History - Graduate Programs
Objectives
Graduate study in history seeks not only to train students in historical methods and analysis but also to nurture in them a sense of the excitement and relevance of studying the past. Exploring the historical diversity of human experience broadens and deepens our understanding of both the past and the contemporary world. Students who complete graduate studies in history pursue careers in teaching, research and archival or museum administration, as well as in government and business.
The Master's Degree Program offers students a general graduate degree, with courses in a broad array of geographic and temporal topics, including U.S., European, African, Latin American, Transatlantic and Transnational histories. In the flexible Master's degree curriculum, apart from two required courses early in the program, students tailor their course of study among available course offerings to meet individual interests and career objectives. Students choose either Thesis or Non-Thesis programs. Coursework and internships in Archival Administration certification and/or Public History are also available as part of the Master's degree program.
The Doctoral Degree Program in Transatlantic History offers students comparative study of the historical development of peoples on the continents bordering the Atlantic Ocean. This exciting Ph.D. program is part of recent developments within the discipline of history that broaden the study of the past, transcend national histories, and contribute to a new transnational and comparative perspective. Utilizing specific research resources in the UT Arlington Libraries, the Ph.D. program in Transatlantic History (1492 to the present) offers a structured and focused curriculum of both required and elective courses. Prerequisite: B.A. or M.A. degree in history.
Admission Standards
In compliance with HB 1641, the History Department does not assign a specific weight to any one factor being considered, and does not use standardized tests (i.e., the GRE) in the admissions process as the sole criterion for consideration or as the primary criterion to end consideration of an applicant to either the M.A. or Ph.D. program. However, the GRE is required and used as a criterion, without specific weight, in the Department's evaluation of candidates for admission to programs at each of three levels: Unconditional, Provisional, and Probationary Admission.
The Department wishes to be as thorough and fair as possible in evaluating applicants for admission. It recognizes that some applicants may appear to be stronger according to some criteria than according to other criteria. When an applicant does not completely meet the minimum expectations for Unconditional Admission, the Department may consider the applicant for possible Provisional or Probationary Admission. When the applicant is not granted any of the three levels of admission, the decision may be deferred or the application is denied. We do not wish to exclude a qualified and potentially successful candidate who perhaps has approached but not met all the criteria completely. However, we do not wish to admit candidates who, based on the criteria, are deemed to have a poor chance of successfully completing the graduate program.
Admission Standards
Unconditional Admission
The criteria for admission below are used, without specific weights, as positive indicators of potential success in the program. In all but the most exceptional cases, all four criteria for unconditional admission must be met in order to receive unconditional admission.
- Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (as calculated by Graduate Admissions) in the last 60 credit hours in the course of completing a B.A. degree in History (or an appropriate other field) from an accredited institution (verified by official transcripts from each college or university previously attended sent directly from the registrar of that institution to Graduate Admissions).
- A writing sample, sent to the Graduate Advisor. The Department prefers that applicants send a research paper written in an upper-division history course, but other examples are acceptable. The essay should demonstrate the applicant's writing, research, and analytical skills where possible. There is not a specific page minimum, but papers should not be over 25 pages.
- Three letters of recommendation (from faculty if possible) mailed directly from the recommenders to the History Graduate Advisor.
- A minimum score of 153 on the verbal section and a minimum score of 4 on the analytical writing section of the GRE aptitude test (verified by official GRE scores sent to Graduate Admissions). However, standardized test performance is not the sole criterion for admission or the primary criterion to end consideration for admission.
- UTA graduates who completed their B.A. with a grade point average of 3.3 or higher may be eligible to waive some admissions requirements including the GRE exam. For more information, please contact the M.A. Advisor.
Provisional Admission
An applicant unable to supply all required documentation (e.g. GRE scores have not yet arrived) prior to the admission deadline but who otherwise appears to meet admission requirements may be granted provisional admission. Provisionally admitted students must adequately satisfy any incomplete documentation by the end of the semester in which they are admitted. If the applicant fails to do so, the Department may then reclassify the applicant as Probationary, defer the decision, or ask the candidate to leave the program.
