary sources are firsthand accounts of events in history, according to Professor David Ulbrich, director of Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program. These sources provide information not only about what happened and how it happened but also why it happened.

Primary sources can include letters, diaries, photos, and videos as well as material objects such as “spent artillery shells, architectural features, cemetery headstones, chemical analysis of substances, shards of bowls or bottles, farming implements, or earth or environmental features or factors,” Ulbrich says. “The author of the thesis can tell how people lived, for example, by the ways they arranged their material lives.”

Primary research sources are the building blocks to help us better understand and appreciate history. It is critical to find as many primary sources from as many perspectives as possible. Researching these firsthand accounts can provide evidence that helps answer those “what”, “how”, and “why” questions about the past, Ulbrich says.

Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are materials—such as books, articles, essays, and documentaries—gathered and interpreted by other researchers. These sources often provide updates and evaluation of the thesis topic or viewpoints that support the theories presented in the thesis.

Primary and secondary sources are complementary types of research that form a convincing foundation for a thesis’ main points.

How to Write a History Thesis

What are the steps to write a history thesis? The process of developing a thesis that provides a thorough analysis of a historical event—and presents academically defensible arguments related to that analysis—includes the following:

1. Gather and Analyze Sources

When collecting sources to use in a thesis, students should analyze them to ensure they demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the materials. A student should evaluate the attributes of sources such as their origin and point-of-view.

An array of primary and secondary sources can help provide a thorough understanding of a historical event, although some of those sources may include conflicting views and details. In those cases, the American Historical Association says, it’s up to the thesis author to determine which source reflects the appropriate point-of-view.

2. Develop a Thesis Statement

To create a thesis statement, a student should establish a specific idea or theory that makes the main point about a historical event. Scribbr, an editing website, recommends starting with a working thesis, asking the question the thesis intends to answer, and, then, writing the answer.

The final version of a thesis statement might be argumentative, for example, taking a side in a debate. Or it might be expository, explaining a historical situation. In addition to being concise and coherent, a thesis statement should be contentious, meaning it requires evidence to support it.

3. Create an Outline

Developing a thesis requires an outline of the content that will support the thesis statement. Students should keep in mind the following key steps in creating their outline:

• Note major points.
• Categorize ideas supported by the theories.
• Arrange points according to the importance and a timeline of events addressed by the thesis.
• Create effective headings and subheadings.
• Format the outline.

4. Organize Information

Thesis authors should ensure their content follows a logical order. This may entail coding resource materials to help match them to the appropriate theories while organizing the information. A thesis typically contains the following elements.

• Abstract —Overview of the thesis.
• Introduction —Summary of the thesis’ main points.
• Literature review —Explanation of the gap in previous research addressed by this thesis.
• Methods —Outline how the author reviewed the research and why materials were selected.
• Results —Description of the research findings.
• Discussion —Analysis of the research.
• Conclusion —Statements about what the student learned.

5. Write the Thesis

Online writing guide Paperpile recommends that students start with the literature review when writing the thesis. Developing this section first will help the author gain a more complete understanding of the thesis’ source materials. Writing the abstract last can give the student a thorough picture of the work the abstract should describe.

The discussion portion of the thesis typically is the longest since it’s here that the writer will explain the limitations of the work, offer explanations of any unexpected results, and cite remaining questions about the topic.

In writing the thesis, the author should keep in mind that the document will require multiple changes and drafts—perhaps even new insights. A student should gather feedback from a professor and colleagues to ensure their thesis is clear and effective before finalizing the draft.      

6. Prepare to Defend the Thesis

A committee will evaluate the student’s defense of the thesis’ theories. Students should prepare to defend their thesis by considering answers to questions posed by the committee. Additionally, students should develop a plan for addressing questions to which they may not have a ready answer, understanding the evaluation likely will consider how the author handles that challenge.

Developing Skills to Write a Compelling History Thesis

When looking for direction on how to write a history thesis, Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program can provide the needed skills and knowledge. The program’s tracks and several courses—taken as core classes or as electives in multiple concentrations—can provide a strong foundation for thesis work.

Master of Arts in History Tracks

In the Norwich online Master of Arts in History program, respected scholars help students improve their historical insight, research, writing, analytical, and presentation skills. They teach the following program tracks.

• Public History —Focuses on the preservation and interpretation of historic documents and artifacts for purposes of public observation.
• American History —Emphasizes the exploration and interpretation of key events associated with U.S. history.
• World History —Prepares students to develop an in-depth understanding of world history from various eras.
• Legal and Constitutional History —Provides a thorough study of the foundational legal and constitutional elements in the U.S. and Europe.

Master of Arts in History Courses

Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program enables students to customize studies based on career goals and personal interests through the following courses:

• Introduction to History and Historiography —Covers the core concepts of history-based study and research methodology, highlighting how these concepts are essential to developing an effective history thesis.
• Directed Readings in History —Highlights different ways to use sources that chronicle American history to assist in researching and writing a thorough and complete history thesis.
• Race, Gender, and U.S. Constitution —Explores key U.S. Supreme Court decisions relating to national race and gender relations and rights, providing a deeper context to develop compelling history theses.
• Archival Studies —Breaks down the importance of systematically overseeing archival materials, highlighting how to build historical context to better educate and engage with the public.

Start Your Path Toward Writing a Compelling History Thesis

For over two centuries, Norwich University has played a vital role in history as America’s first private military college and the birthplace of the ROTC. As such, the university is uniquely positioned to lead students through a comprehensive analysis of the major developments, events, and figures of the past.

Explore Norwich University’s online Master of Arts in History program. Start your path toward writing a compelling history thesis and taking your talents further.

Writing History: An Introductory Guide to How History Is Produced , American Historical Association     How to Write a Thesis Statement , Scribbr     The Importance of Historic Context in Analysis and Interpretation , ThoughtCo.     7 Reasons Why Research Is Important , Owlcation     Primary and Secondary Sources , Scribbr     Secondary Sources in Research , ThoughtCo.     Analysis of Sources , History Skills     Research Paper Outline , Scribbr     How to Structure a Thesis , Paperpile     Writing Your Final Draft , History Skills     How to Prepare an Excellent Thesis Defense , Paperpile

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Master of Arts in History

Thesis option.

The thesis option, like the non-thesis option, requires 30 credits that include at least three 500-level graduate seminars.  Up to nine credits of HIS 599 may be taken for thesis credit, and a thesis defense with the student’s committee completes the requirements for the degree.

Considering the Thesis Option

Many students enter the program planning to write a thesis, and writing a thesis can be an extremely rewarding experience.  Before you decide to pursue this option, however, please consider that some students who choose the thesis option take an extra summer or semester to complete their degrees.  Why?  Students start to work on the thesis in the second semester and sometimes find it’s difficult to complete all the tasks that go into the project in three semesters: narrowing down the topic; completing research; developing historiographical and theoretical frameworks; and preparing drafts of each chapter.    

Completing a thesis within a two-year program is doable for students who demonstrate: efficient time management; persistence and the ability to work alone; good writing and organizational skills; the ability to frame a question for research that will result in a contribution to the literature; and access to faculty who are able and willing to advise you on the topic you have chosen.

We want you to have a satisfying research experience and have developed guidelines to help you complete your thesis in a timely fashion.  But you should be prepared to do research during the summer in between year one and two, and for the possibility of registering for one credit in the summer after year two if you cannot defend that spring.

Applying for and Completing the Thesis Option

Students who wish to pursue the thesis option may apply to do so after their first semester of coursework.  The process for applying, and moving forward, is as follows:

By the end of semester one or start of semester two:  

• Meet with your likely thesis adviser and the graduate director to discuss your interest.
• Have two URI professors you studied with during semester one provide the graduate director with references (emailed notes are sufficient).  While grades are important, we are most interested in whether you attended class regularly, submitted complete assignments on time, and demonstrated good writing and organization skills.  Students with incompletes are not good candidates for the thesis option.
• Provide the graduate director and your likely thesis adviser with an informal thesis proposal of about a page.
• Students may find HIS 401, 441 or 481 a good way to complete this requirement, but you also could take HIS 591 or a 500-level seminar.
• The advantage of HIS 401/441/481 is that you could go on to take HIS 495 and complete your major research paper through the non-thesis option if you change your mind. Any of these classes would provide valuable experience and a good scholarly product regardless of whether you conclude you have a viable thesis topic.
• All students writing a thesis must start thinking about how they will complete training in “Responsible Conduct of Research.” See the FAQ sheet for information about how to complete this requirement : http://web.uri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/423/RCRFAQflyer10_2015.pdf  

By the end of semester two:

• Identify two other thesis committee members, one inside and one outside the department. (Please remember that committee members must be members of the graduate faculty, which usually means full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty, as well as long-term lecturers.  Most CCE instructors are part-time faculty or lecturers.)  
• Submit the Establishment of a Graduate Program Committee form available on the Graduate School’s website ( http://web.uri.edu/graduate-school/forms/ )
• Consider applying for any relevant grants if you will need funding to support your research over the summer or fall semester. Every spring and fall, URI’s Center for the Humanities awards grants of up to $1,000 to support graduate student research (depending on available funds).  Every fall, the Graduate School awards Enhancement of Graduation Research Awards of up to $1,000.

  By the START of semester three:

• Complete your formal Master’s Thesis Proposal for the Graduate School. Guidelines for the thesis proposal (and all subsequent steps) are located at:   https://web.uri.edu/graduate-school/academics/thesis-dissertation/
• Although the proposal is not due until the December before you graduate, students who wait until the last minute tend to defer the real work of finishing research and writing the thesis. We strongly discourage this!
• Before you complete and submit the proposal, schedule a meeting with your committee to formally present your proposal and seek feedback on the project. This is a new requirement for our department, implemented in keeping with Graduate School policy in order to help you by soliciting feedback from your entire committee early in the process.
• After that meeting, have your committee members sign your Thesis Proposal Approval form, available at http://web.uri.edu/graduate-school/forms/ .
• This also is the right time to submit your Program of Study form, available at http://web.uri.edu/graduate-school/forms/ . Please note that there are different POS forms for MA thesis and non-thesis students.
• If you are conducting oral history interviews or any other research involving “living human subjects,” pay very careful attention to the requirements of the Institutional Review Board and whether you need IRB approval for your research. Please see this website for guidelines:  http://web.uri.edu/researchecondev/about/irbexemptrequirements/  

By EARLY in semester four:

• Have a draft of your thesis prepared in time for your major adviser to read. (Other committee members will read the final draft and may or may not choose to read an earlier draft.)   You cannot expect your adviser to read your first draft a few weeks before your final draft is due.
• With your adviser, identify a second person from outside the department to serve as the chair of the defense proceedings.
• https://web.uri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/843/SCHEDULING-YOUR-DEFENSE.pdf
• https://web.uri.edu/graduate-school/academics/academic-calendar/
• http://web.uri.edu/graduate-school/forms/ .

How Long Should a Master’s Thesis Be?

This is a common question.  Most theses are in the 75-100-page range, but this is only a rough guideline and it may be more appropriate to consider word count.  Length varies considerably according to topic and subfield.

We Are Here to Help

Completing a thesis should be a rewarding process for both students and faculty.  We are here to consult anytime and want to see you succeed.

Talk to Other Students

Find out why other students at URI have decided to pursue the thesis or non-thesis option.  We can put you in touch with some of them before you take the plunge.

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M.A. Thesis: What is it and what does it need to do?

The purpose of a M.A. thesis is to demonstrate a student’s capacity to develop an original historical argument based on original research . Given the significant amount of work and effort that—beyond classwork—goes into completing and defending a thesis, students on the thesis track should seriously consider why is it that they want to write a thesis and discuss their reasons (and their intellectual and professional trajectory more broadly) with the History or Public History advisor early on, preferably during their first year in the program. Students should start thinking about possible topics and committee members (one chair and two readers) early on as well.

The Thesis “Pipeline” Students generally start developing their thesis topic during the third semester, as they enroll in the General Research Seminar (GRS) and Thesis A (see the Graduate Student Handbook for details). In consultation with the instructor of record and the History or Public History general advisors, they will select a paper advisor for the course, knowledgeable in the student’s field, who will very likely fulfill the role of thesis director and committee chair for the student after the GRS. During the Seminar, students will be working on research, methodology, and historiography which will serve as the basis of the thesis. To get credit for Thesis A, moreover, students will have to defend a thesis proposal (5-8 pages) before a committee, which will recommend that the student continues with the project or switches to the Comps track.

Scope Students must be able to assess the value of their source base—which can include textual primary sources, material culture, the built environment, oral interviews and oral histories, digital media, musical examples, and visual images—demonstrating the ability to critically evaluate and engage with several archival and non-archival sources. Students then must place their research into conversation with the existing literature on the topic. They must show their ability to summarize the recent historiographical trends on the subject, and then must illustrate the ways that their research contributes to, contends with, or challenges current trends. In other words, the original research needs to be put into a larger intellectual framework. This framing involves the skill to utilize the research of other scholars to help build students’ argument and analysis. Since the historical profession is built on acknowledging the contributions of other scholars, it is vital that the M.A. thesis integrate existing scholarship throughout the thesis.

Another feature of a thesis is that, although the thesis can be structured chronologically or thematically, the argument must address change over time . To effectively do this, the M.A. student must first set up the historical context, thereby establishing the “problem” that will be solved. Lastly, an M.A. thesis must comply with the academic conventions of historical writing . This includes using the Chicago/Turabian citation method, offering a clear and effective organization, and writing in a clear, concise, and readable style.

Public History students must incorporate a Public History component in their thesis. Types of components are categorized and described, with accompanying examples, in a separate guide.

Format M.A. History theses are typically comprised of an Introduction (~10 pages), 2-3 chapters (~20-25 pages each) organized chronologically or thematically, and a conclusion (~10 pages). To form an idea of the Department’s expectations, students are encouraged to peruse previous theses at the library’s website . Students are also encouraged to consult the Graduate College Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis BEFORE beginning the writing process, as the guide provides templates with the proper formatting that will make the final submission a much easier endeavor.

Alternatively, and with the approval of the thesis committee and/or the History or Public History advisor, preferably before taking Thesis B (see the Graduate Student Handbook for details), students can opt for an article-length thesis, which will include a 9000-to-12,000-word standalone article chapter of publishable quality and, to satisfy Graduate College requirements, a thorough introduction chapter and a comprehensive conclusion chapter. Students considering a Ph.D. in History are particularly encouraged to discuss this option with their advisors, for an article chapter would provide a strong writing sample, which will enhance the student’s chances of gaining admission. In consultation with the thesis committee, students working on an article-length thesis should identify suitable publication venues and keep their scope and formatting guidelines in mind during the writing process, so that they can submit their work for consideration after the defense.

As with all M.A. History theses, the committee is the sole arbiter of the quality, scope, and length of all parts of the document.

Ver. 01/15/21

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History Master's Thesis Prospectus & Defense

• M.A. Thesis Prospectus Approval Form [PDF]
• Arrangements for the Oral Examination on the Dissertation/Defense Form [PDF] (CAS #7)
• Report of the Oral Thesis Examination/Dissertation Defense [PDF] (CAS #8)
• Graduate College Thesis and Dissertation Services

Students who select the thesis option must write a prospectus (or proposal) for their thesis. Doing so requires close consultation with the adviser. Students should establish a three-member thesis committee, which will read the prospectus and, eventually, the thesis itself. Usually, the committee consists of the adviser and two other faculty members in the department. If appropriate to the subject of the thesis, one faculty member from outside the History Department can serve on the thesis committee. Each member of the thesis committee must approve the prospectus in writing. An oral defense of the prospectus is not required. Once the prospectus is approved, the student should file the approval form with the department's graduate office. The student should secure approval of the prospectus no later than the end of the second semester of full-time study.

Students must defend the thesis in an oral examination. Students should arrange a date and time for the defense with each member of the committee and complete the Arrangements for the Oral Examination on the Dissertation/Defense Form [PDF] (CAS #7). Please note that the forms are grouped by college. This form must be filed with the History Department Graduate Office at least 14 days prior to the defense.

Each member of the committee must receive a draft copy of the thesis at least two weeks before the defense. There is another form to complete to report the results of the student's thesis defense: Report of the Oral Thesis Examination Form [PDF]  (CAS #8). Students should bring a copy of this form to their defense. Each member of the thesis committee must sign it. Once they have done so, please submit the form to the department's graduate office. The office will place a copy in the student's folder and send the original to the College of Arts & Sciences and the Thesis and Dissertation Services office.

In order to schedule a defense of their thesis, students must have completed the language requirement (if any) and all coursework required for the degree and have removed from their record any grades of PR (Progress) or I (Incomplete) in all courses required to graduate (other than thesis hours).

During the semester in which students plan to graduate, they must meet university deadlines for defending their M.A. thesis and submitting the final copy. Early in the semester they must apply to graduate through the Registrar's Office and pay a fee of approximately $50. There are deadlines for arranging one's defense, holding the defense, and submitting the final copy of one's thesis. See Graduate College deadlines .

The deadlines for the completion of graduate degrees are university requirements. The History Department cannot change them. Please also note that an M.A. candidate must be enrolled for at least one credit hour during the semester in which he or she graduates.

