Program of Study

Course Requirements

The History MA degree requires a minimum of 24 hours of course work and 6 hours of thesis credit, with a completed MA thesis of original research. Students are admitted to the program in one of two areas of emphasis, each area requiring its own particular core.

American History Emphasis - Core Requirements Semester

Hist 651 (3.0) Sources and Problems in Early America
Hist 652 (3.0) Sources and Problems in 19th-Century America
Hist 653 (3.0) Sources and Problems in 20th-Century America
Hist 587 (3.0) Philosophies of History
Hist 690R (3.0) Graduate Seminar in History
Electives (9.0)
Thesis (6.0) Winter 07
Fall 07
Fall 06
Fall 06
Fall 06

European History Emphasis - Core Requirements Semester

Hist 661 (3.0) Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation
Hist 662 (3.0) Early Modern Europe, 1550-1789
Hist 663 (3.0) Modern Europe, 1789 to present
Hist 587 (3.0) Philosophies of History
Hist 690R (3.0) Graduate Seminar in History
Electives (9.0)
Thesis (6.0) Fall 06
Fall 07
Winter 07
Fall 06
Fall 06

Electives

Each student must complete a total of 9.0 hours of elective courses toward their MA degree. At least 6.0 of these hours must be completed at the 500 or 600 level. If necessary and deemed appropriate by a student's advisor, a student may include a 300 or 400 level course in their program, assuming the student did not complete the same course as an undergraduate student. If an undergraduate course (300-400 level) is included in the student's study program, the student should register for the course under Hist 500R (not the undergraduate number). Students should contact the History Department for instructions and forms regarding such registration (See App. 7).

Students may also select graduate level courses offered by other departments on campus when deemed appropriate and relevant by their advisor.

History Department elective offerings include the following:

Hist 564 (3.0) Sources and Problems in Western US History
Hist 565 (3.0) Sources and Problems in Latter-day Saint History
Hist 566 (3.0) Sources and Problems in Utah History
Hist 590R (3.0) Special Topics (subjects will vary each semester)
Hist 598R (3.0) Special Readings in History (requires form, App. ?)
Hist 695R (3.0) Coordinated Research (requires form, App. ?)
Hist 696R (1-5) Practicum in Public History & Family History
TBA
TBA
Fall 06
All Semesters
All Semesters
All Semesters
All Semesters

Courses not allowed as electives toward the MA program:

Education 514R

100 and 200 level courses

Undergraduate religion courses

Independent Study courses

Transfer Credits

Credit taken either at another accredited university, or graduate courses completed as an undergraduate may be counted toward the MA program if approved by the student’s advisor and the department. The following conditions must be met:

Transferred courses must be clearly graduate level.
The grade earned for transferred courses must be B or better (pass/fail courses are not transferable).
Home study, correspondence and extension courses are not transferable.
Transferred credit cannot have applied to another degree.

Minors

A minor is not required by either the department or university, but a student may choose to complete a minor if approved by their advisor. In such cases the student must:

Select a graduate faculty member from the minor department to serve as a graduate committee member.
Complete 9.0 credit hours of approved graduate courses in the minor.
Pass an oral or written comprehensive examination in the minor field (minor committee member is responsible for preparing and administering the exam and notifying the department of the result.)

Thesis Hours

Students must complete 6.0 hours of thesis credit toward their degree. Students should register for thesis hours when most coursework is complete and the student begins dedicated thesis research and writing. Students are not eligible to register for thesis hours until the written prospectus has been defended and approved by their full committee and the Prospectus Approval Form submitted to the History Department. A final grade for thesis hours will not be awarded until the finished thesis has been successfully defended and submitted for binding. Thesis credits are graded on a pass/fail basis.

Study List

A study list is a carefully considered program that helps students fulfill all degree requirements (see App. 3). It is essential for organized, well-ordered graduate work. The study list should be completed under the direction of your advisory chair and submitted to the department by the end of September during the first semester. Students without an approved study list will not be permitted to register for subsequent semesters.

To complete the study list the student should do the following:

Talk with your advisory chair about your research interests as early as possible, even prior to the first semester. This will allow your advisor to help you select courses that will be of use to you.

During the first weeks of the Fall semester, meet with your advisor to discuss the study list, possible research topics and additional members of your committee. You may wish to consult with the Department Admin. Asst. to determine when courses will be offered. List the courses you have selected on the Program of Study Form (See App. 3).

