Mar 29, 2024  
2010-2011 General Catalog 
    
2010-2011 General Catalog ARCHIVED CATALOG: To search archives, MUST use search box to left. Current catalog: catalog.usu.edu.

History, MSS


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Like the MA and MS in history, the MSS degree requires a minimum of 30 credits, including 15 credits in the major discipline of history, plus a minimum of 15 credits from two approved minor areas, with at least two courses in each minor area. Accepted minor disciplines include instructional technology, environment and society, political science, psychology, and sociology/anthropology. This degree is designed for secondary school teachers who need more training to obtain licensure in additional teaching fields or who simply wish to deepen their understanding of a related field.

Students in the MSS program are required to take HIST 6000  and 3 credits of HIST 6970  for their Plan B. A supervisory committee consists of a major professor in history and two committee members, each representing one of the student’s minor fields. MSS students, like other Plan B students in history, must write a research paper of approximately 30 pages and submit a portfolio of their graduate writing that consists of two separate and distinct pieces of work, one from each of their two minor fields. An oral defense of the student’s Plan B paper and portfolio is held before the student’s supervisory committee.

Additionally, the master of social sciences (MSS) in history requires students to demonstrate an understanding of statistical applications in the social sciences.

Degree Programs and Additional Requirements


Master’s Degree, Plan A (Thesis)

The thesis option should be taken by anyone intending to do research or enter another program for the doctoral degree. A master of arts or master of science degree can be completed with this option.

The program consists of 30 semester credits beyond the bachelor’s degree, 6 credits of which must be in thesis research. Students must take HIST 6000 , as well as either HIST 6010  or HIST 6020 , or another theory-intensive course approved by the director of graduate studies. Students may apply a maximum of 4 internship credits earned while working in an archive, for a museum, on the staff of a scholarly journal, or as a teaching intern in an upper-division undergraduate course.

The remainder of the 30 credits may be taken as electives in history or related courses relevant to the student’s program.

Upon arrival at USU, students are urged to meet with the departmental graduate advisor, who will direct them to one or more faculty members with similar interests. Through consultations with the graduate and faculty advisor, the first-year student will form a thesis committee and formulate a course of study. By the end of the first year, most students will have submitted to their committees a proposal for the thesis, which they will write under the close supervision of the committee members. The oral defense usually takes place in the spring semester of the second year.

Master’s Degree, Plan B (Nonthesis)

A nonthesis master’s program can help a student attain employment in many areas, but is not recommended for students planning to secure a doctorate. A master of arts, master of science, or master of social sciences degree can be completed with this option.

The Plan B program consists of 30 credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. The course requirements are identical to those of the Plan A program, except that only 3 thesis credits are permitted.

Students completing the Plan B program do not write a full length thesis. Instead, Plan B students write a research paper of approximately 30 pages in length and submit a portfolio of their graduate writing, which includes two additional and distinct pieces of writing. Students defend their Plan B research papers and writing portfolios before their major professor and the members of the supervisory committee. Final approval of the Plan B rests with the department, rather than with the School of Graduate Studies.

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