Bass School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology

Guidelines for the MA Thesis in History

The MA in History with research option, which is intended for students who plan to pursue doctoral studies, requires the completion of a MA thesis.

Thesis Proposal

• Students that select the research option in the History MA Program will assemble a three-member thesis committee, one of whom will serve as the student’s supervising professor. The student will prepare the proposal in consultation the student’s supervising professor and other committee members.
• The committee bears the primary responsibility for reviewing and approving the proposal. This process is designed to recognize the scholarly expertise of the supervising faculty on the committee.
• Although a student may begin work on a proposal at any time, in consultation with the supervising professor, the student may not submit the proposal only after completing the foreign language requirement.

Content and Formatting of the Proposal

• a) A topic and argument for its significance as an example of original research that contributes to historical knowledge.
• b) A description of the primary sources to be used.
• c) Identification of a historical research problem or historical question and a method for addressing it.
• d) A bibliography of relevant secondary literature. the proposal presents a hypothesis and research strategy (methodology).
• A student should be able to accomplish the goals of a proposal in approximately 2,500 words (excluding the bibliography), but occasionally the proposal may exceed the word count as decided in consultation with the dissertation supervisor.
• The proposal should be properly formatted according to the manual of style most appropriate to the field of the dissertation work and be submitted in MS word or as a PDF.
• The deadline for submission of proposals will be the first Monday of every month during the fall(this includes August) and spring semesters. A student will submit the proposal and a committee appointment form signed by all members of the dissertation committee to the Program Head.
• Approval is issued by the Program Head. The Program Head does not evaluate the substance or content of the proposal but ensures that the composition of the committee is appropriate to the subject matter of the proposed thesis and in line with basic program guidelines. Once approval is given, the Program Head will notify the student and the supervising professor as well as forward the proposal to the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology. The Associate Dean will then submit the proposal to the Office of Graduate Education.
• The Program Head will grant final approval of the proposal typically within two weeks and no later than one month.
• If the Program Head identifies any serious shortcomings, they will communicate this to the supervising professor with a request for revision and resubmission. If a student is asked to revise and resubmit the proposal, they will follow the same process identified above.
• Any disagreements between the Program Head and the supervising professor will be resolved by a vote of the full program faculty at the next regularly scheduled program meeting. If no meeting is scheduled within 30 calendar days of submission of the proposal, a special meeting will be called. The program faculty may choose to accept the proposal as is or require revision and resubmission to the dissertation committee (with specific feedback for revision). The vote is final, subject to any student appeals processes outlined by the university
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Master of Arts (M.A.) Major in History (Thesis Option)

Program overview.

The graduate program in History is designed to prepare students for careers in professional history (college teaching, research, or writing), public history, historic tourism, preservation, museums, consulting, public education (secondary teaching), and to provide a general liberal arts education for students desiring careers in business, journalism, law, and government service.

Individuals interested in a more detailed description of the graduate program in history should request a copy of the Graduate Student Handbook from the Department of History. Copies of the Graduate Student Handbook and other information may be obtained from the department's website at  http://www.txstate.edu/history .

Financial Assistance

A limited number of assistantships and scholarships are available to qualified graduate students. Prospective students interested in applying for an assistantship should contact the graduate director in the Department of History. The Graduate College can provide further information about scholarships.

Application Requirements

The items listed below are required for admission consideration for applicable semesters of entry during the current academic year. Submission instructions, additional details, and changes to admission requirements for semesters other than the current academic year can be found on The Graduate College's website . International students should review the International Admission Documents page for additional requirements.

•  completed online application
• $55 nonrefundable application fee or
• $90 nonrefundable application fee for applications with international credentials
• baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited university
• a copy of an official transcript from each institution where course credit was granted
• minimum 2.75 GPA in the  last 60 hours  of undergraduate course work (plus any completed graduate courses)
• minimum 3.25 GPA in a minimum of 24 hours of undergraduate history course work
• resume/CV highlighting academic achievements
• statement of purpose (750-1000 words with name in header) describing how the student's undergraduate experience in history courses directed their career toward graduate-level work in history or how that experience shaped what the student's expectation of their work in history at the graduate level at Texas State University.
• two letters of recommendation with at least one from a history professor (if the student majored in history)
• language competency statement: Thesis students should assess their level of competency to read and research in any languages other than English that could be essential to their area of study or thesis topic. They should provide a brief explanation of any relevant language competencies, including the means through which they acquired them, any plans to improve them, and a self-assessment of reading and speaking skills in terms of basic, intermediate, proficient, advanced, and native abilities. If an applicant plans to research and study in English language sources only, then they should simply state this.
• writing sample, preferably a research paper of 15 to 20 pages in length, produced during the student’s coursework. If the student is unable to submit a paper of this type, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies ( [email protected] ) to discuss other acceptable submissions.

TOEFL, PTE, or IELTS Scores

Applicants are required to submit TOEFL, PTE, or IELTS scores that meet the minimum program requirements below unless they have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or the equivalent from a country on our exempt countries list .

• official TOEFL iBT scores required with a 78 overall
• official PTE scores required with a 52 overall
• official IELTS (academic) scores required with a 6.5 overall and minimum individual module scores of 6.0

Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree with a major in History requires 33 semester credit hours, including a thesis. Students must earn a grade of “B” or better in all history courses.

Course Requirements

Comprehensive examination requirement.

The comprehensive exam will consist of an oral defense of the thesis and an oral examination of the thesis presented.  The comprehensive exam or defense should be taken during the last semester of course work. Exams must be completed within one year of the student’s last semester of classes except under extraordinary circumstances.  Students who perform unacceptably on the exam may take the exam a second time.

Students who do not successfully complete the requirements for the degree within the timelines specified will be dismissed from the program.

If a student elects to follow the thesis option for the degree, a committee to direct the written thesis will be established. The thesis must demonstrate the student’s capability for research and independent thought. Preparation of the thesis must be in conformity with the  Graduate College Guide to Preparing and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation .

Thesis Proposal

The student must submit an official  Thesis Proposal Form  and proposal to his or her thesis committee. Thesis proposals vary by department and discipline. Please see your department for proposal guidelines and requirements. After signing the form and obtaining committee members’ signatures, the graduate advisor’s signature if required by the program and the department chair’s signature, the student must submit the Thesis Proposal Form with one copy of the proposal attached to the dean of The Graduate College for approval before proceeding with research on the thesis. If the thesis research involves human subjects, the student must obtain exemption or approval from the Texas State Institutional Review Board prior to submitting the proposal form to The Graduate College. The IRB approval letter should be included with the proposal form. If the thesis research involves vertebrate animals, the proposal form must include the Texas State IACUC approval code. It is recommended that the thesis proposal form be submitted to the dean of The Graduate College by the end of the student’s enrollment in 5399A. Failure to submit the thesis proposal in a timely fashion may result in delayed graduation.

Thesis Committee

The thesis committee must be composed of a minimum of three approved graduate faculty members.

Thesis Enrollment and Credit

The completion of a minimum of six hours of thesis enrollment is required. For a student's initial thesis course enrollment, the student will need to register for thesis course number 5399A.  After that, the student will enroll in thesis B courses, in each subsequent semester until the thesis is defended with the department and approved by The Graduate College. Preliminary discussions regarding the selection of a topic and assignment to a research supervisor will not require enrollment for the thesis course.

Students must be enrolled in thesis credits if they are receiving supervision and/or are using university resources related to their thesis work.  The number of thesis credit hours students enroll in must reflect the amount of work being done on the thesis that semester.  It is the responsibility of the committee chair to ensure that students are making adequate progress toward their degree throughout the thesis process.  Failure to register for the thesis course during a term in which supervision is received may result in postponement of graduation. After initial enrollment in 5399A, the student will continue to enroll in a thesis B course as long as it takes to complete the thesis. Thesis projects are by definition original and individualized projects.  As such, depending on the topic, methodology, and other factors, some projects may take longer than others to complete.  If the thesis requires work beyond the minimum number of thesis credits needed for the degree, the student may enroll in additional thesis credits at the committee chair's discretion. In the rare case when a student has not previously enrolled in thesis and plans to work on and complete the thesis in one term, the student will enroll in both 5399A and 5399B.

The only grades assigned for thesis courses are PR (progress), CR (credit), W (withdrew), and F (failing). If acceptable progress is not being made in a thesis course, the instructor may issue a grade of F. If the student is making acceptable progress, a grade of PR is assigned until the thesis is completed. The minimum number of hours of thesis credit (“CR”) will be awarded only after the thesis has been both approved by The Graduate College and released to Alkek Library.

A student who has selected the thesis option must be registered for the thesis course during the term or Summer I (during the summer, the thesis course runs ten weeks for both sessions) in which the degree will be conferred.

Thesis Deadlines and Approval Process

Thesis deadlines are posted on  The Graduate College  website under "Current Students." The completed thesis must be submitted to the chair of the thesis committee on or before the deadlines listed on The Graduate College website.

The following must be submitted to The Graduate College by the thesis deadline listed on The Graduate College website:

• The Thesis Submission Approval Form bearing original (wet) and/or electronic signatures of the student and all committee members.
• One (1) PDF of the thesis in final form, approved by all committee members, uploaded in the online Vireo submission system.  

After the dean of The Graduate College approves the thesis, Alkek Library will harvest the document from the Vireo submission system for publishing in the Digital Collections database (according to the student's embargo selection).  NOTE: MFA Creative Writing theses will have a permanent embargo and will never be published to Digital Collections.  

While original (wet) signatures are preferred, there may be situations as determined by the chair of the committee in which obtaining original signatures is inefficient or has the potential to delay the student's progress. In those situations, the following methods of signing are acceptable:

• signing and faxing the form
• signing, scanning, and emailing the form
• notifying the department in an email from their university's or institution's email account that the committee chair can sign the form on their behalf
• electronically signing the form using the university's licensed signature platform.

If this process results in more than one document with signatures, all documents need to be submitted to The Graduate College together.

No copies are required to be submitted to Alkek Library. However, the library will bind copies submitted that the student wants bound for personal use. Personal copies are not required to be printed on archival quality paper. The student will take the personal copies to Alkek Library and pay the binding fee for personal copies.

Master's level courses in History: HIST

Courses Offered

History (hist).

HIST 5199B. Thesis.

This course represents a student’s continuing thesis enrollments. The student continues to enroll in this course until the thesis is submitted for binding.

HIST 5299B. Thesis.

HIST 5301. Instructional Methods Practicum for Graduate Assistants.

Required as a condition of employment for graduate teaching and instructional assistants. This course provides regular in-service and planned periodic evaluations of instructional responsibilities. This course does not earn graduate degree credit.

HIST 5307. Medieval European History: Contemporary Trends in Medieval Historiography.

This course introduces graduate students to the craft of the medieval historian, with emphasis on major contemporary shifts in American historiography of the European Middle Ages.

HIST 5309D. Early Modern Spain.

A seminar based on selected topics in political, social, intellectual, and economic history of Spain from 1450 to 1815. (MULT).

HIST 5310. Western European History Since 1815.

A seminar based on selected topics in the history of Western Europe from 1815 to the present. May be repeated with a different emphasis.

HIST 5313. Early American History.

A seminar based on selected topics in the Colonial Revolutionary and Early National periods of the United States history. May be repeated with different emphasis.

HIST 5314. Ethnohistory.

This seminar seeks to familiarize students with current questions, methods, theories, and debates in ethnohistory, a multidisciplinary approach to the history of indigenous peoples. Materials studied will include both classic and recent ethnohistorical works. (MULT).

HIST 5315A. American Sexualities.

This course addresses the history of sexualities in the United States from the colonial era to present to shed light on the ways that sexuality has shaped social life, establish conventions, and created spaces to defy norms. (MULT).

HIST 5315B. Queer History: GLBT Histories in the United States.

This course examines the histories of different sexual minorities from the colonial era to present, though the majority of the course focuses on the twentieth century, to explore the rise of the modern lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities, politics, and culture. (MULT).

HIST 5316A. Women's Rights in Comparative Perspective.

This course considers national, transnational, and global development of campaigns for women’s rights since the nineteenth century. The course examines how women agitated for their rights in different cultural and historical moments. Students will gain familiarity with comparative feminisms, the gendered nature of liberal movements, and women’s activism in national and international arenas. (MULT).

HIST 5316B. Women and Empire.

From 1492 until World War II the globe was dominated by imperialism. This course considers the ways that women, in the metropoles of Europe and throughout colonial settings, found their lives shaped by empire. (MULT).

HIST 5318A. Eighteenth Century England.

A seminar based on selected topics in political, social, intellectual, and economic history of England from 1688 to 1815. May be repeated with a different emphasis.

HIST 5318C. The Age of the Stuarts.

A study of selected topics in English history between 1603 and 1714.

HIST 5318D. European Imperialism.

Europe's penchant for building empires helped to greatly enhance their influence (economic, political, and cultural) from the fifteenth to the twentieth century. The course will review the major European empires and discuss the extent of their influence during this 500 year span.

HIST 5318E. European Sexualities.

This course examines the history of sexuality of Europe in the modern era. It considers how the history of sexuality intersects with and explicates many of the crucial events in modern European history including empire, total war, communism, fascism, decolonization, and immigration.

HIST 5318F. European Fascisms and Historical Memory.

This course compares historical and contemporary manifestations of fascism in Europe. It considers how the historical memory of fascism has impacted historical memory of the past, contemporary movements, legal structures, museums, and other historical monuments in Europe today.

HIST 5319. The Age of the Tudors.

This readings-based course emphasizes differing interpretations of selected topics in English history from circa 1485 to 1603. Constitutional, political, governmental, social, religious, and cultural aspects of the era are covered.

HIST 5323A. Society and Culture in Brazil.

This seminar explores the social and cultural history of Brazil through its various ages, the “Age of Sugar”, the “Age of Coffee”, the “Age of Pedro II”, the “Belle Epoque”, and the worlds of the sugar and coffee barons. It explores the character of these ages marked by the grand plantation houses, devotion to European models, and the conflict with a slave society, covering the years from the colonial period to the turn of the twentieth century. (MULT).

HIST 5323B. History of Race and Slavery in Brazil.

This course assesses the literature on race relations and slavery in Brazil. It situates the topic within a comparative, Atlantic framework and provides a critical understanding of the chief issues and debates in the field. (MULT).

HIST 5324B. Race, Class, and Nation in Modern Latin America.

A seminar that examines the relationship between race, class, and nation building in Latin America, beginning with independence in the nineteenth century and continuing to contemporary times. (MULT).

HIST 5324C. Slavery and Emancipation in the Americas.

This course examines slavery in the Americas in its full social, political, and economic context. Students will enlarge their understanding of slavery by using an international, transatlantic framework for comparison. The course strengthens analytical skills through extensive discussion as well as significant writing and research. (MULT).

HIST 5324D. Writing the History of Latin America: The Colonial Era.

This readings seminar provides a critical assessment of the main themes and debates of colonial Latin American historiography. The course discusses the different paradigms under which historians have approached the cultures and societies of the region under Spanish and Portuguese rule, emphasizing on the latest trends and developments. (MULT).

HIST 5324E. Modern Latin American Revolutions.

The course is a seminar that examines and compares the causes, consequences and results of Latin America's twentieth century revolutions. (MULT).

HIST 5325A. History of Mexico to 1848.

A topic course studying the history of Mexico from pre-historic times to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The course encompasses the development of Indian societies from the Yucatan to the American Southwest preceding the Spanish conquest, the social, economic, and political development of Spanish colonial Mexico, the War in Independence, and the formation of the new nation through the war with the United States. (MULT).

HIST 5325C. Revolutionary Mexico.

A graduate seminar that explores the interrelated economic, social, political, and cultural conditions and forces that shaped revolutionary Mexico. Ideological currents that impacted the period will be examined. (MULT).

HIST 5325D. Mexico Since the Revolution.

This class is a Graduate Seminar covering the History of Post-Revolutionary Mexico. This course will explore the history of Mexico since the Revolution, including the social, cultural, and economic legacies of the Revolution, as well as the process of State building, one party rule, globalization, and the transition to democracy. (MULT).

HIST 5335. Twentieth-Century Russia.

A seminar based on selected topics in recent Russian history. (MULT).

HIST 5336. East European History.

A seminar based on selected topics in recent East European history. (MULT).

HIST 5341B. Caribbean Transnationalism and Diplomacy.

This seminar focuses on the international relations of the twentieth-century Caribbean, with emphasis on interactions between Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, the United States, and Venezuela. Students will analyze the ways that international action and response in these countries have affected policy, government, and international social movements. (MULT).

HIST 5343. The Progressive Era.

This course is a seminar on the rise of industrial capitalism and corporate power and the public response to the related restructuring of the social and economic order between 1890 and 1920, with particular emphasis on the strengths and weaknesses of progressivism as a democratic movement for reform. (MULT).

HIST 5344. History and Memory.

This course examines the way that groups shape the the collective memory of past events, how memory shifts over time, and the way it can be influenced by present influences.

HIST 5345D. Oral History: Theory & Practice.

A seminar based upon developing a theoretical and practical understanding of the techniques of oral historical research and document preservation and presentation.

HIST 5345M. History of Utopian Communities.

