The Master of Arts program in History at the University of Louisville provides a flexible yet traditional program with rigorous standards. The breadth and reach of our faculty combined with the structure of the M.A. program encourages a worldwide vision of history. Students choose a major and minor field from the list below, allowing them to create a combination of courses that suits their geographic and topical interests. The following is the vital information regarding our program. For further questions and inquiries about applying, please contact Dr. Yuxin Ma, Director of Graduate Studies, at yuxin.ma@louisville.edu.

Admissions

Applicants with the following credentials are eligible to be considered for unconditional admission to the Master's Program in History:

1. a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
2. 21 credit hours in history with a minimum GPA 3.0
3. a combined score of at least 300  on the Verbal and Quantitative sections of the Graduate Records Examination (GRE)
4. at least two letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak to the applicant's academic and/or professional capabilities and potential
5. a statement, not to exceed 500 words, addressing the question: "Why have you chosen to pursue an MA in history?"

For the most up-to-date information regarding admission to the graduate school, conditional admissions, and other information about the graduate school in general, please refer to the Graduate Studies page.

Applications

The above-listed credentials must be submitted to the Graduate School Admissions Office along with a formal application and payment of a $60 processing fee. The application and credentials will then be forwarded to the History Department for review by the Director of Graduate Studies. The online application is available at:http://graduate.louisville.edu/apply.

History Department Deadlines

Applications for Fall semester must be submitted by May 15 and those for Spring semester by December 01. The History Department does not admit students to begin in the summer term. Fellowships and assistantships are assigned in the spring for students enrolling the following fall or spring. Fellowship applications will normally be due on March 21, 2012.  Information on these appointments are available at : Scholarships, Fellowships, Assistantships, and Internships

Financial Aid

Program of Study

Required course for all graduate students:  History 605 Research Methods and Materials

Beginning with those students starting their graduate coursework in history in Fall 2011, all degree-seeking students (thesis and examination option) will be required to successfully complete History 605, a one-hour graduate-level methods course.  The course will be offered every Fall semester, and students are strongly encouraged to take the course in their first Fall semester of enrollment.  History 605 will cover the basics of historiography, locating and critically analyzing primary and secondary documents, planning and executing large research projects, and other basics.  Students must receive a B or better in this course. If a student’s final grade is a B- or below, they will be required to repeat the course. If a student fails to achieve a B or better in this course more than twice, s/he will be subject to dismissal from the program. 

Each candidate for the MA in History will define primary and secondary areas of emphasis in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. This program of study normally must be approved by the Graduate Director before the student enrolls for the second semester of work.

Students pursing the thesis option are required to take a total of 31 hours, of which 25 hours are taken as coursework and 6 hours of thesis. Students pursuing the exam option are required to take a total of 34 hours of coursework.

Students pursing the thesis option fulfill their credit hour requirements through 15 to 18 hours in their major field, 6 to 9 hours in their minor field, 1 hour in 605, and 6 hours of thesis.

Student pursing the exam option fulfill their credit hour requirements through 18 to 21 hours in their major field, 9-12 hour in their minor field, and 1 hour in 605.

Students may choose from the following Areas of Emphasis:

Major Fields

Europe

United States

Public History*

Comparative World*

 * Comparative World: This option allows students interested in regional study outside of Europe and the US to propose/construct their own area of major focus. Student will make a written proposal supported by a faculty member willing to serve as that student’s adviser.  The student’s thesis would not necessarily have to be comparative (it could be a thesis on some aspect of African or Latin American history, for example).

 *Public History:  Students with a major track in public history must take HIST 697 and HIST 608.

Minor Fields

Women’s and Gender History

Military History

Religion and Culture

Ancient & Medieval World

Africa

Asia  

Middle East

Latin America 

Europe

United States

United States

Thesis preparation: 6 hours

Graduate students must register for all of their thesis hours with an independent study form signed by the thesis (or exam) director. The thesis must be in the major area of emphasis and must be defended in an oral examination before a committee consisting of the thesis director (chair of the committee) and at least two other faculty members, one of whom must be from outside of the History Department. The Committee must be approved by the Graduate Director of the History Department and by the Graduate School.