List your advisor and other committee members if known at this point, obtain their signatures and submit the form to the Department (2130 JFSB) by September 30th for approval by the Graduate Coordinator. (Note: Only the advisor’s signature is required if other committee members have not yet been identified. Do not delay submission of study list until committee is complete.)

Necessary changes in a study list can be made if authorized by the advisory chair and graduate coordinator. Changes should be submitted to the Department on the Request for Study List Change Form (See App. 4).

Research Prospectus

At the beginning of the second semester of graduate study, a student should prepare a research prospectus for their MA thesis. Students should work closely with their advisory chair to narrow their topic and then select committee members appropriate to the field of study. With the committee established, the student should work closely with each member as he or she prepares the written prospectus.

The student should provide a copy of the written prospectus to each member of the committee no later than late March or early April and schedule an oral defense/discussion of the prospectus with the full committee in attendance. Once approved by all members of the committee, the student should submit a signed Prospectus Approval Form (See App. 9) with a copy of the prospectus to the History Department. The Prospectus Approval Form is due to the department by April 30th.

Students will not be permitted to register for thesis hours (699R) until the prospectus is approved.

In a prospectus, a research question should be creatively selected and articulated. Possible perspectives or theories for explaining or interpreting answers to the questions should be presented and briefly considered. A strategy for completing the study should also be presented. Refer to Guidelines for Prospectus (App. 8) for information on writing the prospectus.

Master’s Thesis

The History Department has high expectations for students in the graduate program. Students and faculty are expected to exert every effort in the collaborative pursuit of research excellence. Each student is required to conceive research and lucidly write a master’s thesis.

What is a thesis?

A master’s thesis is the culmination of your mastery of a particular area of research. Through your coursework you have analyzed the scholarly dialogue in this area of research. To demonstrate your own scholarly ability, you are expected to make a useful and original contribution to that dialogue.

A thesis must represent critical research, making use of primary and secondary sources. It is original and it is creative. Parroting or restating the words of others is not acceptable. Its originality and creativity may lie in applying accepted frameworks of understanding to new cases, or of refining those frameworks of understanding, or of describing something that has never been described before. Explicit relationship to the dialogue of your scholarly community is essential for your thesis to make a genuine contribution.

Theses in the History Department generally run between 80 and 120 pages in length, with at least several chapters. Sections of your prospectus, such as the literature review, will be important components of your thesis. Theses should be written in the best English, with accepted grammar, spelling, syntax and style used throughout. Format and documentation should follow the standard style of A Manual For Writers by Kate L. Turabian (latest edition). Even if the research has been done well, poorly written theses are not acceptable.

The student should consult his or her thesis committee on a regular basis. By doing so, the student receives invaluable assistance and insight while writing the thesis and can avoid surprises late in the process.

Thesis Defense

Once the M.A. thesis is completed, an oral examination lasting one to two hours will deal with the student's thesis. The thesis remains subject to revision until any corrections required in this final examination are made. The student will be expected to know well the secondary literature pertaining to the thesis topic and to give an in-depth analysis of the primary sources. The student must be able to show the contribution of the thesis to historical scholarship.

Since all committee members participate in prospectus meetings and the thesis defense and will be responsible for the evaluation of the student’s performance, it is in your interest to keep all committee members apprised of your progress and work closely with each one as you research and write your thesis. As you near completion of your thesis, ask each member of your committee what changes you should make before scheduling an oral defense. Make any required changes and provide a draft of the thesis to each committee member for final review before you schedule the defense. The draft should be final draft quality, with no spelling, grammatical or stylistic mistakes. All committee members must agree the thesis is ready to defend before the oral defense can be scheduled.

The student’s committee members conduct the examination and other faculty members of the BYU academic community may attend the defense. However, other individuals (i.e. students, family members, friends, etc.) are not permitted to attend the thesis defense. After the examination, the student (and any other attendees) will be excused while the committee deliberates and makes its decision. The student will then be called back into the meeting and given the committee’s determination as to one of the following options:

Pass. There will likely be a few minor changes to the thesis, but overall it is ready for submission.

Pass with Qualifications. The thesis requires changes that may take some time to complete, but the committee anticipates the student can make the required revisions and still meet submission deadlines.

Recess. The thesis requires major revisions and the student will have to reapply for another oral examination.

Fail. If a student has been working with their committee throughout the process, a failing decision should never occur as it represents a sub-standard thesis and lack of preparation on the student’s part

Format and Binding Procedures

Following a successful thesis defense, the student should make any final revisions or corrections to the manuscript.