This seminar examines utopian experiments in American History. Starting with John Winthrop’s 1630 “City upon a Hill,” the course explores both religious and secular communal ventures through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The course concludes with an examination of counter-cultural, twentieth-century communes, intentional communities, and cultic separatists.

HIST 5345N. Transformation of the South.

This course is a readings research seminar on African-American culture and life in the twentieth century South from 1890-1971. The course provides the students with a thorough historical examination through biographies and community studies of specific issues and events that ended legal segregation in the South. (MULT).

HIST 5345O. Immigration and US History.

This course focuses on North American immigration history from colonial times to the present and looks at how both immigrants and native-born Americans struggled to reconcile conflicting notions of identity and national loyalty. (MULT).

HIST 5345P. History of Mexican American Music in the Southwest.

This class will introduce students to the musical history of Islamic Spain, Spanish Colonial Mexico, and Mexico and investigate the influences of these traditions on the development of Mexican-American music in the American Southwest. (MULT).

HIST 5345Q. Gender and Citizenship.

This course is designed to introduce students to the literature in United States history that addresses issues of gender and how they relate to US citizenship from the colonial period to the present. (MULT).

HIST 5345R. History of Country Music.

This seminar traces the various ethnic, social, cultural, political, economic, and demographic forces in American society that have helped shape country music. Students will also explore how this uniquely American cultural idiom mirrors the historical evolution of the United States.

HIST 5345S. Theories and Methods in Popular Music History/Culture Studies.

This is a course in the theories and methods of cultural studies and popular music history for graduate students. It is intended to review the history of debates and methodologies in the field to prepare students to do original work that fits into the larger conversations in popular music studies.

HIST 5345T. Biography and American History.

In this class students will delve into the practice of biography and the ways in which biographers convey American history and culture through a life story.

HIST 5345U. Dark Tourism: Interpreting Historic Sites of Oppression, Death, and Disaster.

This course examines issues and effective methods of interpreting historic sites open to visitors associated with tragic historical events and practices, such as battlefields, concentration camps, massacre sites, and plantation houses, that are to the public. Dark tourism sites in the United States and around the world will be examined.

HIST 5346. African American History.

This course is an intensive readings and research seminar in African American History. Through the uses of lectures, biographies, institutional histories and community studies, students will be introduced to the different interpretive themes and methodologies that have created the myriad of historical interpretations and reinterpretations of African American History. (MULT).

HIST 5347. Texas History.

A seminar based on selected topics in the history of Texas. (MULT).

HIST 5348. History of Texas Music.

This course examines the evolution of music in Texas and the American Southwest from pre-Colombian times to the present, with an emphasis on how music reflects the ethnically diverse history and culture of the region. (MULT).

HIST 5350. The Frontier in American History.

A seminar based on selected topics in the history of the frontier in American development. (MULT).

HIST 5351B. Cold War America.

This course examines the Cold War years 1945 to 1960, concentrating on the domestic scene. The class will discuss the major issues of domestic politics, society, and culture, through the use of both primary and secondary sources. They will also examine the historiography of the period. (MULT).

HIST 5351C. Race, Gender, and Ethnicity in American Labor History.

This graduate seminar explores the impact of race, gender, and ethnicity upon American Labor History. Readings integrate race, gender, and ethnicity as categories of analysis into the study of class formation, experiences, and consciousness within the American labor force. The focus will be on unorganized as well as organized workers in the context of their social, cultural, political, and workplace environments. (MULT).

HIST 5351D. Politics & Society of Postwar America, 1945-Present.

This course will explore the interaction of political, economic, and social forces in the years following the Second World War. Emphasis will be placed on analyzing the interdependent relationship between political structures, social movements, and economic circumstances. (MULT).

HIST 5351E. Foundations of the U.S. Conservation Movement.

The course will provide an overview of the conservation movement from the writings of Henry David Thoreau to publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Emphasis will be on social and cultural influences, with particular attention to government programs, naturalist literature, activism, movement leaders, and landmarks of environmental debate.

HIST 5351F. US Women's History.

This course offers graduate students an introduction in the topics, themes, and issues that animate the history of women in the US. (MULT).

HIST 5351H. US Latino/a History.

This course explores the histories, cultures, and politics that shape Latino/a experiences in the United States and examines the way Latino communities helped shape the making of the nation.

HIST 5353. Greater Southwestern History.

A seminar based on selected topics in the history of the Greater American Southwest. (MULT).

HIST 5358. Sectionalism & Slavery in the United States.

This course assesses the literature on the causes and consequences of the sectional conflict between the American North and the South before the Civil War, with particular focus on works examining the slavery issue and the way it exacerbated American sectionalism, leading to the fracturing of the American nation. (MULT).

HIST 5361. Historiography and Methods.

A general introduction to key concepts, approaches, and challenges involved in reading, researching, and writing history at the professional level.

HIST 5362. Military History.

This seminar is based on selected topics in military history. May be repeated with different emphases up to nine hours.

HIST 5363. Antebellum American Society & Culture.

This seminar explores the cultural dynamics, social relations, and political and economic structures that shaped the lives of ordinary Americans in the three decades before the Civil War. (MULT).

HIST 5367. US Era of Civil War and Reconstruction.

A seminar that examines the history of the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War and the efforts to reconstruct the American Nation in its aftermath. (MULT).

HIST 5369. Music and Social Movements.

This course examines the historical role music has played in a variety of social movements related to race, gender, ethnicity, religion, politics, economics, education, labor, civil rights, and other issues in U.S. history. (MULT).

HIST 5371. The Practice of Public History.

A seminar addressing the definition, evolution, and philosophy of public history.

HIST 5372. The Practice of Museum Studies and Material Culture.

A seminar addressing the history, organization, and functions of history museums.

HIST 5373. The Practice of Historic Preservation.

A seminar addressing architectural history and preservation theory and practice.

HIST 5374. Public History Internship.

Application of skills in public history in an on-the job setting. Internships will be selected by the student and instructor, and will be supervised by the instructor. May be repeated once for additional credit.

HIST 5375A. Documentary Film.

The use of film & video in public programming; research & produce documents.

HIST 5375B. Archival Management.

A seminar based on the history, theory, and practice or archival management.

HIST 5375C. Cultural Resource Management.

This seminar addresses the management of cultural resources such as historic buildings, historic sites, and other tangible remains of our heritage. It explores how cultural resources are preserved and managed under federal and state law, and the nature of the regulatory practice.

HIST 5375D. Material Culture in America.

This course examines the interactions between people and things in American society. The ways in which Americans have created, used, altered, and thought about material objects help us to understand history. Readings and research will focus on the values and attitudes embodied in the production, use, and preservation of objects.

HIST 5375E. Management & Administration in Historical Organizations.

This course provides an introduction to the non-profit based management, leadership, and administration issues and practices for historical organizations.

HIST 5375F. Education Programs in Historical/Cultural Institutions.

This course will study the role of education programs as primary to the missions of historical and cultural institutions and will explore how institutions create and evaluate formal and informal education programs and materials for a variety of audiences.

HIST 5375I. Heritage in a Global Context.

Heritage management is the interdisciplinary approach to the preservation, protection, and public use of the historical record. This course examines definitions and approaches within a global context. Theory and practice will be analyzed through case studies and real world examples. Current issues, sustainability and maritime issues/practices will be included. (MULT).

HIST 5375J. American Architectural History.

This course will analyze the historical development of American architecture, and examine architecture as evidence of America's cultural, social, economic, and technological evolution from 1607 to the present. Focus will be placed on the role of historic American architecture in the practice of public history.

HIST 5375K. Evaluating HIstoric Sites.

Every year millions of tourists flock to historic sites desiring to commune with "real" history, to "feel" the past. This course will introduce students to methods that scholars use to examine critically the interpretation of history at these sites without discounting the emotional connection to place that many visitors experience.

HIST 5375L. Controversy and History.

This seminar explores how controversy, power relations, and politics are embedded in the practice of public history. It is designed to help the future practitioner navigate the complex political landscape of public history. This course is informed by the professor's experience as a consultant and federal historian. (MULT).

HIST 5375M. Writing for Public History.

This will be a course intensively focused on research and writing specifically for public history audiences through a variety of venues: journal articles, magazine/newspaper articles, brochures, promotional literature, personal essays, historical markers, reviews, websites, cultural resource management "gray literature," and professional papers.

HIST 5375N. Digital History.

Students will study the history of print and digital media to better understand the practice of digital history. They will be introduced to a variety of digital approaches to the study of history, and they will produce and contribute to a variety of digital projects.

HIST 5375O. Records Management & Institutional Archives.

This course will introduce students to the principles and theories in records management and institutional archives. It will provide practical experience creating a records retentions schedule, researching retention requirements and best practices, appraising records with enduring value, and establishing archival series to accommodate ongoing acquisition of institutional records.

HIST 5375P. The Family and Child in History and Heritage.

This course examines the historical development of the family and childhood using academic family history methods and public approaches to family heritage. It examines differing experiences of ancestors and concepts of family and childhood over time by race, class, and gender, reflecting shifts in culture, economy, and power relations. (MULT).

HIST 5376. Local and Community History.

A seminar applying historical methods to the study of U.S. communities.

HIST 5377. Public History Project.

A team project focusing on one or more aspects of public history-museum exhibit, historic site interpretation, historic resources survey, etc. Repeatable with a different emphasis.

HIST 5379A. Public History Final Master’s Project.

This course will be the initial development of an individualized, advanced student project in cooperation with a client or host institution, focused on any one or a combination of the public history areas of historic preservation, archives, oral history, museums, local and community history or cultural resource management.

HIST 5379B. Public History Final Master’s Project.

This course, to be taken during the last year of the Public History program, is the continuation of an individualized, advanced student project focused on any one or a combination of the public history areas of historic preservation, archives, oral history, museums, local and community history or cultural resource management.

HIST 5381. Chinese Communism.

The Chinese Communist movement from 1919 to the present. Will focus on (1) urban and rural aspects of Chinese Communism; (2) the rise to power of the Chinese Communist Party on mainland China in 1949; and (3) the construction of the Party-State and Socialism in the People’s Republic of China. (MULT).

HIST 5382. China and the Modern World.

This course examines Chinese relations with the modern world from 1800 to the present, focusing on the external aggression and internal transformation between 1839 and 1945; the split into two Chinas in 1949; the mainland China/Taiwan developments, interactions between the two Chinese governments and among the world community since then. (MULT).

HIST 5385. Topics in the History of the Modern Middle East.

A seminar based on selected topics from current histories of the Middle East during the 19th and 20th centuries.

HIST 5388. Comprehensive Examinations.

This course is designed for non-thesis master’s degree students who need to prepare for their comprehensive exams (written and oral).

HIST 5390. Problems in Historical Research.

This course is open to graduate students on an individual basis by arrangement with the department. May be repeated with the approval of the department chair.

HIST 5395D. Interpretations of World History.

A survey of world history that focuses on Western civilization as the catalyst of change in world history since the tenth century.

HIST 5395E. Mahatma Gandhi in World History.

In this course students explore how writers have narrated Gandhi’s life and interpreted his historical role. Students will research aspects of Gandhi’s life using primary sources. The focus of the course will be the study of material left out of histories on Gandhi and reasons for omitted material. (MULT).

HIST 5395H. European Colonialism.

This seminar examines the variety of European imperial and colonial experiences around the world from ancient to modern times through selected primary sources and historical literature. (MULT).

HIST 5395I. Global Cold War.

This seminar will survey literature characteristic of the "new" Cold War historiography, and introduce students to primary sources available at Alkek required to write valuable original work. (MULT).

HIST 5395J. Foreigners in Japan, 1850-2000.

This course investigates a central question that arises in discussions of Japan: What have been the effects of foreign influences on Japanese society? Materials for study focus on memoirs written by foreigners – from Europe, the Americas, and East Asia – as they describe their lives in the country through various eras since 1850.

HIST 5398. General Research Seminar.

A seminar designed to enhance research and writing skills in history. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.

HIST 5399A. Thesis.

This course represents a student’s initial thesis enrollment. No thesis credit is awarded until student has completed the thesis in History 5399B.

HIST 5399B. Thesis.

HIST 5588. Comprehensive Examinations.

This course is designed for non-thesis master’s degree students who need to prepare for their comprehensive exams (written and oral) and retain half-time status.

HIST 5599B. Thesis.

HIST 5988. Comprehensive Examinations.

This course is designed for non-thesis master’s degree students who, having completed all other coursework, need to prepare for their comprehensive exams (written and oral) and retain full-time status.

HIST 5999B. Thesis.

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WKU History Graduate Program

Thesis option.

Requirements

HIST 535: Historiography (3 credits)

HIST 536: Sources and Methods (3 credits)

Six electives (18 credits)

HIST 599: Thesis Research and Writing (6 credits)

Total: 30 credits

Students must complete their program of study with a 3.0 average. Each program is individually planned with the Graduate Advisor.

With approval of the Graduate Advisor, a maximum of 9 credits of graduate coursework may be transferred from another institution. See the current Graduate Catalog for requirements on transfer work.

Graduate students may be permitted to take up to 6 credits of graduate work in a related field in courses approved by the Graduate Advisor.

Students may enroll in a maximum of 6 credits of independent study (HIST 590) with a member of the History graduate faculty.

All requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in History must be completed within a period of six years from the first term of enrollment.

Comprehensive Examinations (Written and Oral)

The comprehensive exam covers the student's entire graduate program (including thesis) and must be completed during the student’s final semester in the History M.A. program. At least one semester in advance, the student must select three fields of specialization, typically drawn from coursework, and select three faculty members to supervise these fields in the exam committee. The student must then distribute to each committee member a bibliography of historical works in each field. Faculty may require the student to read more works before sitting for exam. The written exam is completed over three days and involves four essays: one for each field and a fourth essay involving primary sources. The oral portion of the exam is two hours long.

Application for Graduation

The Application for Graduation form ( www.wku.edu/graduate/documents/ ) must be submitted prior to the student’s final semester in the M.A. program.

Road Map for the Thesis

• Identify a Faculty Mentor: No later than the third semester prior to graduation, the student should ask a faculty member to serve as mentor during the thesis-writing process. The student must consult with the faculty mentor to develop an appropriate thesis topic. The mentor must be a member of the History Graduate Faculty and will serve as the student’s thesis director.
• Identify a Thesis Committee: With the mentor’s guidance, the student must also invite two other faculty to serve on the thesis committee. Students may select a scholar from outside the university to serve on the committee (but not as director). After three faculty have agreed to serve on the thesis committee, the student must submit the Thesis Committee Selection form ( https://www.wku.edu/graduate/students/committee_selection.php ) to finalize this process
• Traditional Thesis: This option varies widely in length from approximately 60 to 120 pages and is divided into 4-5 chapters.
• Journal Article: This option requires that students produce a submission-ready article for a peer-reviewed academic journal. This version of the thesis must be 10,000-14,000 words in length, including notes.
• Write a Thesis Proposal: Before beginning work on the thesis itself, the student will provide each member of the committee with a five-page thesis proposal which (a) indicates the nature and scope of the proposed topic and (b) indicates the major sources of research materials which will be used for the study. See Thesis Proposal Guidelines on page 5 for more details.
• Apply for Research Funding: If you plan to travel for research, consider writing a research grant proposal for funding from the Graduate School. This step is encouraged but not required.
• Enroll in History 599 (Thesis Research/Writing): When the thesis proposal has been approved, the student is eligible to enroll in HIST 599. Typically, the 6 credits for HIST 599 are split across the student’s final two semesters in the History M.A. program.
• Write the Thesis: The thesis director will work closely with the student as he/she completes each draft chapter of the thesis. For a traditional thesis, each draft chapter should be approved by the thesis director as it is written. Following approval by the thesis director, each draft chapter should be circulated to the entire committee.
• Defend the Thesis: A complete draft of the thesis is circulated to all members of the committee at least 45 days before the date of graduation. The thesis must adhere to the formatting guidelines set forth by the Graduate School. The student may not proceed to the oral defense until the final draft of the thesis has been approved by the thesis committee. The oral thesis defense is part of the oral portion of the comprehensive examination.
• Submit the Approved Thesis: After the thesis committee has determined that the student has successfully fulfilled the requirements for the thesis, the student must submit the thesis ( https://www.wku.edu/graduate/students/thesis/index.php ) in accordance with the formatting guidelines of the Graduate School.

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History Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2023 2023.