If the members of the thesis committee accept the candidate’s thesis and if the student has fulfilled all other requirements, the student will be certified for the Master of Arts degree in history.

Course Load:

A normal graduate load in this department will be 9 hours or three courses, and in no case will more than 12 hours or four courses be taken during any one regular semester. The course load decision will be made by the Director.

Time to Degree:

Master’s Students have six years to complete all degree requirements, including thesis or comprehensive exams.  

Master’s Candidacy:

When a student has completed all of the degree requirements except for the thesis (for Thesis Option) or comprehensive exams (for Exam Option), they enter into Master’s Candidacy. If an additional semester is required in order for a student to complete their thesis or prepare for their exams, the student must enroll in MAST 600-01 (Master’s Candidacy). Before enrolling in MAST 600-01, it is the student’s responsibility to meet with the Graduate Director and verify that they have completed all of the requirements necessary to advance to Master’s Candidacy. The university requires continuous enrollment in MAST 600-01 (Fall, Spring and one Summer term) until all degree requirements have been met. Students enrolled in Master’s Candidacy are considered full time students. For Thesis Option students, their grade for HIST 603 will be ‘X’ until the student has successfully defended their thesis.  

Finishing Students:

In addition to preparing for their exams or completing their thesis, students in their last semester of graduate work (whether pursing the Thesis or Exam option) are responsible for completing and submitting all of the necessary paperwork. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure all of this paperwork is submitted properly and in a timely manner. Failure to do so can result in delayed graduation and additional fees.

1.    Students must submit an Application to Graduate during the first two weeks of the semester in which they think they may be graduating.  Applications to graduate are submitted via Ulink. Please note:  students should submit an application to graduate even if they are not completely sure they will be graduating in that semester.

2.    By the mid-semester students must submit a Thesis/ Dissertation Advisory Committee Appointment Form signed by all thesis or exam committee members and the Chair of the History Department. The form is available on the School of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies website.  

3.     When a date and time for either your thesis defense or your exams has been set, the student must notify the Director of Graduate Studies in a timely manner (at least two weeks before the defense/exam). The Graduate Director will then schedule the defense or make arrangements for the exam.  This notification must take place at least two weeks prior to the defense/exam.

4.    Prior to their defense, Thesis option students should make an appointment with the Graduate School to verify the formatting of their thesis.  Please consult the Guidelines for the Processing and Preparation of Theses, which can be found on the Graduate School website under the Student section.  

5.    Prior to defense or exams, we recommend that all finishing graduate students review their records in order to ensure that all previous necessary requirements have been completed.

Additional Course Information

M.A. candidates have the option of taking up to 6 hours of course work outside of the Department. Those hours must be directly relevant to the student's academic program, and can be taken only with the consent of the Director of Graduate Studies. In a student's approved graduate program, no Pass-Fail courses will apply, unless the History Department itself creates Graduate Pass-Fail courses. No more than 6 hours of Directed Studies or Independent Studies (601-602, 501-502) will be allowed in a student's approved program. For M.A.-level work in certain areas of knowledge of one or more foreign languages or knowledge of other specialized research tools may be required.

Accelerated BA/MA Program

This program allows U of L undergraduate history majors to take up to 6 credits of graduate work which can then be applied to completion of the History MA. Undergraduates must apply to this program no later than the end of their junior year. A fuller explanation is at: http://www.louisville.edu/a-s/history/accbama.html.

Transfer of Credits

Students may be allowed to transfer up to 6 hours from outside the University. Up to six additional transfer hours may be requested under certain exceptional circumstances. All credit transfer requests must be approved and supported by the Director of Graduate Studies and the History Department Chair. For details on Graduate School policy regarding the transfer of credits, see: http://louisville.edu/graduatecatalog/toc.

Requirements for Good Standing

Whenever any student's cumulative quality-point total falls below 3.00, the student will be warned and may be subject to dismissal. Failure of non-degree students to maintain a 2.00 average will result in termination. STUDENT APPEALS

Student appeals concerning departmental guidelines will be submitted to the Director, who will forward the appeal to the Department's Graduate Committee for decision.

For further information: Dr. Yuxin Ma, Director of Graduate Studies

History Department, University of Louisville

Louisville, KY 40292 Phone: (502) 852-6817

Email Dr. Ma