To ensure the uniformity of style and format of all theses, students should follow the university requirements found on the Minimum Standards for Submitting Dissertations, Theses or Selected Projects (see App. 15) as well as the guidelines in A Manual For Writers by Kate L. Turabian (latest edition). Do not use a work submitted to the university in the past as your guide as requirements may have changed.

The student will then submit the final copy of the thesis (including all required ancillary pages – see Apps. 16-21) to the advisory chair for his or her approval and signature.

The student then obtains the signatures of the other committee members, the department graduate coordinator and a representative in the Dean’s office on the appropriate pages. The student then prepares copies for binding and submits them, together with the Approval for Submission for Binding Form (see App. 22) and Photocopy Release Form (see App. 23) to the Library Cashier’s Office and pays the required fees.

The student is responsible for all costs associated with the printing, copying and submission of the thesis.

Graduation

Procedures and Reminders

During the first month of the semester or term in which you intend to graduate (usually January in your second year) you will need to submit the Graduation Application Form (form 8a – see App. 13). You should obtain the signature of your advisory chair, and then submit the form to the Department Administrative Assistant for departmental and college approvals.

As you draw closer to your thesis defense and then to graduation, please keep the following in mind:

You must be registered for a minimum of 2.0 credit hours during the semester you apply for graduation.

Be sure your committee is complete and that the names of all committee members have been submitted and cleared by the University to serve on your committee. The Department Administrative Assistant can verify the information for you.

Drafts of each chapter should be submitted to all committee members for comment as completed.

When you have a completed and polished draft (not a rough draft), you should approach your committee to schedule the oral examination. It is imperative that each member of your committee approves this next step and feels you are prepared. Be sure to check with each member of your committee to determine when each will be available for your thesis defense. Remember that many faculty members travel at various times throughout the year, in addition to carrying their teaching loads.

Obtain approval to schedule your thesis defense from your committee members and submit the Departmental Scheduling of Final Oral Exam Form (Form 8c – See App. 14) to the History Department Administrative Assistant.

Schedule a room for your defense with the Department Administrative Assistant. Examinations are usually held in 2114 or 2130B JFSB.

Give a final draft of the thesis to all committee members at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense.

Order cap and gown for graduation exercises.

Hold thesis defense (see Thesis Defense, p. 9)

Make final revisions to your thesis and follow guidelines for submission (See Format and Binding Procedures, p. 10

Graduation Exercises

Graduation exercises are held in April for students completing their degrees in December or April, and in August for those finishing during the Spring or Summer terms. Students who have completed all of the requirements for their degree, but whose degree will not be posted until the next graduation may opt to participate in graduation exercises early. Students who have not completed all of the degree requirements should not expect to participate in graduation exercises until all program requirements have been met.

Requesting Letters of Completion

Students who have completed all of the requirements for their degree but will not receive their degree until the next graduation may request a letter of completion (see App. 24) to certify to an employer or another institution that they have completed all degree requirements. This letter of completion states that all requirements have been met and when the student’s degree will be posted. The letter will be signed by the associate director of graduate services, by the university registrar or by the dean of graduate studies.

To obtain a letter of completion, students should contact the Office of Graduate Studies (B-356 ASB) and indicate whether they will pick up the letter or provide an address to which OGS should send the letter.

Housekeeping Details

Before leaving the university, be sure to complete the following check-out items:

Remove any personal materials from the TA or graduate office. Clean out mailbox.

Turn in all university keys to the Key Office, 285 BRWB.

Provide forwarding address, phone number and e-mail address to Department Administrative Assistant.

Clear any outstanding university fees or charges.

Program of Study

Links

Graduate Handbook

American History Emphasis - Core Requirements	Semester
Hist 651 (3.0) Sources and Problems in Early America Hist 652 (3.0) Sources and Problems in 19th-Century America Hist 653 (3.0) Sources and Problems in 20th-Century America Hist 587 (3.0) Philosophies of History Hist 690R (3.0) Graduate Seminar in History Electives (9.0) Thesis (6.0)	Winter 07 Fall 07 Fall 06 Fall 06 Fall 06

European History Emphasis - Core Requirements	Semester
Hist 661 (3.0) Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation Hist 662 (3.0) Early Modern Europe, 1550-1789 Hist 663 (3.0) Modern Europe, 1789 to present Hist 587 (3.0) Philosophies of History Hist 690R (3.0) Graduate Seminar in History Electives (9.0) Thesis (6.0)	Fall 06 Fall 07 Winter 07 Fall 06 Fall 06