Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 General Catalog 
    
2019-2020 General Catalog ARCHIVED CATALOG: To search archives, MUST use search box to left. Current catalog: catalog.usu.edu.

History - MS


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College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of History

To receive a master of science (MS) degree in history, students should demonstrate, to the satisfaction of their supervisory committee, the ability to incorporate into their research, methodologies from the social or natural sciences.

Degree Programs and Additional Requirements

Master’s of Science Degree, Plan A (Thesis-HISTORY)

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 33 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 and HIST 6030. 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 33 credits may be taken as electives in history or relevant courses in other departments. Students must complete one course relevant to the degree outside the department.

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, 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 of Science Degree, Plan B (Nonthesis-HISTORY)

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 or master of science degree can be completed with this option.

HISTORY: The Plan B program consists of 33 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 or develop a digital or public history exhibit, and submit a portfolio of their graduate writing, which includes two additional and distinct pieces of writing. Students defend their Plan B projects 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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