Probationary Admission
An applicant whose performance, according to the criteria, approximates but does not meet minimum admission standards may be granted Probationary Admission. Students admitted under this category must earn no grade lower than a B in his/her first 12 semester hours of graduate work taken at UT Arlington.
Deferral or Denial
If two or more of the criteria have not been met satisfactorily, the applicant will not be admitted on any of the three levels above but will receive deferral or denial. A deferred decision may be granted when a file is incomplete or when a denied decision is not appropriate. A deferred decision may also be granted when the student does not have adequate preparation in the discipline of history. In the latter case, students will be required to take "leveling" courses (make-up coursework) and earn a B or better before reapplying.
M.A. Degree Requirements
Courses taken toward a master's degree should fit into a unified program aimed at providing students with both a comprehensive background and a depth of understanding in U.S., European, African, Latin American, Transatlantic, or Transnational history . All students are required to take HIST 5339 and the Issues & Interpretations course corresponding to their major field (either HIST 5340 or HIST 5341 APPROACHES TO WORLD HISTORY. Except for those specializing in Public history, all students must take a minimum of six hours in both the Colloquium and the Seminar courses. Master's students are eligible to take courses at the 6000 level as well as 5000 level, subject to any particular course prerequisites. Students may take upper-division under-graduate courses for graduate credit under certain conditions. In this case and others, students must consult with the Graduate Advisor to determine their program.
Competency in one foreign language is required to obtain the Master's degree. This may be demonstrated by one of three methods:
- four semesters of credit in an approved language verifiable in an official transcript
- successful completion of an examination administered by an approved UTA faculty member or by an approved outside source such as a CLEP test
- a passing grade in a graduate-level translation course (MODL 5301) offered by the Department of Modern Languages
The Thesis degree plan is designed for students who wish to research and write a substantial, original work on a historical topic of personal interest. The plan requires completion of 30 credit hours (24 hours of coursework, plus 6 hours of thesis preparation). With the approval of the Graduate Advisor, thesis students may have a minor of as many as six hours of graduate and/or advanced undergraduate courses in a discipline other than history. A maximum of six hours of advanced undergraduate history coursework may be taken for graduate credit. Thesis candidates should consult with the Graduate Advisor to form their thesis faculty committee, which consists of one supervising professor and two other professors.
The Non-Thesis degree plan requires completion of 36 credit hours of coursework. With the approval of the Graduate Advisor, non-thesis students may have a minor of as many as nine hours of graduate and/or advanced undergraduate courses in a discipline other than history. A maximum of nine hours of advanced undergraduate coursework may be taken for graduate credit. In the final semester, the non-thesis students are required to form a nonthesis faculty committee in consultation with the Graduate Advisor, consisting of three members of the graduate faculty. The student must submit to this committee a portfolio containing their seminar paper(s) and a selection of three papers that required an analysis of historiography. After reviewing the portfolio, the committee will devise a new assignment for the student to complete based on its determination of what best fits the needs of the student, keeping in mind that the assignment will constitute less than the equivalent of 3 credit hours of course work. The student will complete the assignment during his/her final semester and turn it into the faculty committee, where it must receive an evaluation of "adequate" or better. The committee will meet the student for a final oral exam, in which the student discusses his/her project.
