MA History

Program Learning Objectives

1. Diversity: Construct a self-critical academic perspective on human diversity and social, cultural, political, economic and philosophical traditions.
2. Critical Thinking: Demonstrate skills of historical critical thinking and intellectual discipline: conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating materials originating from historical observation, experience, reflection, and reasoning.
3. Knowledge: Demonstrate a breadth and depth of historical knowledge and an understanding of change over time.
4. Historiography: Demonstrate the ability to engage in, interpret, assess, critique, evaluate, and make constructive use of major historiographic debates in various historical fields.
5. Research: Demonstrate the research skills appropriate to a master’s-level historian, analyzing and interpreting primary and secondary historical materials from different fields.
6. Communication: Demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate historical knowledge, interpretations, and arguments, in writing and in oral presentations.
7. Engagement: Participate in vibrant intellectual communities, seeking out and respecting others’ ideas while working to construct one’s own positions and approaches as a historian.
8. Perspective: Construct a broad perspective on the past that enables one to better understand and evaluate the complexities of history and its relevance to one’s own time.

 There are two options for the MA degree in History, Comprehensive Exam or Thesis.

Required Courses
HIST 504	Graduate Study in History	4
History Seminars
Select from the following:		20
Each course is repeatable up to 12 units.
HIST 505	Graduate Seminar in United States History
HIST 506	Graduate Seminar in European History
HIST 507	Graduate Seminar in East Asian History
HIST 508	Graduate Seminar in Latin American History
HIST 509	Graduate Seminar in African History
HIST 510	Graduate Seminar in Comparative History
HIST 511	Graduate Seminar in Middle Eastern History
History Electives
HIST Electives (400-500 level) 1		16
Culminating Experience
Select from the following:		8-9
Comprehensive Exam Option (total 48 units)
HIST 512	Supervised Reading for Comprehensive Exams (2) (2)
HIST Electives (500 level) (4)
Thesis Option (total 49 units)
HIST 599	Thesis (3) (3) (3)
Total units		48-49

1	All courses must be taken after undergraduate degree has been awarded. Undergraduate courses or their equivalent may not be repeated.