Cashing the Check of Democracy The American Revolution and Citizenship in the Black Freedom Struggle 1960-1970 , Zachary Earle Clary

“All the Rights of Native Cherokees”: The Appearance of Black People in Cherokee Society , Ayanna Goines

“We Are Created Inferior to Men”: Leveraging Horsemanship to Reinforce Gender Expectations, 1830-1861 , Gabrielle Marie McCoy

The Widened Hearthstone Urban Playgrounds as the Infrastructure of Public Mothering, 1900-1930 , Alexandra Miller

Piratical Transportation: Highlighting Silences in Carolina’s Enslavement and Exportation of Native Americans , Jordan Stenger

Lunatics, Liberals and Bloodthirsty Haters: The South in the 1972 Presidential Election , Thomas Clayton Strebeck

In Her Possession and Keeping Revolutionary War Widows and the Politics of Family Archives, 1820–1850 , Riley Kathryn Sutherland

Colored Lawyer, Topeka: The Legend and Legacy of Elisa Scott , Jeffery Scott Williams

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

The Presbyterian Exception? The Illegal Education of Enslaved Blacks by South Carolina Presbyterian Churches, 1834-1865 , Margaret Bates

Roy Acuff, Democratic Candidate , Henry Luther Capps III

Before the Storm: Youth Hockey in North Carolina Ahead of the NHL’s Arrival , Sarai ShareI Dai

Flying Saucer of the Smokies: The Debate Over National Park Architecture and Wilderness Values in Clingmans Dome Observation Tower , Michelle Fieser

“I Like a Fight”: Margaret Sanger and the First Birth Control Clinic in the United States , Rebecca Linnea Hall

Who Has the Right to Reproduce? Forced Sterilization in South Carolina in the Early Twentieth Century , Kathryn Pownall

Sex (Work) And the City: Sex Work in Columbia, South Carolina, 1860-1880 , Presley McKalyn Ramey

Resurrecting a Nation Through Silk and Diplomacy: American Material Culture and Foreign Relations During the Reconstruction Era , Paige Weaver

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

Building a New (Deal) Identity The Evolution of Italian-American Political Culture and Ideology, 1910–1940 , Ryan J. Antonucci

“It Seemed Like Reaching for the Moon:” Southside Virginia’s Civil Rights Struggle Against The Virginia Way, 1951-1964 , Emily A. Martin Cochran

“We are Going to be Reckoned With”: The South Carolina UDC and the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Museum, 1986-2000 , Caitlin Cutrona

Enslaved Rebellion and Abolitionist Imperialism in Britain’s Atlantic World, 1807-1884 , Lewis Eliot

Religion, Senses, and Remembrance: Brooklyn’s Sumter Club in Postbellum Charleston, S.C. , Michael Edward Scott Emett

Praying Soldiers: Experiencing Religion as a Revolutionary War Soldier Fighting for Independence , Roberto Oscar Flores de Apodaca

Engraved in Prejudice: How Currency Displayed the Mindset of the South , Holly Johnson Floyd

The Governor’s Guards: Militia, Politics, Social Networking, and Manhood in Columbia, South Carolina, 1843-1874 , Justin Harwell

Patients’ Rights, Patients’ Politics: Jewish Activists of the U.S. Women’s Health Movement, 1969-1990 , Jillian Michele Hinderliter

Joshua Gordon’s Witchcraft Book and The Transformation of the Upcountry of South Carolina , E. Zoie Horecny

“The Once and Future Audubon:” The History of the Audubon Ballroom and the Movement to Save It , William Maclane Hull

A Culture of Control: Progressive Era Eugenics in South Carolina as a Continuation of Created White Supremacy , Hannah Nicole Patton

Shaping a Queer South: The Evolution of Activism From 1960-2000 , A. Kamau Pope

The Robber Barons of Show Business: Traveling Amusements And The Development of the American Entertainment Industry, 1870- 1920 , Madeline Steiner

Charlotte's Glory Road: The History of NASCAR in the Queen City , Hannah Thompson

Foxy Ladies and Badass Super Agents: Legacies of 1970s Blaxploitation Spy and Detective Heroines , Carlie Nicole Todd

Media Combat: The Great War and the Transformation of American Culture , Andrew Steed Walgren

“Hungering and Thirsting” for Education: Education, Presbyterians, and African Americans in the South, 1880-1920 , Rachel Marie Young

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

Gendering Secession: Women and Politics in South Carolina, 1859- 1861 , Melissa DeVelvis

The Chasquis of Liberty: Revolutionary Messengers in the Bolivian Independence Era, 1808-1825 , Caleb Garret Wittum

Theses/Dissertations from 2019 2019

Learning Church: Catechisms and Lay Participation in Early New England Congregationalism , Roberto O. Flores de Apodaca

Useful Beauty: Tiffany Favrile, Carnival Glass, and Consumerism at the Turn of the Twentieth Century , Chelsea Grayburn

Restoring America: Historic Preservation and the New Deal , Stephanie E. Gray

For the Common Man: An Analysis of the United States Space and Rocket Center , Patrice R. Green

Made to Be Forgotten: The Chevalier DE Saint-Sauveur & the Franco-American Alliance , Katelynn Hatton

Leaders in the Making: Higher Education, Student Activism, and the Black Freedom Struggle in South Carolina, 1925-1975 , Ramon M. Jackson

Exclusive Dining: Immigration and Restaurants in Chicago during the Era of Chinese Exclusion, 1893-1933 , Samuel C. King

Complicating the Narrative: Using Jim's Story to Interpret Enslavement, Leasing, and Resistance at Duke Homestead , Jennifer Melton

“Unknown and Unlamented”: Loyalist Women in Nova Scotia from Exile to Repatriation, 1775-1800 , G. Patrick O’Brien

Raising America Racist: How 1920’s Klanswomen Used Education to Implement Systemic Racism , Kathleen Borchard Schoen

Learning the Land: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Southern Borderlands, 1500-1850 , William Cane West

Theses/Dissertations from 2018 2018

Beyond Preservation: Reconstructing Sites Of Slavery, Reconstruction, And Segregation , Charlotte Adams

Reading Material: Personal Libraries And The Cultivation Of Identity In Revolutionary South Carolina , Gabriella Angeloni

Politics and the Built Environment: Civic Structures of Eighteenth Century Williamsburg, Virginia and Charles Town, South Carolina , Paul Bartow

The Lost Ones: The Cold War State, Child Welfare Systems, And The Battles Over The Rosenberg Children , Megan Bennett

“Catering To The Local Trade”: Jewish-Owned Grocery Stores In Columbia, South Carolina , Olivia Brown

If This Be Sin: Gladys Bentley And The Performance Of Identity , Moira Mahoney Church

“I Hope They Fire Me:” Black Teachers In The Fight For Equal Education, 1910-1970 , Candace Cunningham

Constructing Scientific Knowledge: The Understanding of the Slow Virus, 1898-1976 , Burke Hood Dial

Ayatollahs And Embryos: Science, Politics, And Religion In Post-Revolutionary Iran , M Sadegh Foghani

Of Cannonades and Battle Cries: Aurality, The Battle of The Alamo, and Memory , Michelle E. Herbelin

Anti-Sabbatarianism in Antebellum America: The Christian Quarrel over the Sanctity of Sunday , Kathryn Kaslow

A Divisive Community: Race, Nation, And Loyalty In Santo Domingo, 1822 – 1844 , Antony Wayne Keane-Dawes

“Remember Them Not for How They Died”: American Memory and the Challenger Accident , Elizabeth F. Koele

Garagecraft: Tinkering In The American Garage , Katherine Erica McFadden

Black Power And Neighborhood Organizing In Minneapolis, Minnesota: The Way Community Center, 1966-1971 , Sarah Jayne Paulsen

The Popular Education Question in Antebellum South Carolina, 1800-1860 , Brian A. Robinson

Perks Of Perkins: Understanding Where Magic And Religion Meet For An Early Modern English Theologian , Kyle Sanders

Black Men, Red Coats: The Carolina Corps, Race, and Society in the Revolutionary British Atlantic , Gary Sellick

Theses/Dissertations from 2017 2017

Skin Deep: African American Women and the Building of Beauty Culture in South Carolina , Catherine Davenport

Funding South Carolina’s Monuments: The Growth of the Corporate Person in Monument Financing , Justin Curry Davis

Sex and the State: Sexual Politics in South Carolina in the 1970s , Jennifer Holman Gunter

Within the House of Bondage: Constructing and Negotiating the Plantation Landscape in the British Atlantic World, 1670-1820 , Erin M. Holmes

Odor and Power in the Americas: Olfactory Consciousness from Columbus to Emancipation , Andrew Kettler

From Rice Fields to Duck Marshes: Sport Hunters and Environmental Change on the South Carolina Coast, 1890–1950 , Matthew Allen Lockhart

Potential Republicans: Reconstruction Printers of Columbia, South Carolina , John Lustrea

Lamps, Maps, Mud-Machines, and Signal Flags: Science, Technology, and Commerce in the Early United States , James Russell Risk

Rebirth of the House Museum: Commemorating Reconstruction at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home , Jennifer Whitmer Taylor

Buy for the Sake of your Baby: Guardian Consumerism in Twentieth Century America , Mark VanDriel

Environmental Negotiations Cherokee Power in the Arkansas Valley, 1812-1828 , Cane West

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

A Call To Every Citizen: The South Carolina State Council Of Defense And World War I , Allison Baker

National Register Nomination for the Waikiki Village Motel , Jane W. Campbell

“Antagonistic Describes the Scene:” Local News Portrayals of the New Left and the Escalation of Protest at the University of South Carolina, 1970 , Alyssa Jordan Constad

Ahead of Their Time: Black Teachers and Their Community in the Immediate Post- Brown Years , Candace Cunningham

Deserts Will Bloom: Atomic Agriculture And The Promise Of Radioactive Redemption , Chris Fite

Restoring the Dock Street Theatre: Cultural Production in New-Deal Era Charleston, South Carolina , Stephanie E. Gray

In Search Of Granby: A Colonial Village Of South Carolina , Kathryn F. Keenan

Preserving The Architectural Legacy Of Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle & Wolff, 1948-1976 , Casey Lee

Looking for Remnants of Rice Cultivation at Manchester State Forest Through the Use of LIDAR , Sarah Anne Moore

Uncle Sam’s Jungle: Recreation, Imagination, And The Caribbean National Forest , Will Garrett Mundhenke

G.I. Joe v. Jim Crow: Legal Battles Over Off-Base School Segregation Of Military Children In The American South, 1962-1964 , Randall George Owens

Radioactive Dixie: A History of Nuclear Power and Nuclear Waste in the American South, 1950-1990 , Caroline Rose Peyton

A Culture Of Commodification: Hemispheric And Intercolonial Migrations In The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, 1660-1807 , Neal D. Polhemus

Rediscovering Camden: The Preservation of a Revolutionary War Battlefield , Gary Sellick

The “Forgotten Man” of Washington: the Pershing Memorial and the Battle over Military Memorialization , Andrew S. Walgren

Proslavery Thinking In Antebellum South Carolina: Higher Education, Transatlantic Encounters, And The Life Of The Mind , Jamie Diane Wilson

Colonialism Unraveling: Race, Religion, And National Belonging In Santo Domingo During The Age Of Revolutions , Charlton W. Yingling

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

"Very Many More Men than Women": A Study of the Social Implications of Diagnostics at the South Carolina State Hospital , Clara Elizabeth Bertagnolli

Forgotten Science of Bird Eggs: The Life Cycle of Oology at the Smithsonian Institution , Katherine Nicole Crosby

Shifting Authority at the Confederate Relic Room, 1960-1986 , Kristie L. DaFoe

Boundary Stones: Morbid Concretions and the Chemistry of Early Nineteenth Century Medicine , Edward Allen Driggers Jr.

Main Street, America: Histories of I-95 , Mark T. Evans

National Register Nomination for St. James the Greater Catholic Mission , Diana Garnett

They Held Their Fists Up: The Myth of the Violent Black Panther and the Making of the Angola 3 , Holly Genovese

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Department of History

College of arts, humanities, and social sciences, recent ma graduates and thesis topics.

Brianna Baker, “A Monument to Negro Womanhood:” The Women of the National Training School for Women and Girls, 1879-1961 Advisor: Michelle Scott

George Lewis, “Oh Lord I want to be in that number:” Identity & Jazz Tourism in New Orleans. Advisor: Michelle Scott

SUMMER 2023

Julie Kim, My Kungomo, An Independent “Modern Girl”:  Family Stories From the Japanese Occupation of Korea and World War II Advisor:  Meredith Oyen

SPRING 2023

Austen Edelenbos, Remembering Sacrifice: Veterans of the United States Colored Troops and the Battlefield of Civil War Memory Advisor:  Anne S. Rubin

Garrett Freas, Uncommon Ground: The Image and Reality of the Congress of Racial Equality’s Interracialism During the Long Civil Rights Movement Advisor:  G. Derek Musgrove

Michael Morris, “Leave Her Johnny Leave Her:” The Cold War and the Decline of American Shipbuilding Advisor:  Christy Chapin

Nolan Varee, “More Enduring Structures” The Social and Economic Transformation of Pennsylvania Advisor:  Anne S. Rubin

Nikki Vietz, “Putting on the Posh:” Retail, Crime, Gender, Class, and the Forty Elephants in 19th and 20th Century London Advisor:  Amy Froide

Corey Fitzpatrick , “Is that a Bird or a Plane in the Distance? No, it’s Superman”: Metropolis, Illinois and the Hope in Becoming a Destination as Superman’s Hometown. Advisor:  Melissa Blair

Rogers, Samantha,   Daily Life and the Landscape of Two Maryland Industrial Schools for Girls, 1916-1989. Advisor:  Melissa Blair

SUMMER 2022 Debold, Beth, “According to my True Meaning.”  Emotions & Will-Makers in Southern Britain, 1660-1690. Advisor:  Amy Froide Gasparino-Rodriguez, Fernanda, The Emergency Committee to Aid Latin American Scholars (ECALAS):  Liberal Academics and the Contradictions of Cold War Foreign Policy in Latin America Advisor:  Marjoleine Kars Peterson, Zachary, “The Group is a ‘Fraternal Order’ and Not a Labor Union”.  The 1974 Baltimore Police Strike and the Conservative Turn in Police Labor Union Organizing. Advisor:  Derek Musgrove

SPRING 2022 Hannah Balik, Eating, Public Space, and Identity in Jewish Baltimore, 1900-1930 Advisor: Melissa Blair Jeff Cooley, Charismatic Leaders of the First Crusade: The Use of Preaching and Miraculous Events in Motivating the Crusaders to Take “The Holy Land.” Advisor: Susan McDonough Noah Jaques, Facts Do Not Speak for Themselves: The Challenges to Historical Empiricism and Their Impact on the Teaching of Historical Methodology Advisor: Daniel Ritschel

FALL 2021 Domonique Flowers, “The Reckoning of Republican Allies”: The Collaborative Political Efforts Between Black and White Republican Leaders in Post-Reconstruction Baltimore. Advisor: Michelle Scott Jessica Riley, Louisville’s Black Laborers of the Campbell Tobacco Company, 1915-1930 Advisor: Michelle Scott

SUMMER 2021 Eric Burroughs , “Let No Irreverent Hand Change It”: The Interpretation of Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 1853 to Present. Advisor: Denise Meringolo Pat Brynes, Renaissance Records: The Communities and Material Culture Behind the Revival of Vinyl Records from the 1980’s to 2010’s. Advisor: Michelle Scott

SPRING 2021 Ana Ilic-Hein , “Themes of Othering in Croatian and Serbian History Textbooks in the 1950’s” Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Chris Ragen , “Atomic City: Las Vegas and the Downwinders Advisor:  Andrew Nolan Bria Warren, “Swift and Certain Vengeance”: Lynching Rhetoric in Maryland Newspapers, 1954-1900 Advisor:  Anne Rubin

SUMMER 2020 Saul Espinal-Acosta , Goal!  Americans Embrace the Beautiful Game: How the Upper White Middle Class’ Acceptance of Soccer Affected Minority Communities from the 1980s-2000s Advisor: Andrew Nolan

SPRING 2020 Andrew Arvizu , Historical Simulations and the Mechanics of Conquest Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Morgan Miller , “A Town Within a Forest”: The Walking Tour of Washington Grove, 1873-Present Advisor: Denise Meringolo Kevin Muhitch, “We are the First to Unabashedly Go Out and Ask for a Prison”:  De-industrialization and the Politics of Prison Siting in Maryland, 1975-1996 Advisor: George Derek Musgrove Finny Rocca , Sexuality, Socialism & Sandals: Studying the Obsolescence of Uranian Epistemology, 1867-1933 Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Zachariah Tucker , Quarantined and Sequestered:  Tattoo Charlie’s and Tattoo Regulation in Baltimore, 1938-1970 Advisor: Melissa Blair

SUMMER 2019 David Cunningham , Taming the Desert: Fasting, Reform, and the Search for God Advisor: Susan McDonough Francis Ku , The Price of Dependence: The Deleterious Effects of the Kuomingtang’s Reliance on the United States Aid, 1941-1949 Advisor: Nianshen Song

SPRING 2019 Kayla Piechowiak , An Exhibit of Women, By Women, But for Women?: The Limits of Interpretation at the Smithsonian Advisor: Denise Meringolo Jordan Ritchie , Underwood and Underwood Company: Early Twentieth Century Pioneers of American Photojournalism Advisor: Denise Meringolo Camilla Azucena Sandoval , “What White Nonsense is this?”  Investigating the Seldom Seen or Heard Stories of Latinxs in the National Register of Historic Places. Advisor: Melissa Blair Maayan Rosen , Mistresses of the Press: The Roles of Women in Print Houses in 17th Century England Advisor: Amy Froide

FALL 2018 Heather Crandall , Astronomy’s Great Debate Over the Size of the Universe: Scientists’ and Historians’ Changing Assessments Advisor: Joseph Tatarewicz Alan Gibson ,   Reciprocity Matters During the Civil War: Canadian Raw Goods and the Union Supply Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Marshal Golden , The Life and Times of John Graham Chambers: Sports and Commercialization of Leisure in Victorian Britain Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Samantha Parker , The First Sexual Revolution:  A Comparative Study of Premarital Pregnancy Rates in Maryland and Massachusetts, 1700-1810 Advisor: Terry Bouton