Non-thesis
| Requirements for Non-Thesis option: | ||
| HIST 5339 | HISTORICAL THEORY AND METHODOLOGY | 3 |
| HIST 5340 | ISSUES AND INTERPRETATIONS IN U.S. HISTORY | 3 |
| or HIST 5341 | APPROACHES TO WORLD HISTORY | |
| Content courses (reading colloquia and research seminars) in U.S., European, African, Latin American, Transatlantic or Transnational history | 30 | |
| Students may take up to 9 hours in another discipline that has a history-related focus with advisor approval. | ||
| Final Term: Portfolio submitted; portfolio project completed and defended | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Thesis
| Requirements for Thesis option: | ||
| HIST 5339 | HISTORICAL THEORY AND METHODOLOGY | 3 |
| HIST 5340 | ISSUES AND INTERPRETATIONS IN U.S. HISTORY | 3 |
| or HIST 5341 | APPROACHES TO WORLD HISTORY | |
| Content courses (reading colloquia and research seminars) in U.S., European, African, Latin American, Transatlantic or Transnational history | 18 | |
| Students may take up to 6 hours in another discipline that has a history-related focus with advisor approval. | ||
| Thesis | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Archival Administration
| Requirements for Archival Administration option: | ||
| HIST 5339 | HISTORICAL THEORY AND METHODOLOGY | 3 |
| HIST 5340 | ISSUES AND INTERPRETATIONS IN U.S. HISTORY | 3 |
| or HIST 5341 | APPROACHES TO WORLD HISTORY | |
| Content courses (reading colloquia and research seminars) in U.S., European, African, Latin American, Transatlantic or Transnational history | 18 | |
| Students may take up to 9 hours in another discipline that has a history-related focus with advisor approval. | ||
| HIST 5342 | PRINCIPLES OF ARCHIVES AND MUSEUMS I | 3 |
| HIST 5343 | PRINCIPLES OF ARCHIVES AND MUSEUMS II | 3 |
| HIST 5644 | ARCHIVAL/PUBLIC HISTORY INTERNSHIP | 6 |
| Final Term: Portfolio submitted; portfolio project completed and defended | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Public History
Students desiring public history as an area of study as part of the Master of Arts in History must take:
| Requirements for Public History option: | ||
| HIST 5339 | HISTORICAL THEORY AND METHODOLOGY | 3 |
| HIST 5340 | ISSUES AND INTERPRETATIONS IN U.S. HISTORY | 3 |
| or HIST 5341 | APPROACHES TO WORLD HISTORY | |
| Content courses (reading colloquia and research seminars) in U.S., European, African, Latin American, Transatlantic or Transnational history | 12 | |
| HIST 5342 | PRINCIPLES OF ARCHIVES AND MUSEUMS I | 3 |
| HIST 5343 | PRINCIPLES OF ARCHIVES AND MUSEUMS II | 3 |
| HIST 5345 | INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 5348 | TOPICS IN PUBLIC HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 5644 | ARCHIVAL/PUBLIC HISTORY INTERNSHIP | 6 |
| Final Term: Portfolio submitted; portfolio project completed and defended | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Students electing to complete an internship in archival management will also earn the certificate in archival administration (see Certificate section).
Students interested in either archival administration (see Certificate section) or public history as an area of study are encouraged to consult the Graduate Advisor to discuss a program of work.
Master of Education in Teaching (M.Ed.T.)
History may be chosen as an appropriate academic specialization or teaching field for students enrolled in the Master of Education in Teaching Degree Program. The History Department offers courses that qualify as an academic area or teaching field for elementary and secondary teachers. HIST 5340 and/or HIST 5341 are especially recommended for students in the M.Ed.T. program, and for others who wish to broaden their historical knowledge for classroom teaching. See Master of Education in Teaching Degree Program.
Ph.D. Program
Unconditional Admission
The criteria for admission below are used, without specific weight, as positive indicators of potential success in the program.
- A prior academic degree (B.A. or M.A. in History or related fields) from an accredited institution (verified by transcripts from each college or university previously attended sent directly from the registrar of that institution to Graduate Admissions).
- A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 in the course of completing a B.A. degree in History or a related field from an accredited institution (verified by official transcripts from each college or university previously attended sent directly from the registrar of that institution to Graduate Admissions).
- An academic writing sample (e.g. research essay) from a previous course assignment.
- A letter of intent, describing the student's historical interests and how they intersect with the faculty and strengths of the Ph.D. program.
- Three letters of recommendation (from university or college professors) mailed directly from the recommenders to the History Ph.D. Advisor.