SUMMER 2018 Laina Miller,  Singing Songs and Carrying Candles: The Development of Ashkenazi Jewish Marriage Customs and Rituals from Talmudic and Christian Sources, C. 850-1300 CE Advisor: Susan McDonough Zachary Utz ,   Re-Thinking “The American Dream of Integration” in Suburbia: Race, Class and Resegregation in Randallstown, 1956-2003 Advisor: George Derek Musgrove

SPRING 2018 Jason Aglietti , The Religion the Revolution Forgot: The Persecution of the Maryland Quakers During the American Revolution Advisor: Terry Bouton Sudaba Lezgiyeva , Without a Country: A Stateless Armenian Refugees in the USSR and Russia, 1987-2003 Advisor: Kate Brown Susan Philpott , Pride, Inc.: Black Power and Black Capital in Washington, D.C. Advisor: George Derek Musgrove

FALL 2017 Heidi Carbaugh,  “Mappipng Prostitution in Gilded Age Baltimore” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Sherry Ryan,  “Farms at Gettysburg” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin

SUMMER 2017 Tucker Foltz , “Freedom and Total Loss:  Tensions, Identity Formation and the Back-To-The Land Movement in 1970’s Vermont Advisor: Denise Meringolo Sydney Jenkins , “The Arabbers: A History of Baltimore Street Peddlers From 1945 to the Present” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Georgia Ladd , “Remembering Dixie in a Border State: Reunion and Reconciliation in Post-Civil War Maryland” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Robin Martin,  “Encounters Through Encroachment: 17th and 18th Century Interactions on Maryland’s Eastern Shore” Advisor: Melissa Blair Molly Ricks , “Buried Memories: The Evolving Symbolic Significance of Black and White Burial Grounds at Mount Vernon, Monticello and Montpelier ” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Stephanie Smith , “The Canadian Bicentennial of the War of 1812: The Problem of Techumseh” Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Laquanda Walters Cooper , “Every Evidence of Our Progress”: The North Carolina Negro State Fairs, 1879-1907 Advisor: Michelle Scott

SPRING 2017 Kelly Daughtridge , “Defining Their Past to Immortalize Their Future: Women’s Monuments in Early Modern England” Advisor: Amy Froide Katherine Fusick , “Ladies in Rebellion: Women of the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite Risings” Advisor: Amy Froide Andrew Holter,  “The Vanguard is Never Caught Napping: Informants and Police Inside the Black Panthers in Baltimore, 1968-1972” Advisor: George Derek Musgrove Sarah Huston , “The Lives of Enslaved and Free Black Children in Baltimore Under Apprenticeship Laws, 1790-1840” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Jennifer Montooth , “Bridges to Dignity”: Roy Innis, Conservative Black Power, and the Transformation of CORE, 1968-1998 Advisor: George Derek Musgrove Chelsea Mueller , “Ink, Mirrors, and Capes: How Comic Books Mirrored Societal Events in American Culture From 1954-1990” Advisor: Meredith Oyen

FALL 2016 Joshua Fertig , “Bars on the Golden Door: Post WWII Security Screenings and Their Administrations” Advisor: Meredith Oyen

SUMMER 2016 Celso Baldivieso , “Irradiating Eden: The El Verde Experiment and the Atomic Energy Commission’s Nuclear Prospecting in Latin America, 1954-1970” Advisor: Kate Brown

SPRING 2016 Michael Bealefeld , “The Peculiar Fidelity of the Old Line State” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Jacob Benson , “City Architect, County Architect” Advisor: Melissa Blair Conor Donan , “The Streets of Baltimore-The Irish in Baltimore City” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Tyler Peterson , “Bridging the Gap: Culture and Politics in Sino-American Normalization” Advisor: Meredith Oyen Allyson Schuele , “Marrying Down: A Strategy for Aristocratic Widows in Tudor England” Advisor: Amy Froide Michael Stone ,”Understanding the Uprising” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Coleburn Volman , “Child of Man? Child of God?: Adolescence and the Ambiguity of Parenthood in Early Modern England” Advisor: Amy Froide

FALL 2015 Elizabeth Cusick , “Anarchist Heaven:  Barcelona 1936-1937.” Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Aiden J. Faust , “Neighborhood Matters:  What Baltimore Learned from the War on Poverty.” Advisor: George Derek Musgrove Aunaleah Gelles , “Commemorating the Defense of Baltimore, 1815-2015.” Advisor: Denise Meringolo

SUMMER 2015 Genevieve White , “Gone With Only Memory Left”: The Wartime Memoir of Emily Raine Williams Advisor: Meredith Oyen Nichole Zang , “Holy Temples to Dark Rooms: The origins of Baltimore’s Juvenile Reform Movement of the 19th Century” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin

SPRING 2015 Jessica E. Deane , “Glory Stands Beside Our Grief:  The Maryland Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy’s Commemoration and Memorial Efforts in Baltimore” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Talbot A. Kuhn , “Maryland and the Moderate Conundrum:  Free Black Policy in an Antebellum Border State” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin

FALL 2014 Susan Chumley , “The United States Air Force Band:  Musical Ambassadors on a Cold War Stage” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Sarah Hammersley , “The Family Bond: Benevolent Black Slaveholding in Early National Maryland” Advisor: Terry Bouton Heather M. Steven , “The Use of Gender During the E. G. Wharton Trial” Advisor: Michelle Scott

SUMMER 2014 Megan C. Maxwell , “Black Faces in Blue Uniforms:  Integrating the Baltimore Police Department, 1920-1950” Advisor: Michelle Scott Nancy Watts , “The History of Kindergarten in Baltimore City, Maryland” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Zachary Garceau ,” Johnny Unitas: Baltimore’s Cold Warrior” Advisor: George Derek Musgrove

SPRING 2014 Christopher Brown , “The Writing on the Walls and Other Places: American Civil War Graffiti” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Katherine Dufresne , “Images and Reality: War Brides and Media Representation” Advisor: Meredith Oyen Steve Flint , “The Vietnam War: Communist Mass Mobilization at the Local Level” Advisor: Ka-che Yip Courtney Hobson , “A Mother’s Inheritance: Women, Interracial Identity, and Emancipation in Maryland, 1664-1820″ Advisor: Marjoleine Kars Jacob Hutton ,”The Other Side of the Riots” Advisor: George Derek Musgrove Colin Leach , “Waiting for Supertrain: Trains, Technocracy, and the Great Society” Advisor: Christy Chapin Caitlin McGeeve r, “’That Which is Spirit is Spirit’: Male and Female Quaker Perspectives in Political Context” Advisor: Amy Froide David Warner , “Executive Privilege and the Spirit of Republicanism in the Washington Administration” Advisor: Marjoleine Kars

FALL 2013 Shae Adams,  “Identity in Black and White: Indian Boarding School Postcards” Advisor: Terry Bouton Dorothy Alexander,  “Hilltop:  A Historic African-American Community” Advisor: Denise Meringolo William J. Carroll,  “Beer Wars:  The Fight for Independent Brewing in Baltimore” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Theresa Donnelly,  “George Washington’s Laboring Women:  The Work and Lives of the Enslaved Female Field Workers at Mount Vernon, 1785-1787” Advisor: Marjoleine Kars Karl Dotterweich,  “’And the Hand of the Lord Was With Them’:  The Effects of Planters’ Socioeconomic Status on the Capital Trials of Enslaved Africans in Colonial Maryland, 1729-1775” Advisor: Marjoleine Kars Gary McMullin,  “Country First:  African Colonization and the Role of Southern Unionists, 1817-1862” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin

SUMMER 2013 Christy Gretsinger , “Oblivion: An Analysis of the Decline of Feminism Within the Owenite Movement” Advisor: Daniel Ritschel James Reaves , “Making Down: The Life of a Pullman Porter” Advisor: Denise Meringolo John J. Soos , “Jacob Beser: The Forgotten Hiroshima and Nagasaki Crewmember and the Construction of Atomic Memory” Advisor: Joe Tatarewitz

SPRING 2013 Mia Brown , “Lyndon Johnson and the Race for Peace: The 1967 Outer Space Treaty” Advisor: Joseph Tatarewicz Dominique L. Covino ,  “‘In Great Danger of Perishing Through Poverty’: Kinship, Charity and Public Poor Relief in Somerset County, Maryland, 1665-1760” Advisor: Marjoleine Kars Jenny Lee Hansen , “Genocide: What Genocide?” Advisor: Meredith Oyen Elizabeth Pente  – “Death for Dishonor in Danville” Advisor: Michelle Scott Johanna Schein  – “Heeding Hetch Hetchy: A Public History Project” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Amy Zanoni  – “‘Working on Many Levels’: A History of Second-Wave Feminism in Baltimore” Advisor: Michelle Scott

FALL 2012 Brigette N. Cascio , “The More Personal Civil War: The Impact of the Civil War on Marriages” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Meghan Colabella , “Beyond its Southern Border: An Examination of U.S. Immigration Policies (IRLA) and Mexican Migration” Advisor: Meredith Oyen

SUMMER 2012 Kellian Kennedy , “The Civil Rights and Social Justice Movement in Baltimore, Maryland” Advisor: Michelle Scott

SPRING 2012 Vicki Heath ,” Harris’ List as a Source for the Diverse and Entrepreneurial Nature of Prostitution in Eighteenth-Century London” Advisor: Amy Froide Jessica Keene , “Elite Women’s Protestant Networks in Mid-Tudor England” Advisor: Amy Froide Owen Lourie , “A Revolution Without Change:  The Limited Effects of Suffrage Reform in Maryland, 1803-1813” Advisor: Terry Bouton Trisha Okine , “Real vs Real:  How the Concept of Authenticity Has Influenced Hip Hop” Advisor: Michelle Scott Douglas Oppenheimer , “America’s Revolutionary War” Advisor: Terry Bouton Tarin Rudloff , “Regulating Identities:  Governing Women’s Appearance in Early Modern England” Advisor: Amy Froide Allison Seylor , “In Defense of Slavery:  An Exploration of Queen Anne’s County Slave Owners, 1820-1840” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Andrew Young , “Lexington’s Grandsons:  The Northern Response to the Pratt Street Riots” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin

SUMMER 2011 Erin Estep , “A Chesapeake Childhood:  Childhood in the Colonial Chesapeake” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Laura Rice , “The Experience of an Enlisted U.S. Army Soldier During and After the Punitive Expedition and World War I:  Thomas F. Cunningham, A Case Study” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Coleen Walter , “Conserving Memory:  The Civilian Conservation Corps in Western Maryland” Advisor: Kriste Lindenmeyer

SPRING 2011 Bailey Ball , “Never Again:  The Impulse to Commemorate the Holocaust in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the British Imperial War Museum” Advisor: Rebecca Boehling Bethany Bemis , “The People’s House?  Public Access to the White House” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Daniel Burge , “Manifest or Murky? A Reexamination of the Popularity of Manifest Destiny in the Antebellum Era” Advisor: Terry Bouton Martin Cullen , “Nation Building and Insurgency in Southeast Asia” Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Teresa Foster , “The Passengers of the Ship Gilbert in 1721:  British Female Convict Transportation From London to Annapolis” Advisor: Marjoleine Kars James Furgol , “An Analysis of Discourse and Disagreement:  The British and American Medical Associations Following WWII” Advisor: Daniel Ritschel Jacob Levin , “Blacks and Jews in the Black Power Movement and its Subsequent Scholarship” Advisor: Michelle Scott Laura Marshallsay , “WAC Voices:  The Transition of the Women’s Army Corps to the Integrated Army, 1973-1978” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Homira Pashai , “For the Sake of Power, Prestige or Oil:  Did Cooperation Among the Governments of the United States and Great Britain Contribute to the 1953 Coup of Iran?” Advisor: Kriste Lindenmeyer James Risk , “Ship to Shore:  Infrastructure and the Growth of American Seaports” Advisor: Anne Sarah Rubin Carol Van Natta , “Slavery and Free Black Labor in Northern Maryland, 1762 to 1864: Rethinking the Focus at Hampton National Historic Site” Advisor: Denise Meringolo

FALL 2010 Peter Bunten , “A Vigil Strange:  The Civil War and the Creation of Memory in Ulster and Greene Counties, New York” Advisor: Denise Meringolo Jessica Ding , “Political Prophecy in Tudor England” Advisor: Amy Froide

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College of Arts and Humanities

• Master’s in History

At Georgia Southern University, the Master of Arts in History degree program is tailored for you, whether you’re aiming for doctoral studies, seeking professional development, or aspiring to become a public historian, archivist or librarian. 

With one of the largest history faculties in the University System of Georgia, you’ll have access to a broad range of courses, from gender studies to military history. You can choose between a thesis or non-thesis track, depending on your career goals. The program emphasizes a deep understanding of the past in all its complexity and the interconnectedness of knowledge. It aims to spark your curiosity and hone your critical thinking, communication and analytical skills, preparing you for a variety of career paths.

Master of Arts in History Format : In person on the Statesboro Campus. Please note that the MA in History is not offered on the Armstrong Campus. Credit Hours : 33 Entry Term : Fall

We are accepting applications for the Master of Arts in History for Fall 2024.

Priority Deadline: February 15, 2024 Final Deadline: July 31, 2024

Master’s in History Curriculum

Our Master of Arts in History program offers an array of courses that cater to your unique interests:

• Explore Time Periods and Regions: From the intriguing aspects of American and European history to the rich stories of Black Women’s history.
• Specialized Courses: Delve into Advanced Topics in Public History, get hands-on with Museum Studies or discover the nuances of Oral History.
• Flexible Learning: Choose courses that align with your career goals, whether you’re leaning towards a thesis track or prefer the non-thesis option.

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• Concentration in Public History

While earning your MA in History, you’ll be able to complete the general MA track (thesis or non-thesis option) or pursue a concentration in Public History. The concentration offers a comprehensive and engaging curriculum:

• Core Courses: Includes ‘Historian’s Craft,’ ‘Graduate Seminar in Public History’ and a ‘Research Prospectus.’
• Practical Experience: Gain hands-on experience with a ‘Professional Internship in Public History.’
• Project Work: Undertake a ‘Non-Thesis Project in Public History’ with an oral defense.
• Electives: Choose four public history elective courses at the 5000 level or above.

Credit Hours: The total program is 33 credit hours.

Public History Graduate Certificate

The Public History Graduate Certificate at Georgia Southern University offers focused training in public history:

• Core Courses: Engage in foundational courses like ‘Introduction to Public History’ and ‘Museum Studies.’
• Electives: Choose from a variety of electives to broaden your understanding.
• Capstone Project: Conclude with a professional internship or a non-thesis project.
• Flexible Schedule: Ideal for working professionals or students seeking specialized knowledge.

This certificate provides practical skills for careers in museums, archives, and cultural heritage sites.

Master’s and Certificate Pathway

Combining the Public History Graduate Certificate with the Master’s program at Georgia Southern University offers an integrated educational experience:

• First Year: Focus on core history courses, including ‘The Historian’s Craft,’ and begin public history electives.
• Summer Term: Take the opportunity to complete an internship or additional electives.
• Second Year: Continue with advanced public history courses and electives.
• Final Semester: Complete a non-thesis project in public history as a capstone to your studies.

This approach maximizes your learning and professional development in the field of public history.

Admission Requirements

If you’re interested in the Master’s program in History at Georgia Southern University, these are the key admission requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree: A completed Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college.
• GPA Requirements: A minimum of 3.0 GPA on all undergraduate work, with a 3.0 in history and no grade below a “C.”
• History Background: An undergraduate major or equivalent in history. If your major is in another field, you need at least 15 credits in history and 30 credits in social sciences and humanities.
• Letters of Recommendation: Two recommendation letters from professors or instructors familiar with your academic abilities.
• Statement of Purpose: A 500-750 word narrative explaining how the program aligns with your career goals.
• Writing Sample: A scholarly writing sample of at least 1250 words with citations.

Career Opportunities

With a Master’s in History or a Public History Certificate from Georgia Southern University, your options for careers are as vast as history itself! Here’s a glimpse of the engaging career paths you could follow:

• Legal and Government Fields: Imagine yourself as an administrative law judge, an arbitrator or even working with immigration & naturalization services.
• Cultural and Heritage Sectors: How about being an archivist, curator or museum specialist? Your love for history could preserve important stories for generations.
• Education and Research: Picture yourself shaping minds as a college professor or delving into deep research as a historian.
• Business and Finance: Merge history with the corporate world in roles like business analyst or finance specialist.

These are just a few of the many doors your degree can open. So, think big and let your passion for history guide your career!

Contact Us!

For more information about the Graduate Program and Graduate Assistantships, contact:

Dr. Alan Downs Director, Graduate Studies Department of History P.O. Box 8054 Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460-8054 Phone: 912-478-0242 ([email protected])

Dr. Michael Van Wagenen Public History Coordinator Department of History P.O. Box 8054 Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460-8054 Phone: 912-478-5862 ([email protected])

• Student Resources

Combined M.A. and Certificate in Public History Program of Study

The department offers thesis and non-thesis options and a concentration in public history.