- A score of 156 or higher on the verbal section and a score of 5 or higher on the analytical writing section of the GRE aptitude test (verified by official GRE scores sent to Graduate Admissions). However standardized test performance is not the sole criterion for admission or the primary criterion to end consideration for admission.
Provisional Admission
An applicant unable to supply all required documentation (e.g., GRE scores) prior to the admission deadline but who otherwise appears to meet admission requirements may be granted provisional admission. Provisionally admitted students must adequately satisfy any incomplete documentation by the end of the semester in which they are admitted. If the applicant fails to do so, the student will be dropped from the program. He or she may seek readmission when provisional requirements are complete.
Probationary Admission
An applicant whose credentials approximate but do not meet minimum admission standards, may be granted Probationary Admission subject to the condition that the candidate must earn no grade lower than a B in his/her first 12 semester hours of graduate work taken at UT Arlington.
Deferral or Denial
If two or more of the criteria have not been met satisfactorily, the applicant will not be admitted on any of the three levels above but will receive deferral or denial. A deferred decision may be granted when a file is incomplete or when a denied decision is not appropriate.
Application Deadline
The Ph.D. admissions committee will begin its evaluation of completed applications on January 15 and will continue to meet periodically until the Graduate School deadline of June 15.
Ph.D. Degree Requirements
Students accepted into the PhD program are expected to take a total of 45 semester credit hours in a three-year period: During the first or second year, full-time students take HIST 5339 HISTORICAL THEORY AND METHODOLOGY, and two of the following three courses: HIST 5340 ISSUES AND INTERPRETATIONS IN U.S. HISTORY, HIST 5341 APPROACHES TO WORLD HISTORY, or HIST 5350 HISTORY OF CARTOGRAPHY, as well as three colloquia (reading courses). During their second and third year, students take at least three seminars (research courses), as well as nine additional colloquia or seminars. The colloquia must include HIST 5363 READING COLLOQUIUM IN NATIONAL HISTORIES and HIST 5364 READING COLLOQUIUM IN TRANSNATIONAL HISTORY. The seminars must include HIST 6363 SEMINAR IN NATIONAL HISTORIES and HIST 6364 SEMINAR IN TRANSNATIONAL HISTORY. In their sixth semester, students commonly enroll in HIST 6690 DIRECTED STUDIES FOR PhD STUDENTS to prepare for the Comprehensive Exam.
Required Courses
| HIST 5339 | HISTORICAL THEORY AND METHODOLOGY | 3 |
| HIST 5363 | READING COLLOQUIUM IN NATIONAL HISTORIES | 3 |
| HIST 5364 | READING COLLOQUIUM IN TRANSNATIONAL HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 6363 | SEMINAR IN NATIONAL HISTORIES | 3 |
| HIST 6364 | SEMINAR IN TRANSNATIONAL HISTORY | 3 |
| And two of the following: | ||
| HIST 5340 | ISSUES AND INTERPRETATIONS IN U.S. HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 5341 | APPROACHES TO WORLD HISTORY | 3 |
| HIST 5350 | HISTORY OF CARTOGRAPHY | 3 |
| Full-time doctoral students are expected to take nine hours each semester. Part-time students are required to take at least six hours each semester. Each semester a student must consult the Graduate Advisor before he/she can be cleared to register. | ||
Recommended Course of Study for Full-Time Students
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| HIST 5339 | 3 | HIST 5341, 5340, or 5350 | 3 |
| HIST 5340, 5341, or 5350 | 3 | HIST 5364 | 3 |
| HIST 5363 | 3 | One colloquium | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| HIST 6363 | 3 | HIST 6364 | 3 |
| One colloquium | 3 | One colloquium | 3 |
| One colloquium or seminar | 3 | One colloquium or seminar | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| One colloquium | 3 | HIST 6990 | 9 |
| One colloquium or seminar | 3 | ||
| One colloquium or seminar | 3 | ||
| 9 | 9 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| Comprehensive Exam | HIST 6699 | 6 | |
| Dissertation Proposal is due | |||
| HIST 6990 | 9 | ||
| 9 | 6 | ||
| Fifth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| HIST 6699 | 6 | HIST 6699 | 6 |
| 6 | 6 | ||
| Sixth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| HIST 6699 | 6 | HIST 7399 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 | ||
| Total Hours: 90 | |||
Diagnostic Evaluation
At the end of the first academic year or after the student has completed the first 18 hours of coursework, each student will have to pass a diagnostic evaluation. History faculty with whom the student has worked will be asked to submit a written evaluation of the student's potential to continue in the program, using a form developed by the Graduate Advisor. The Graduate Studies Committee will review these evaluations and give each student one of four results:
- approval to continue in the doctoral program;
- approval to continue with specified remedial work;
- failure, but with permission for assessment through a second diagnostic evaluation after no more than one year;
- failure and referral of the student to the MA program, in which the student will be allowed to work towards a terminal MA degree.