The degree candidate for a Master of Arts in History will take  27 credits of course work (out of a total of 33), which includes the following:

*One seminar must be outside the candidate’s field of concentration. A seminar in Public History meets this requirement.

*At least one seminar must be outside the candidate’s field of concentration. A seminar in Public History  meets this requirement.

** As part of this course the candidate will produce an article-length paper (approximately 10,000 words) that is defended orally before a committee.

Students pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Public History simultaneously with the Non-Thesis Option substitute HIST 7900 Non-Thesis Project in Public History.

*Students who enter the MA program with a concentration in Public History after having completed the Graduate Certificate in Public History will substitute an additional Reading Seminar for Research Prospectus.

**Internships are 150 hours.

***This course concludes with a 6,000 – 10,000 word technical report on the final project that is defended orally before a committee. With the permission of the Director of Graduate Studies this course may be completed simultaneously with the Professional Internship in History.

****One seminar must be outside the candidate’s field of concentration.

Other Program Requirements

• The student must also pass a reading-knowledge examination in an appropriate foreign language. (Prior completion of coursework in a foreign language through the fourth semester at the intermediate level with a grade of C or better shall exempt students from the foreign language exam.)
• The student must also pass an oral defense of either the thesis, the non-thesis project, or the non-thesis project in public history.
• Two elective course may be taken outside the Department of History.

General Requirements

• The College of Graduate Studies limits independent study to 6 credits.

Adv i sement

Department of History Director of Graduate Studies Georgia Southern University P.O. Box 8054

Statesboro, GA 30460 phone 912-478-4478 fax 912-478-0377

website:  https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/cah/history/

Possible Two-Year Degree Plan for M.A.

This plan should serve as a suggestion only. Please see the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies for complete details. Please be aware that available History courses are scheduled in advance and are subject to change. Every effort will be made to accommodate the needs of our History graduate students.

SUGGESTED CALENDAR FOR HISTORY M.A.

This plan should serve as a suggestion only.  Please be aware that available History courses are scheduled in advance and are subject to change. Every effort will be made to accommodate the needs of our History graduate students.

FIRST SEMESTER (FALL) • HIST 7630 The Historian’s Craft • HIST 7631, 7633, or 7635 History Reading Seminar (in-field or out-of-field, as needed**) • HIST Elective at the 5000 level or above*

SECOND SEMESTER (SPRING) • HIST 7631, 7633, or 7635 History Reading Seminar (in-field or out-of-field, as needed**) • HIST Elective at the 5000 level or above* • HIST 7838 Research Prospectus >Submit Masters Program of Study Form to College of Graduate Studies (COGS)

OPTION (SUMMER) • HIST Elective* and/or satisfy Foreign Language Requirement

THIRD SEMESTER (FALL) • HIST Elective at the 5000 level or above* • HIST 7631, 7633, or 7635 History Reading Seminar (in-field or out-of-field, as needed**) • HIST 7999 Thesis (Thesis Option) or HIST 7631, 7633, or 7635 History Reading Seminar (Non-Thesis Option) >Submit Masters Program of Study Form to COGS (if not done so) >Submit Thesis Committee Membership Approval Form to COGS (Thesis Option) >Satisfy Foreign Language Requirement >Apply for Graduation in Spring

FOURTH SEMESTER (SPRING) • HIST Elective (if still needed)* • HIST Elective (if still needed)* • HIST 7999 Thesis (Thesis Option) or HIST 7990 Non-Thesis Project (Non-Thesis Option)*** >Satisfy Foreign Language Requirement (if still needed) >Submit Portfolio Completion Report Form to COGS >Thesis Defense (Thesis Option) or Non-Thesis Project Defense (Non-Thesis Option) by stated COGS deadline >Submit Electronic Thesis per COGS guidelines to COGS by stated deadlines (Thesis Option)

OPTION (SUMMER) • Continue HIST 7999 Thesis or HIST 7990 Non-Thesis Project, if needed >Thesis Defense (Thesis Option) or Non-Thesis Project Defense (Non-Thesis Option) >Submit Electronic Thesis per COGS guidelines to COGS by stated deadlines (Thesis Option)

*Two elective courses may be taken outside the Department of History. For candidates pursuing the Thesis Option, HIST 7631, 7633, or 7635 Readings Seminar may be taken as an elective after completing the required three seminars. A seminar in Public History also meets this option. A maximum of two HIST 7831 Independent Study in History courses (requires permission of instructor) may be taken as electives.

**One seminar must be outside the candidate’s field of concentration. A seminar in Public History meets this requirement.

***Candidates pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Public History simultaneously with the Non-Thesis Option substitute HIST 7900 Non-Thesis Project in Public History.

Additional Graduate Student Resources

Related Programs

Last updated: 2/8/2024

• Major in History
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• Certificate in Public History
• Faculty & Staff
• Projects Summary
• Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History
• Ogeechee International History Film Festival
• Savannah History Remix
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• Department Internal Site (Login Required)

Hawes Hall # 110 11935 Abercorn Street Savannah, GA 31419-1997 Phone: 912-344-2763

Interdisciplinary Academic Building, #3012 P.O. Box 8054 Statesboro, GA 30460 Phone: 912-478-4478 Fax: 912-478-0377 Email: [email protected]

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History Thesis Topics: List of 69 Outstanding Ideas

Unless you plan to go for a Ph.D. in history, a thesis will be the most significant academic writing of your life. It shows your in-depth knowledge of a subject, your ability to think logically, creatively, and originally. Besides, it’s a great way to demonstrate how good your writing is.

But finding an appropriate title for your thesis is a challenging task. You may feel unsure about any idea until you see the rest of them. So, what can help you?

A history thesis topics list, of course. In this article, you’ll consider a wide variety of ideas about historical events and figures. There are some tips on picking the right one for you. With a little explanation of the basics, you’ll differentiate the Bachelor’s thesis from the Master’s one in a second.

• ☝️ How to Choose?
• ⭐ Top-12 Thesis Ideas
• 🚀 American History
• ⚔️ European History
• 🎨 Art History
• 📚 MA Thesis Topics
• 🦉 MPhil Thesis Ideas
• 👨‍🏫 Thesis vs. Dissertation

☝ How to Choose a History Thesis Topic?

Before picking a topic about history, you have to understand what you’re looking for. Take into account that you’re going to spend plenty of time writing your thesis. So, you need to find an idea that engages you and is worthy of your time. Don’t go for a random history topic that you do not feel passionate about.

Searching for an idea, follow the tips below:

• Find a topic that interests you . You’ll most probably write your thesis for a whole semester or even longer. That’s why you should determine something that doesn’t bore easily. At least those countless hours in the library will be spent with pleasure. The more the idea challenges and intrigues you, the less you’ll procrastinate and suffer from writing. No one can tell you what to write about. Your advisor can help you specify the topic, but it is up to you what to write about.
• Look for a topic that creates a trajectory for further research . You may not pursue it later, but having an opportunity to do so is a significant advantage. If you decide to pursue a further degree, you will already be familiar with the topic well. Take a look at available works in a free essays database to get a clearer picture of what can be further explored.
• Find a professor who will become your thesis advisor . Bring some thesis ideas up and see what your instructor suggests. It’s a good thing to have several research topics in mind—the instructor can help you determine the best one.
• Think beyond the graduation date . Whether you are going to start a career or continue your studies, your thesis should help you in achieving your goals. What may your employer look for in your paper? What do you need to be successful in your job or further research? It’s good to approach the issue with some level of practicality. See if you can apply the skills and information you’ve acquired to your professional life.
• Strive for originality but stay within your studies context . Try to make your title unique to grasp attention and intrigue from the get-go. At the same time, don’t fall outside the scope of your field. Before picking a topic, do some research to understand the field deeper. This way, you’ll see what exactly you would like to address.
• Make sure your title fits the requirements . Open your university guidelines for the thesis work and find this out before anything else. Ask your thesis advisor as well to give you honest feedback.

⭐ Top-12 History Thesis Ideas

• Civil War — the role of women.
• The Watergate Scandal.
• Contemporary art history.
• The Napoleonic Wars.
• Causes of World War 2.
• Impact of the Black Plague.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Japanese-American conflict.
• The Vietnam anti-war protests.
• Origins of the Great Famine in Ireland.
• The French Revolution.
• The rule of Elizabeth I.

📝 History Thesis Topics for Bachelor’s Degree

Usually, American Universities don’t require students to write a Senior Thesis. However, you still have an option to choose one. You can write a thesis as a part of your program completion. It will take a lot of time, energy, and effort. But, in the end, you will be able to produce a prime piece of academic writing.

Strive to write anywhere from 60 to 100 pages. You will also dedicate a lot of time writing and polishing it afterward. Make sure to leave enough time for that too.

What’s the first step?

Look for a thesis advisor you know you will enjoy working with. Consider all the professors you’ve interacted with at your university and pick several. Approach them and see if they are accepting new students for thesis supervision.

Make sure to choose a history thesis paper topic that your advisor knows a lot about. At some point, you will become very knowledgeable about the history thesis topic you chose. It will be crucial to have someone who can direct you.

There are several reasons why you should consider writing a thesis for a Bachelor’s Degree in history:

• It provides you with essential experience in writing, researching, and brainstorming ideas. It can later help you in your academic or professional life.
• You can deeply understand a subject that interests you.
• You can improve your reading skills.
• If you have to use foreign sources, you can also increase your foreign language skills.

Are you still wondering what historical thesis ideas are appropriate? Then, this list is perfect for you.

🚀 American History Thesis Topics

• African American history in the United States : disfranchisement and segregation in 1890-1900
• Early American History and the lost colony of Roanoke
• The construction of race in American culture and history. It’s not a secret that race is a social construct. In American culture and history, it plays a critical role. In the thesis, you will have a chance to research the mechanisms through which the race was constructed. Movies, literary representations, articles, what else? It’s up to you to find out what can be relevant.
• World War 2 through personal letters and diaries . This thesis can be personal and will not leave people indifferent. Examination of diaries, notes, and personal accounts can be fascinating. You won’t be bored doing historical research. Maybe you even have some in your own family? Worth checking it out.
• Guilt over Slavery in the United States: a historical examination
• Gender equality in American education . A comparative study of Germany, Russia, The United States
• New York City and its historical geography. NYC is one of the captivating American cities. Writing a thesis about its historical geography is not an easy task. Gladly, you have tons of information available to you.

• Rocket Science as one of the most significant innovations of the 20th century
• Examining the Role of Privilege within the Ivy League Universities
• Role of American Public Health in a Post-9/11 World

⚔ European History Thesis Topics

• Formation and development of the European Union during the 20th century
• Feminist perspective on the representation of women in Roman Art
• Religion and Nation in Europe in the 19th century
• Construction of National Identity in Post-Soviet Latvia. What did contribute to developing a national identity of post-soviet Latvia? First of all, its independence and belonging to the European Union. In this thesis, talk about colonization and colonial identity. Consider the policies Latvian government implemented to build a Latvian character. What is it? What are the essential characteristics of it?
• Composition and religious hierarchy in The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci
• Representation of Jews in Late Medieval Period in Europe
• Problems of political leadership in Athens of 404-355 BCE
• The French Renaissance Court and its structural hierarchy. This topic is interesting yet complex. Its complexity comes not from the name but the nature of the French Renaissance Court. You need to have a clear idea of how the royal court is built and is operating. Find relevant historians of that time, and, hopefully, you can speak some French.
• Immigrational Politics of the United Kingdom. The problem of multiculturism at the beginning of 1960-1980.
• Orientalism or the Middle East through the prism of Western scholars in the XIX century. In this thesis, start by exploring the notion of Orientalism. Edward Said will be a good point of departure and one of the most fundamental works to cite and read. You can agree with his argument or disagree with it. Nevertheless, find the relevant evidence for your point of view.

🎨 Art History Thesis Topics

• Medicine in Ancient Rome with a focus on surgeries through paintings. This thesis topic is rich. Numerous Ancient Roman paintings depict surgeries and medical treatments. Find the most interesting ones and talk about innovations in medicine. What was the point of recording medical procedures in art? Truly a topic that can captivate anyone.
• Vincent Van Gogh: A phycological analysis of the artist’s last years . In this thesis, examine his artworks together with the personal letters. Look at the words he used, as well as the images he painted. You need it to comprehend what was happening in Vincent’s life in his last years. Some art therapists claim that the artist had bipolar disorder. Examine those views. However, be careful not to give any medical diagnosis yourself.

• Plato on Punishment and Vice: the notion of punishment in The Republic. You cannot get a degree without reading the most fundamental text of the Western Academy, The Republic . In this thesis, you should simply focus on the ideas of punishment and vice. Plato wrote a lot regarding the morals and the laws. Try to discern what exactly he meant. Extract his views regarding capital punishment and punitive justice.
• Modern Art in Europe, with a specific focus on Italy
• Trade in Medieval Europe with a focus on Africa through art
• The erotism of art of Ancient Rome
• Synthesis of sculpture and paintings in Spanish art of the 17th century
• Neoclassicism in French art of the 1900s-1910s
• Surrealism in Art as the quintessence between realism and hyper-realism

📋 History Thesis Topics for Master’s Degree

In the United States, to enter a graduate degree in history, a bachelor’s degree is required. Most of the time, students will have to submit several recommendation letters. Plus, they need GRE scores and writing samples. Add to this several essays explaining the purpose of going to university again, and there you have it.

It is common to have several completion requirements. They can include basic courses, language tests, and a master’s thesis at the end of the program. However, it depends on the department and the university.

Keep in mind that there are several credits that students should obtain to get a degree. It differs from university to university as well. In most of the programs throughout the United States, they are required to complete 30-32 credits to get an M.A. degree. This number usually corresponds to 8-9 classes.

If you are pursuing an M.A., you’re in luck. There is an excellent chance that you will be able to choose if you would like to write a thesis or not. If you are pursuing an M.Phil., then you will have to write your thesis because it’s a research degree.

No matter if you are pursuing an M.A. or an M.Phil., this historical thesis ideas can help you find a title:

📚 MA Thesis Topics in History

• Apotheosis of the Philippine Historical Political Tradition
• Kerala History: Syrian Christians in the region in the 18th century
• History of Modern India with a focus on women’s rights
• The history of theater in the American South and the main characteristics of the Southern Drama. This thesis includes a lot of aspects starting from playwriting in Charleston to drama in New Orleans. Then there are War Drama, Black Drama, etc. Try to find a good balance to fit all of the main characteristics of the Southern Drama and theater.
• New Deal and its impacts on events leading to the Great Depression
• Mistakes of the Soviet side in WW2. WWII was the deadliest military conflict of the 20th century. In this thesis, talk about the biggest mistakes the Red Army made during the war. Some of those can include signing to the Non-Aggression Pact with Hitler. Plus, there were anti-tank dogs and the Molovot-Ribbentrop Pact.

• Military strategies that allowed Napoleon to win crucial battles
• Mussolini & Hitler : connection along with its consequences for Italy
• Queen Victoria’s politics and the way it has changed British history
• The Development of Strategic Bombing Doctrine Between the World Wars
• Historical Creation of a Black Elite in the United States
• Through Imperial Eyes: Race and British Reactions to the American Slavery Question
• Gertrude Bell’s Influence in the Formation of Iraq. Gertrude Bell is a crucial figure in Islamic studies. She contributed a lot to the formation of Iraq. In this thesis, explore her unique contribution and approach to building a modern state of the country. She was highly trusted by British politicians and by Arab leaders.
• Baptist church history as a way to escape slavery

🦉 MPhil Thesis Topics in History

• Investigating the impact of WWI on trade blocks. A case study of the European Union
• Women in WWII: sexual objectification of women through magazines and advertisement. Women played an integral part in WWII. In this thesis, explore the role of sexual imagery in the advertising industry during the war.
• Sudan-American relationships in 1989-2000: US Foreign Policy and Genocide in Sudan
• Criticism of the war on drugs during the Ronald Reagan administration
• The political evolution of the Southern States during the Reconstruction Era
• Everest Expeditions in British Popular Culture, 1920-1960. Explore how Everest Expeditions were depicted in British movies. Analyze the subject via comics, journals, and visual art in the first part of the 20th century.
• Impact of Otto von Bismarck on German Liberalism

• Discrimination of German immigrants in the USA during WW2
• The Fourth International and the Spanish Civil War
• Political and economic aspects of the crisis in Venetian Diplomacy in the 1500s
• The connection between institutionalized racism and police violence in the United States. There are several dimensions to racism. In this thesis, look for a connection between structural racism and police violence in the US. Compare the numbers, look at the stories. See if this data exposes any hidden bias.
• An image of the Medieval Period in Post Modern Art
• A comparative analysis of the Four Quran English Translation. In this thesis, discuss why and how the Quran can be translated. Also, you should look at the four translations. Try to determine which one is the closest. To do that, you need to have an advanced level of Arabic.
• The psychological effect of war on American soldiers in Vietnam

👨‍🏫 Differences between a Thesis and Dissertation

Understanding the difference between a thesis and a dissertation is essential. Would you like to obtain a master’s and a doctoral degree? Then read attentively. In the United States, both thesis and dissertation are vital for this purpose.

The prominent differences that you have to realize are the following:

• A dissertation is required to graduate with a doctoral degree. A thesis is a culmination of a master’s program.
• A dissertation is written to add a new piece of knowledge to the field. A thesis is to show that you have enough knowledge about the field.
• A dissertation usually takes several semesters, sometimes even years, to complete. A thesis does not require this amount of time. It can be finished within months.
• A dissertation can be seen as an academic book. A master’s thesis is a long research paper.

Let’s see the main characteristics of a bachelor’s thesis, a master’s thesis, an MPhil’s thesis, and a dissertation:

• A Bachelor’s Thesis (honors thesis). It’s a research-based paper that allows undergraduate students to put their knowledge into practice. The paper is usually 40-60 pages long. It includes an introduction, main body, conclusion, and bibliography.
• A Master’s Thesis. It’s a piece of original scholarly work. A mater’s thesis is written under the close supervision of an academic advisor. It attempts to bring some fresh look or a new perspective to a field of study. The length of a master’s thesis can vary. Usually, it doesn’t go beyond 100 pages.
• An MPhil’s Thesis (Master of Philosophy). It’s a specific type of thesis. As it was stated earlier, most American Universities don’t grant this degree. A few schools give it under specific circumstances. Doctoral students should accomplish all the course work and pass their exams. Then, this degree can be granted to them. A more colloquial way to call this degree is “all but dissertation.” In other cases, this degree is granted to students who are doing their postgraduate research.
• A Dissertation. It’s a major piece of academic writing. It’s independent, shows critical and thinking ability. A dissertation is meant to illustrate academic knowledge, originality of work, and research skills. The length usually stays within 200-300 pages.

Any thesis or dissertation is a monumental work. Choose a topic that you are passionate about. Make sure it’s researchable and clear, but at the same time memorable. Spend time writing, proofreading, editing, and talking to your advisor about your ideas and academic goals.

Remember that it is okay to get frustrated and tired at times. If it happens to you, stop working for a bit and relax. Good luck and congratulations on your soon to be graduation! We hope this article was helpful. Share it with those who may need a history thesis topic or a piece of advice.

🔗 References

• MPhil in History: University of Oxford
• How to Pick a Masters Thesis Topic: Peter Campbell for Medium
• How Do I Choose A Thesis Topic: Grad School Hub
• Writing a Senior Thesis: Undergraduate Program, Department of History, Brandeis University
• The Bachelor’s Thesis, Bachelor EE: University of Twente
• Guidelines for the Preparation of Your Master’s Thesis: the Office of Graduate Studies and Research: University of Nebraska at Kearney
• Guidelines for Writing a Master’s Thesis for MA Degree: Jeremy Bailey, Susan Scarrow, University of Houston
• What is a dissertation? How it is different from an essay: The Royal Literary Fund
• What is the Difference Between a Thesis and a Dissertation: The Best Master’s Degrees
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In This Section

• Acknowledgments and Sources
• Introduction: As Seen by the Chairman
• Do We Need More College Teachers?
• Graduate Students in History
• History in the Colleges

The Master’s Degree

• Ph.D.-Training Institutions
• Doctoral Study in History
• Major Criticisms of Ph.D. Training
• Experiments with Teacher Training and Tightened Programs
• Recommendations

For about 3 out of 10 college-level teachers of history the master's is the highest degree. In the late 1950s, amidst growing anxieties about the teacher shortage, several proposals were advanced for the creation of special master's degree programs for college teachers. These proposals won quick support from critics of traditional Ph.D. training. The present and the future of master's training in history is thus of great concern to all those who appoint college teachers of history, and its future has a direct bearing upon the consideration of proposals to reform Ph.D. training.

The prevalence of master's training must be considered in any contemplation of the present condition and prospects of the degree. Awarded by all the institutions that are engaged in Ph.D. training in history, the master's is for most Ph.D.s a part of doctoral training. One-fourth (26%) of the Ph.D.-training history departments require students who aspire to the doctorate to take the master's degree; only 7% discourage them from taking the master's or are indifferent about it. A survey of 143 recent history Ph.D.s has shown that 98% earned the master's degree; 86% of them earned it in history. 1 In addition to the eighty-odd Ph.D.-training history departments, more than 100 others offer the degree in history. A total of 196 institutions in the nation awarded the master's degree in history in 1959, many more than in any of the social sciences. (Sociology, with 115 in 1958, was the nearest "rival.") In our sample of four-year colleges, one-fifth of the "typical" institutions offer the master's degree in history. Half the better ones do so. The number of master's programs is likely to grow, for 11% of the "typical" colleges and 8% of the better ones report that they are considering inaugurating them.

The number of persons earning the master's in history has increased each year since 1956; 1,643 master's degrees in history were awarded in 1959 (see Table 2-5 in Chapter 2). Production has developed in recent years in comparison with the 1956 level as follows: 1957, 113%; 1958, 125%; and 1959, 147%. 2 The Ph.D.-training universities awarded two-thirds (67%) of all the master's degrees in history in the nation in 1958, averaging 12 master's graduates each. Three institutions awarded more than 40 and the largest producer-Columbia University-awarded 87 degrees, 1 out of every 16 in the nation. On the other hand, more than one-fourth of all institutions awarding master's degrees in history in 1958 awarded no more than two degrees each. 3

How is master's training now conducted? What alternatives to it have been proposed? 4 To find out about these matters, questionnaires on master's training were collected from 164 institutions. Together, these institutions awarded four-fifths of all the master's degrees in history in the nation in 1958. They include 77 Ph.D.training departments of history and 87 departments in colleges that award the master's degree in history.

Admission, Screening, and Basic Requirements

"At present, requirements for the A.M. vary sharply over the country and as the requirements vary, so does the respect paid the degree." 5 These words from the 1957 report of four graduate deans succinctly summarize the present training of historians at the master's level.

Variations begin with admission of students. Some institutions take almost all applicants who have had undergraduate academic records of at least average quality (C or better). At the same time, students in obscure colleges with almost "straight-A" records find it difficult to gain admission to major centers of graduate study. In a number of the Ph.D.-training history departments visited during this study, lower standards are set for master's candidates than for post-M.A. students. This happens especially in the state universities, which feel obligated to serve secondary education. Partly because many of the history Ph.D.s of 1958 assume this double standard, a majority of them report that admission of master's candidates was "sufficiently rigorous" in the departments where they took Ph.D. training.

Two-fifths (41%) of the 1958 Ph.D.s (and 57% of the graduates of the seven programs highest in prestige) state that "some too many" or "far too many" master's candidates were in residence at their universities "for adequate faculty attention to them." Screening of students generally lacks rigor during the first year of graduate study. Even in such a difficult field as Russian studies, three-fifths of the entering students in five universities, 1946-1956, were awarded master's degrees, and in three of these universities four-fifths or more of the entrants were awarded degrees. 6

If too few students are now sent away during the first year of graduate study, perhaps the fault lies with faculty grading rather than with departmental policy. For 88% of the Ph.D.-training departments and 85% of the colleges that offer the master's in history already require a minimum grade level of B for successful completion of the master's degree. Standards seem to be slightly less rigorous in the East than elsewhere; only 69% of the Eastern colleges granting master's degrees in history report that they require a minimum grade level of B.

Though forms differ, requirements of credit hours are, in substance, the most uniform of all stipulations for the master's degree. Most departments either require 30 semester hours including 6 hours credit for thesis or 24 hours plus a thesis for which no hour-credit is given. Residence requirements vary but a full academic year or its equivalent in summer terms is stipulated by about four-fifths of the institutions that offer the master's degree in history. There is much more variation in the more significant requirements for the master's degree.

The Master's Thesis

About three-fourths of all the colleges and universities in our sample still require a thesis for the master's degree in history (see Table 5-1). It is optional in many other departments. Some of the Ph.D.-training faculties that do not require the thesis of all master's candidates nevertheless demand it of those who aspire to the Ph.D. They insist that students need the thesis experience and that the faculty needs the thesis as proof of ability to do Ph.D.-level work. Other departments explicitly discourage the writing of master's theses by would-be Ph.D. candidates. They argue either (1) that the prerequisite experience for doctoral work and the demonstration of ability can both be accomplished in a year of seminar work by master's candidates, or (2) that they can be accomplished during studies at the Ph.D. level. Among the historians interviewed in this study, those who either wish or are willing to eliminate the master's thesis for Ph.D. candidates are somewhat more numerous than the defenders of the thesis requirement.

How much would be lost if the master's thesis were to be abandoned? How serious a scholarly effort do master's theses represent where they are now written? Ideally the thesis should be a "historical work that is exemplary in style and method, based solidly on original sources and interpretatively significant in current scholarship." This is the kind of thesis that Loyola University (Chicago) described in 1959 in announcing the inauguration of the William P. Lyons Master's Essay Award. The Lyons Award offers tangible evidence of the serious belief in some quarters that much would be lost if the master's thesis were to be abandoned.

Both the prestige of the thesis and its training value may be approximately gauged by the amount of faculty time and criticism that is given to the project. One index of faculty effort is suggested by the way in which thesis subjects are chosen. Usually agreement between the student and a major professor is sufficient; only 8% of the Ph.D.-training departments require the deliberation of a faculty committee. The ratio of faculty members to master's graduates is also suggestive. In 1958 the Ph.D.-training universities awarded an average of 7 master's degrees in history for every 10 history faculty members. The colleges on an average awarded between 4 and 5 master's degrees for every 10 members of the history faculty. Thus the college faculties may be able to give more time to the supervision of master's theses than university faculties do.

Still another way to estimate the faculty effort that a master's thesis represents is to ask how many professors must read and pass on a thesis. In more than half (54%) of the Ph.D.-training departments the answer is three or more faculty members. Two readers suffice in one-third of the departments. In 1 out of 8 (12%) a single reader is sufficient. Where a committee is consulted, the timing is significant. In at least 36% of the Ph.D.-training departments the opinions of second, third, or fourth readers are solicited before the student completes a full draft of the thesis. But in at least 45% of the departments the committee members read and pass on the thesis after a complete draft has been written by the master's candidate.

The length of master's theses is not a good test of scholarly quality but it is crudely suggestive of the size of the task. Each department that was surveyed was asked to list the length and titles of three "typical theses accepted since 1956." The lengths of the 267 theses reported range from a low of 56 to a high of 358 pages; 231% are shorter than 100 pages and another 23% are longer than 160 pages. Three-fourths of the theses are less than 160 pages long. It is often difficult to imagine why one topic is treated briefly and another at length. Why should "Horace Maynard: A Tennessee Statesman" get only 56 pages while "Richard Bennett Hubbard, 'The Demosthenes of Texas'" is worth twice as many? But judging by the length of typical theses it seems quite clear that they represent a large investment of time, energy, and money.

Thesis research for would-be Ph.D. candidates in the history of foreign areas can have a special value if it accustoms them to using foreign language sources. A large majority of the reporting departments in the colleges as well as in the universities agree that students should be allowed to write theses on foreign areas only when they are able (and willing) to use the languages of the subject areas, and exceptions are discouraged even in those departments that allow them.

Other Variations

The varieties of thesis and other requirements reflect a fundamental and prevalent uncertainty and disagreement about the purpose of training at the master's level. In twentieth-century America the old European concept of the master's degree as evidence of broad cultural experience has been challenged and modified-some would say corrupted-by attempts to introduce students to the more confining rigors of professional research training. Because of internal differences of opinion, most graduate faculties build both concepts into their rules, often allowing considerable room for flexible interpretation of the regulations. On a smaller scale this happens within a single department: one faculty member aims primarily at the one goal while a colleague seeks the other.

The position of foreign language examinations among requirements for the master's degree is ambiguous. The requirement is sometimes justified on the grounds that it fosters intellectual breadth. Other departments require reading knowledge of a foreign language as a research tool though they may not think its worth as a cultural attribute justifies the price students pay to achieve it. Among both colleges and universities, considered on a regional basis, master's candidates are least often required to pass a foreign language examination in the Midwest. In the nation as a whole almost half the colleges (47%) and universities (48%) require master's candidates to pass an examination in one foreign language.

Potentially the requirement that master's candidates in history take courses in other disciplines is, like the foreign language requirement, adaptable to the needs of either research training or cultural breadth. In practice, however, cultural breadth is the usual justification for this requirement, and it is often linked with the pragmatic argument that students as future teachers must be prepared to give instruction in fields related to history. Yet there is little agreement about requiring work in other disciplines or about the specific nature or purposes of such work. Compromise is inevitable, and it is most often found in the formula that study in other fields shall be "encouraged"; that is, it shall be neither "required" nor "discouraged." In our combined sample of colleges and universities, minorities of almost equal numbers "require" courses in other disciplines (25%) or "discourage" students from taking them (21%). Departments in each of these groups have, though in different directions, taken large steps toward resolving internal differences and defining their purposes; many of the remaining 54% that "encourage" study in other disciplines have not. The students in many of these departments are left to make their own rule.

A majority of students at the master's level, left to their own devices, seem to choose courses of least resistance rather than avidly to seek either of the goals-research prowess or cultural breadth-that might logically justify study in another discipline. They tend to study neither the strange and often difficult methodology of other disciplines that could enrich their research method nor the new content courses that could most broaden their conceptualization of history and their capacity for teaching it. Literature, political science, and economics (especially economic history), the same disciplines most often studied as minors by undergraduate history majors, are the ones most often elected as minors at the master's level. The very circumstance that should cause master's candidates to take work in a relatively neglected discipline such as psychology usually causes or rationalizes their failure to do so: undergraduate prerequisites for graduate courses have not been taken.

One way out of this dilemma is to permit master's candidates to fulfill requirements in another discipline by taking undergraduate survey courses for graduate credit. Perhaps even if this is done-and almost certainly if it is not done-history students who study other disciplines will continue to elect courses most like their own. And unless the faculties clarify their thinking on these matters history students who take courses in other disciplines will take widely varying amounts of work. At present 51% of the university departments that report any requirement of work in other disci­plines require only one or two courses; one-fourth require three courses and another fourth require four or more courses.

The variety of practices that has been noted at every stage of master's training appears also in the final testing procedure. Some departments-apparently as many as 15 to 20%-require neither a written nor an oral terminal examination. A few (perhaps 4%) require one or the other of each student (presumably letting him choose between trial by fire and trial by water). A larger number of the departments-almost 20% of those requiring a terminal examination-specify that the examination is to be written; somewhat more (approximately 30%) require both a written and an oral examination; and still more about half-administer an oral examination only.

The oral examination is required (singly or with a written examination) in about four-fifths of all departments that administer any terminal examination. The oral examination is most often required in the Midwest, least often in the East. In almost two-thirds of the universities but in only 43% of the colleges requiring an oral examination the candidate usually is questioned an hour and a half or longer. Commonly a committee of three examines the candidate. In 46% of the colleges (but in only 16% of the universities) four or more examiners participate, and it is in the South that examining committees are most often this large. The oral examination in almost half the colleges and universities that require it covers course work or fields taken in master's training as well as a defense of the thesis. One out of five demands defense of the thesis and restricts the content examination to the field of the thesis. One-third of the institutions cover courses or fields but demand no defense of the thesis. (Many-probably most-of these institutions do not require students to write theses.)

When the master's candidate has paid his typist (if there was one) and has been congratulated by his oral examination committee (when one has functioned) he may count the months he has invested in the degree. The sums of time, like the other characteristics of master's training, differ greatly from institution to institution. One thing is certain: the "typical" master's candidate needs much more than the advertised period of one academic year to complete the degree. Reports were received from our sample of colleges on the length of graduate study required for 182 persons earning master's degrees in history in 1958. In these cases there can be no uncertainty whether the time was spent in master's or doctoral training because none of the reporting institutions offered the Ph.D. The average (mean) period reported was 18 months-two academic years or one and a half calendar years. For one-third (34%) of the national sample of 1958 master's degree winners the degree was based upon more than 18 months of graduate study; only 15% completed the degree in 9 months of study. 7

This survey of master's training shows that it is futile to talk of what the master's degree in history is like. There is no such identifiable thing. There are, instead, dozens of different varieties of master's degrees in history with varying combinations of some or all of the ingredients sketched above. In many institutions the master's is a strong degree. In others it is weak.

One must carefully distinguish between colleges and universities in discussing master's training, but on the surface the college master's appears to be as strong as the university master's (see Table 5-2). The regional strengths and weaknesses of master's training in history are also worth noting. It is current fashion in discussions of the master's degree to point to some regions as the guardians of its purity and to the East as its defiler. Whatever may be true of other disciplines, in history it is insufficient to say that the master's degree has been weakened only in the East, or "east of the Hudson." Among the universities, those in the South give on the whole a strong master's degree and those in the Midwest give weaker ones. Among the colleges, those in the Midwest give a strong degree, closely followed by the West. The institutions of the East, which on the whole do give a relatively weak master's degree, nevertheless maintain notably high standards of foreign-language competence.