Language Requirement
If the student has not already fulfilled the foreign language requirement before entering the Ph.D. program, he/she is expected to use the first three years in the program to satisfy the foreign language requirement. The student is expected to choose a language that will be required to work on the Ph.D. topic of his/her choice. Each student is expected to have a solid reading knowledge in at least one language other than English. The language proficiency can be demonstrated in three different ways:
- If the student has not already taken four semesters (from an accredited university) in a single foreign language with at least a B before being admitted to the Ph.D. program (within10 years prior to admission), the student needs to complete four semesters in one foreign language with at least a grade of B prior to taking the Comprehensive Exam.
- Demonstrating proficiency in a foreign language by taking the CLEP test and scoring 71-80 in German, 68-80 in French, and 67-80 in Spanish.
- Taking the Reading Comprehension Exercise by an appropriate faculty member in which the student during one semester must read a source of the faculty member’s choosing in a language other than English and submit a summary in English, which must include up to three pages of direct translation.
The language requirement must be satisfied before the student can take the Comprehensive Exam. For the student at the dissertation stage, the candidate's doctoral committee may require that the student demonstrates competency in a second foreign language in the same fashion as the first foreign language if that second language is judged essential for the student's dissertation research.
B.A.-Ph.D. Track
Students in the B.A.-Ph.D. track will be awarded an M.A. degree after sitting for their comprehensive examination. Students who pass the oral examination unconditionally will proceed to the dissertation (ABD) phase of the program.
Comprehensive Exam
Comprehensive Exam Committee
If the student is allowed to stay in the program, he/she should, after consultation with the Ph.D. Advisor, establish a five-member Comprehensive Exam Committee. The student must first ask a graduate faculty member whose research closely relates to the student's anticipated dissertation topic to chair the committee. The chair of the committee will then assist the student in assembling the rest of the committee. Four of the five committee members must be from UTA's History Department. The Ph.D. advisor reserves the right to attend the oral portion of the Comprehensive Exam. One member can be from outside the department or even from another university.
Comprehensive Exam
After the student has completed all or most of the 48 hours of coursework and satisfied the language requirement, he/she, upon consultation with the Ph.D. Advisor and the Comprehensive Exam Committee, should begin preparing for the Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam. It is strongly recommended that students wait until they have completed all 48 hours of coursework before they take the Exam. To prepare for the Comprehensive Examination, students may enroll in Directed Study courses, HIST 6190, HIST 6390, HIST 6690, or HIST 6990 during their sixth semester.
Only after the student has the approval of the Ph.D. Advisor, he/she may arrange the date of the exam in consultation with all committee members.
The Comprehensive Examination is meant to test the student's knowledge in at least three broad areas of study and to determine whether the student is prepared to teach in those areas. Students work with their professors to define each of their three exams, and students’ earlier coursework should be used to help them prepare for their exam fields. One field must be on a national history or topic (for example, “History of Mexico” or “Gender in Mexico”), one must be on transnational field or topic (for example, “Transatlantic History” or “Transatlantic Migration”), and the third field can be individually constructed by students in consultation with their supervisors—this field may be related to certain careers (for example, Public History), a dissertation topic (for example, History of Cartography), or on a related discipline outside of the History Department (for example, Women’s Studies or Sociology).
The student and each exam field supervisor will decide upon a book list of approximately 30-40 books, and choose whether the exam for that field will be a timed essay or a take-home essay. Students may schedule their written exams with no more than one business day between the completion of one exam and the beginning of the next.
- Timed essay exams must be taken on campus, seven hours each exam, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Students may use a personal computer available in the department to take their examination. They may not use texts or notes during the exam unless expressly permitted by that field’s examiner. Chairs should ensure that time-limits for individual parts of the examination are observed.
- Take-home essay exams will begin when a student is given the essay question by the field examiner. The student will hand in an essay responding to the question (~15-20 pages) no earlier than 12 hours and no more than 72 hours later, as agreed upon with the field examiner. The student may consult notes and readings during the writing process.
A member of the department’s office staff will email each field’s reading list, exam question, and completed written exam to the entire comps committee. After the written exams are completed and the committee has read all three parts, students will take the oral exam (within one week of completion of the third written exam).
Students must take both the written and oral exams or they will automatically fail the comprehensive exam. After the oral exam is over, the committee members will discuss the exam as a whole (written and oral). Then the committee will decided on one of the four options listed below.
- Passed, approval and recommendation to begin dissertation research under the supervision of the committee chair.
- Passed, approval to remain in the program upon meeting certain specified additional requirements.
- Failed, with permission to retake the examination after a certain period as specified by the examining committee.
- Failed: Recommendation not to continue in the program.
Students are required to pass this examination before they proceed to the dissertation (ABD) phase of the program.
Dissertation Guidelines
By the end of the first semester after the successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination, the student should submit a dissertation proposal to the committee members and the Ph.D. Advisor who assures that it fulfills the expectations of a doctoral project. The dissertation committee ordinarily consists of three of the five professors involved in the Comprehensive Examination of the student. All three members of the dissertation committee must be members of the UT Arlington History Department. The student together with his/her primary supervisor may, if deemed necessary, invite outside readers to become additional members of the dissertation committee. Students should work closely with the chair of their committee while researching and writing their dissertation.
During the dissertation phase of the program, students enroll in HIST 6399, HIST 6699 orHIST 6999 and, in exceptional cases with prior approval of the Ph.D. Advisor, in HIST 6190. HIST 6190 may be taken by students following their Comprehensive Exams for a maximum of four semesters, if their dissertation chair concludes that in a given semester they are not engaged full-time in work on their dissertation. In the final semester of dissertation work, students must enroll in HIST 7399 to be in compliance with the requirement of the Graduate School. Students should be aware that the dissertation defense should occur after NO more than four years from the Comprehensive Examination. If the student takes more time to finish the doctoral dissertation, he/she has to file for an extension with the Graduate School.
Once the student, the chair of the committee, and the primary readers agree that the dissertation is ready to be defended, the student must schedule the dissertation defense. Before he/she applies for graduation, the student must receive approval from the Ph.D. Advisor. The student should furnish each committee member with a copy of the dissertation, including notes and bibliography, at least three weeks prior to the defense date. The oral defense of the dissertation generally lasts 1-2 hours. Questioning of the candidate will be supervised by the chair of the student's dissertation committee. Committee members may request that the dissertation be further revised and may withhold final approval of the dissertation until the revisions have been made. If the dissertation has been approved by the committee, the student has to submit the dissertation and the dissertation defense report to the Graduate School. The deadline dates for each semester are published in the Graduate School Calendar.
Certificate Requirements
These studies involve application of historical knowledge and methodology in non-academic settings such as private businesses or public historical agencies (e.g., archives, museums, preservation societies).
Students desiring a certificate of archival administration or a certificate in public history should consult course requirements.
Students already holding a M.A. or Ph.D. degree in history or a related field, as well as students enrolled in graduate programs other than history, who desire only a certificate in archival administration should consult the Graduate Advisor.