It must be emphasized that this account has been concerned with the master's degree in history -usually reported by departments as a "master of arts" degree, but occasionally reported as a "master of science" degree. This account does not cover the master's degree in social science, a degree that often allows concentration in history and that was awarded by 81 institutions in 1958. 8 It does not cover the master's degree in Education, which sometimes involves concentration in history (more commonly, in social science) ; nor has it covered the "master of arts in teaching" degree (M.A.T.), which a few universities have inaugurated for secondary school teachers and which allows concentration in history. There has been sufficient variety of practice observable in limiting discussion to master's training in history. There is variety also in the uses to which this training is put.

The Uses of the Master's Degree

Theoretically, standardization of training might be the first step toward standardization of use, and most advocates of reform approach the problem in this way. But in practice the chances are probably even greater that standardization of use will lead to greater uniformity of training. Is the master's degree in history to be offered primarily for secondary teachers of social studies? A clear decision for this alternative would in some institutions call for standardization downward. It would necessitate relatively lax admission standards, the training of very large numbers of students, less rigorous and less individualistic student work, emphasis upon breadth more than upon research training, and in most cases the completion of the master's program in one calendar year at most. Is the master's degree to be offered not for secondary teachers but for college teachers? A clear decision for this alternative would quite generally necessitate standardization upward. The task in this case would be not so much to "rehabilitate" the master's degree as to create a new variety of M.A.

Since the colleges want their teachers to be broadly educated, trained as research scholars, and acquainted with the problems of teaching, it will not do to offer them the master's degree of forty or sixty years ago. A master's degree deliberately designed to meet the needs of college teachers must be a junior Ph.D. if it is to be attempted at all. Since fewer candidates would want it than would want a master's for secondary teachers, fairly high admission standards for such a degree could be established, training could be reasonably individualistic and rigorous, and considerable emphasis could be placed on research training if not on creative scholarship. All this plus the achievement of breadth and possibly some supervised introduction to college teaching would make it difficult to compress the training period into less than two academic years, and part-time students might require three academic years.

Faculties will be more inclined to build programs for a supermaster's if they are reasonably certain that the colleges will appoint and promote persons who might earn it. Can they be "reasonably certain" now? Chapter 4 of this study has shown that a good many teachers of history in colleges and very many in junior colleges lack the Ph.D. degree; but this does not mean that they have only the master's degree. Most of them have engaged in postmaster's study and many have completed all requirements for the doctorate except the dissertation. Their presence on college faculties cannot be accepted as evidence of general demand in the colleges for persons with only a master's degree.

In an attempt to determine the present uses of the master's degree, departments of history in the fall of 1958 were asked to report on the professional activities of persons to whom they had awarded the master's degree in history that year. This yielded reports on 544 persons, 39% of all 1,397 master's degrees in history awarded in the nation in 1958. Almost two-thirds of the new master's graduates were pursuing doctoral studies. Those who earned university master's degrees much more frequently pursued doctoral studies than did those who earned college master's degrees (74% and 43%). The next most common professional function of master's training in history is to further the qualifications of secondary school teachers: 12% of the university master's graduates and 25% of the college master's graduates found positions in secondary education. Almost half (45%) of those in the total sample who did not undertake doctoral studies found teaching positions in secondary education and about 3% more entered elementary education. Only 2% of the history master's graduates of 1958 are reported to have found college teaching positions, and only 4% more were appointed to junior college faculties. Whatever the future may hold, few persons with only the master's degree in history are now appointed to college teaching positions.

Proposed Reforms: For Secondary School Teachers

History departments have an obligation to the schools that they cannot ignore, especially since Soviet as well as American educators are working toward a fifth year of study for secondary school teachers and calling for more emphasis on "solid subject matter content." 9 If the traditional master's degree is to be refurbished for college teachers something must be put in its place for secondary teachers. The substitute must be acceptable to both the secondary schools and the history faculties in colleges and universities. In devising the substitute it will be both pedagogically and strategically wise to recognize the good sense in admonitions by W. H. Cartwright and R. M. Lumiansky that "the whole university rather than any special department or division"-the administration and the academic departments as well as the professors of Education-"must enter actively and cooperatively into the program." 10

Several colleges and universities-among them Harvard, Yale, Wesleyan University, Brown, Colgate, Mount Holyoke, the University of Massachusetts, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Tulane-have inaugurated the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) for secondary teachers. This degree has at least the advantage of clearly defined function. One institution that awards only the M.A.T. as a graduate degree speaks for others in reporting that graduates are placed in "all types of secondary and elementary teaching positions or administrative posts in these levels." Few, if any, M.A.T.s go on to doctoral studies. Graduates are not appointed to college or junior college positions. But if the professional use of the M.A.T. is clearly defined, its requirements already vary somewhat from institution to institution. The M.A.T. commonly requires more hours of course work than the older master's degree, divides them between the subject-matter field and Education, requires no foreign language examination, and sometimes requires no terminal examination. It can be completed in nine to twelve months.

With the M.A.T. available, is there any compelling reason why Ph.D.-training departments should continue to offer the traditional master's degree in history for secondary teachers? How serious a loss would the secondary schools suffer if the master's degree in history were no longer offered for their teachers? There is no way to know exactly the number or percentage of the new master's-level secondary school teachers of a given year that earn the master's degree in history . We can estimate that at most about 1 out of 6 new master's-level teachers of history in the secondary schools in 1958 could have earned the master's degree in history. 11 Since only about half of these earned their degrees in universities, the universities could have provided no more-at the very most-than 1 out of 12 persons who make up the pool of new, master's-level history teachers in secondary schools in a given year. It seems probable that secondary education would suffer no irreparable quantitative damage if the Ph.D.-training history departments should cease offering the master's in history for secondary teachers.

How much of a loss would Ph.D.-training departments suffer if they were no longer to offer the master's degree in history for secondary school teachers? For some institutions the loss would be a very considerable one, especially in summer school enrollments; but already two-thirds of the Ph.D.-training and college history departments (65% in the former and 69% in the latter) report that secondary teachers in their institutions tend to seek the master's degree in Education or the M.A.T. rather than the master's degree in history. The colleges and the universities agree that they make their choice chiefly because Education offers a quicker or easier degree, though in some institutions students also choose Education to meet state certification requirements for teachers. This tendency of secondary teachers to shy away from the master's in history enables many of the history departments to maintain higher standards for the master's degree in history than would be possible if they tried to educate large numbers of prospective secondary school teachers.

Some history departments strongly oppose abandoning the master's degree in history for secondary teachers on the grounds that secondary teachers need to gain research training by writing theses. But very many secondary teachers who earn the master's degree manage to do so without writing theses. (Many of the larger history departments offer a choice of degree programs; master's candidates may choose one with or one without the thesis requirement.) The strongest argument against the M.A.T. for history teachers is that it would provide them with fewer content courses than the present master's degree in history. To this complaint advocates of the M.A.T. reply that the new degree offers a way through which some secondary teachers now taking the M.Ed.-and completely lost to historians-might be at least half-saved by the graduate history faculties.

Would students be attracted in large numbers to M.A.T. programs for secondary school teachers? Factors that lie outside the program would determine this, and the basic factor would probably be the prevailing salaries for secondary school teachers. 12 Money can do more than experimentation with master's curricula to staff the secondary school history courses with competent teachers during the 1960s.

Proposed Reforms: For College Teachers

Perhaps a few Ph.D.-training history departments will wish to reform master's training by incidentally awarding the M.A. degree to Ph.D. candidates upon the completion of all requirements for the Ph.D. except the dissertation. This is already being done by Princeton University. No candidate who wants only the master's degree is admitted to graduate study in history at Princeton. Yet by conferring the master's degree only upon students who have completed two to three years of graduate study and who are expected to be able to complete the Ph.D., Princeton has in actuality created a super-master's degree of the kind that has figured in a good many theoretical statements in recent years.

Widespread adoption of the Princeton plan would provide qualified college teachers of history, but if Princeton standards were maintained it would not provide college teachers in greatly larger numbers than can be awarded Ph.D.s. Various plans have been suggested for a master's degree that would prepare larger numbers of college teachers. The Committee on Policies in Graduate Education of the Association of Graduate Schools (AGS) in 1957 proposed a "rehabilitated" year-and-a-half master's program for college teachers that would not necessarily be terminal. "The first year should be exactly like that of the candidate for the Ph.D., since the difference between the degrees should pivot on amount and not on quality. In the third term (the first of the second year), each candidate should take a course directly concerned with the teaching of this subject. This course should be taught only by members of the student's department. ... In this same term the student would write an essay of 75 to 125 pages, preferably stemming from his seminar of the second term, which need not be the original contribution demanded of the Ph.D. Finally, the student's subject should be named on the Master's diploma." 13

Similar proposals quickly followed. On November 20, 1957, the Trustees of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching cited the AGS report of the four graduate deans and, without providing details, called for "a rigorous effort ... to revitalize the Master of Arts degree and make it a terminal degree for teaching." 14 A. P. Brogan, dean emeritus of the University of Texas graduate school, in the spring of 1958 proposed a master's degree for college teachers that would be completed in twelve months of study in "strictly graduate courses" with emphasis on "seminars and conference work." The Brogan master's would include some introduction to "the methods and the problems of teaching" and a thesis usually less than 100 pages in length, viewed as a training experience but "suitable for publication at least in form." 15

The year 1959 brought other proposals. In February the dean of a West Coast graduate school, supported by the historian then president of the university, suggested the creation of a new degree, the "diplomate in college teaching." This proposed program would identify potential college teachers and begin their preparation in the junior year of undergraduate study. It would continue for three full academic years and two or three summers. Taking required courses would be minimized and the program would "maximize reliance on self-study, research, conferences, discussions, and creative scholarly achievements." 16 Later in 1959 the principle of beginning the training of college teachers in the junior year of undergraduate study was incorporated in a new proposal by Oliver C. Carmichael, consultant to the Fund for the Advancement of Education and former president of the University of Alabama. The program would involve: (1) selection and advice of students during the first two undergraduate years; (2) teaching of one course (one term) by undergraduates; (3) much more reading and writing of research papers during the junior and senior years than is now common; and (4) a master's thesis. The master's thus earned would not necessarily be a terminal degree; on the contrary, the author of this plan suggests that one of its advantages would be "in recruiting Ph.D. candidates," and another would be its acceleration of doctoral training. 17

Unless the policies of both the colleges and the accrediting associations are changed there will be few jobs for college history teachers with master's degrees representing twelve to eighteen months of graduate study. Officials of all six regional accrediting associations, responding to specific questions, show no sympathy for a one-year master's degree. A two- or three-year master's degree such as that awarded at Princeton will be honored much more readily. 18 But the accrediting officials make it clear that the Ph.D. is the preferred degree for college teachers. One states that "in general staff members who have two years of graduate study are regarded as better qualified than those who hold only the master's degree," but adds that "a two-years' master's degree for college teachers is not to be weighted as satisfactory for a large number of college teachers." One accrediting agency official even wrote that: "A Doctor's degree is accepted as such whether it be a Ph.D. or an Ed.D., a research or a teaching doctorate." While this may be an extreme view, it is clear that it is the doctorate that counts most when a faculty is evaluated by the regional accrediting agency; and there is some reason to believe that the college executives are as prone to demand the doctorate of their faculty members as are the officials of the accrediting agencies. 19

These circumstances suggest that reservations about any immediate attempt to "rehabilitate" the master's degree in history are in order. Other, graver, questions will occur to many history faculties. It is difficult to see how the kind of historians the colleges want as instructors can be trained in twelve to eighteen months of graduate study. Even allowing for greater articulation of undergraduate and graduate study, a one-year master's degree in history would represent a less demanding program than present master's training affords in many universities and colleges.

The master's in history in a majority of institutions involves: (1) relatively undiscriminating admission of candidates; (2) a very low casualty rate during the first year of graduate study; (3) requirement of B-average grades; (4) 30 semester hours of study; (5) an academic year or its equivalent in formal residence requirement, but eighteen months in actual practice; (6) a thesis of 100 to 160 pages in length; (7) use of foreign languages in master's theses that treat foreign areas; (8) some study in disciplines closely related to history; and (9) a one-and-a-half- to two-hour oral examination by a committee of three faculty members covering fields and courses plus the thesis (if a thesis is required). Three percentage points make it impossible to say that this model of master's training in history involves an examination in a foreign language, for only about 47.5% of the respondents report this as a requirement.

Disagreement about the character and professional function of master's training is deeply rooted in the development of education in America. Only the metaphor was new when a graduate dean recently described the master's degree as "a bit like a streetwalker -all things to all men (and at different prices)." 20 Berelson has shown that as early as 1902 the Association of American Universities debated whether the master's was a terminal degree or a signpost en route to the Ph.D. In 1910 the AAU heard a report that the thesis requirement was far from universal; that the degree was partly cultural, partly research-oriented, and mainly of professional use to secondary teachers. Dissatisfaction through the years has produced several proposals that the degree be strengthened. But Berelson is probably right in his conclusion: the master's "carries its weight in the academic procession, but it cannot carry a great deal more." 21

Whatever it has been in the past or may be in the future, the master's degree in history is now primarily a signpost en route to the doctorate. Whether viewed in this light or as a degree for secondary teachers, it appears that the period of study it requires in most institutions-the average period is eighteen months-is too long. If it is not to be used as a degree for college teachers, a way should be found to make it possible to complete the degree in twelve months without seriously lowering standards. This can be done if quality rather than quantity of work is the test of student excellence. Much more rigorous selection of students, careful and early screening of those who are admitted, and financial support for full-time study offer hopes for success.

Among the requirements for the degree the thesis is most often the cause of delayed progress. Two terms of seminar work should certainly be required of first-year graduate students, and many history departments accept satisfactory work in seminars in lieu of the thesis. Departments that continue to require it can restrict the scope and length of theses. More adequate faculty guidance at the beginning of graduate study can also help avoid unduly long master's programs.

It is impossible to imagine the general adoption of a uniform program for the master's degree in history that would adequately prepare college teachers, though some departments might wish to award the master's to Ph.D. candidates when they pass the general examination for the doctorate.

In any case it is to be hoped that revised master's programs will not prolong doctoral studies. For the education of Ph.D.s is the most challenging task in graduate education and the one most in the interest of history instruction in the colleges during the 1960s.

1. Data supplied by Dr. John K. Folger of the Southern Regional Education Board.

2. HEW, Earned Degrees ... 1956-1957 , 12; 1957-1958 , 23, 37; and 1958-1959 ,30-31,35.

3. Production statistics are taken or averaged from HEW, Earned Degrees ... 1957-1958 , 182-187.

4. Berelson, Graduate Education , 185-190, shows that large numbers of academicians favor "rehabilitation" of the master's degree.

5. Report by J. Barzun and others to the 58th Annual Conference of the Association of American Universities and the 9th Annual Conference of the Association of Graduate Schools, October 22-23, 1957, published in Journal of Proceedings and Addresses-1957 .

6. Black and Thompson (eds.), American Teaching About Russia , 61.

7. Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Report for 1959 , 7, shows that only 23% of the Fellows of 1958-1959 had been awarded the master's degree at the end of one year of graduate study.

8. HEW, Earned Degrees ... 1957-1958 , 23, 37.

9. On American approaches see, e.g., the following thoughtful articles in the April, 1959, number of Educational Record (XL): William H. Cartwright, "The Graduate Education of Teachers-Proposals for the Future," 149, 150; Calvin E. Gross, "A Rationale for Teacher Education," 137, 141; R. M. Lumiansky, "Concerning Graduate Education for Teachers," 145. On Soviet trends see U.S. Office of Education, Soviet Commitment to Education: Report of the First Official U.S. Education Mission to the U.S.S.R., with an Analysis of Recent Educational Reforms (Washington, 1959), 85.

10. Cartwright, "The Graduate Education of Teachers," 154; Lumiansky, "Concerning Graduate Education for Teachers," 145.

11. This assumes that the number of would-be secondary school teachers of history earning master's degrees in 1958 was at least 1,480. Probably about 237 persons who were awarded the master's degree in history in 1958 went into secondary teaching.

12. See Ernest Stabler, "The Master of Arts in Teaching Idea," The Educational Record , XLI (July, 1960), 224-229. It may be noted in passing that in the U.S.S.R., where salaries for secondary teachers compare favorably with those for medical doctors, there is no shortage of candidates. On the contrary, only about 1 out of 5 applicants are admitted to teacher-training institutions, according to the U.S. Office of Education, Soviet Commitment to Education , 85.

13. See footnote 5, above.

14. Grayson L. Kirk and others, "The Education of College Teachers," 13, 18.

15. A. P. Brogan, "Tarnishing is an Autocatalytic Reaction: Restoring the Master's Degree," The Graduate Journal , I (Spring, 1958), 34-40.

16. Harry Alpert, "The Diplomate in College Teaching," mimeographed proposal "for discussion purposes only," University of Oregon, Feb. 13, 1959.

17. Oliver C. Carmichael, "A Three-Year Master's Degree Beginning with the Junior Year in College," Journal of Higher Education , XXXI (March, 1960), 127-132.

18. In substance this is the two-year master's recently proposed by Everett Walters, "A New Degree for College Teachers," Journal of Higher Education , XXXI (May, 1960), 282-284.

19. Our inquiries brought helpful responses from officials of the New England Association, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Western College Association, and the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools.

20. J. P. Elder as quoted by Berelson, Graduate Education , 185.

21. Ibid ., 18, 30, 185-186, 190.