Master of Arts Degree in History
The UNF M.A. in History Program offers concentrations in European and United States history. Courses in African, Asian, and Latin American history are offered and may be used to fulfill non-concentration requirements. By the end of their first year, students choose between thesis or non-thesis options both of which require a mininum of 36 credit hours to complete.
Entrance Requirements and Procedures
Applicants must have a composite score of 1000 or more on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Exam, and an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 overall and 3.4 in history courses. Applicants who are not history majors should have the equivalent of at least a minor in undergraduate history courses (15 hours, of which at least 12 must be upper level), or should complete additional undergraduate history courses before applying for the M.A. program. Only in exceptional circumstances will the department consider applicants who do not meet the minimum admission criteria. For further information contact the graduate coordinator.
A prerequisite for admission is completion of an undergraduate history methods course. At UNF, HIS 3051 The Craft of the Historian fulfills the requirement if a grade of A or B was earned. Students who have not completed HIS 3051 or its equivalent may be admitted on conditional status until the requirement has been met. Transfer of up to 6 graduate credit hours taken at another approved institution may be arranged by the graduate coordinator. Requests must be accompanied by catalogue descriptions and course syllabi, and by official transcripts which establish that grades of either A or B were earned. A maximum of 9 hours completed at UNF in a non-degree status may be transferred to a degree program. Students hould consult the UNF Graduate Catalogue for additional information on credit transfer and time limits on prior coursework.
Applicants must submit:
- The UNF Graduate School application form; more information about applying to the Graduate Program, and the application form, can be found on The Graduate School page
- A recent GRE score
- Transcripts from all undergraduate institutions attended, as well as any relevant graduate degrees
- A typewritten essay three to five double-spaced pages in length, describing their career goals and areas of historical interest
- Three letters of recommendation – at least one should be written by a former or current history professor; recommendation forms can be downloaded here (you must have Adobe Reader to view and print the form)
- Students may also submit a sample of their writing on a historical topic (this is optional; an undergraduate paper will suffice).
All materials should be sent to:
The Graduate School
University of North Florida
1 UNF Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Graduate Teaching Assistantships
The History Department is able to offer a limited number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships. These Assistantships provide tuition and a stipend for two years. In their first year, Graduate Teaching Assistants take the Readings in European History and Historians sequence of courses. In their second year, the Teaching Assistants are Friday section leaders for the Core (Western Civilization) classes in the fall and spring. More information about the Graduate Teaching Assistantships, and the application form, can be downloaded here (you must have Adobe Reader to view and print the form).
The Academic Program
All MA history students must meet with the graduate coordinator during their first term of graduate work in order to plan their course of study, and discuss any questions they may have.
Students shall take no more than four graduate history courses with one faculty member. This does not include thesis students' continuous registration in Master's Thesis Research.
No course in which a student earns below a B will be counted in the student’s program of study. Graduate students are expected to maintain at least a 3.0 average, and no student may be awarded a master's degree unless the graduate average is B or higher. For additional information on academic policies and regulations, graduate students should consult the UNF Graduate Catalogue.
Thesis Option
Students in the thesis option may take no more than one HIS 6905 Directed Independent Study or HIS 6946 Internship in History course. Directed Independent Studies, Internships and courses taken outside the department will not substitute for the Readings courses or the Research Seminars.
United States History Concentration
Students who choose the thesis option in US history must take:
· the two-course sequence, AMH 6935 Readings in US History and Historians I and II, as well as a third Readings course in another area (9 hours total)
· three 6000-level Research Seminars, two of which must be in US history (9 hours total)
· four elective courses at the 5000 or 6000 level (12 hours total)
· a minimum of six and a maximum of fifteen credit hours of HIS 6971 Thesis Research.
European History Concentration
Students who choose the thesis option in European history must take:
· the two-course sequence, EUH 6935 Readings in European History and Historians I and II, as well as a third Readings course in another area (9 hours total)
· three 6000-level Research Seminars, two of which must be in European history (9 hours total)
· four elective courses at the 5000 or 6000 level (12 hours total)
· a minimum of six and a maximum of fifteen credit hours of HIS 6971 Thesis Research.
The Thesis
Admission to the thesis track/approval of the Prospectus:
Students interested in writing a thesis should begin in their first year to discuss thesis possibilities with the history faculty member with whom the student hopes to work. The faculty member may impose any language or methodology prerequisites deemed necessary before acceptance of the thesis proposal. Admission to the thesis track is formally complete when the student has prepared a prospectus, and the prospectus has been approved by the thesis advisor and the other two members of the committee. The prospectus should contain a clear exposition of the working hypothesis, the approach and materials the student intends to use, and some indication of the significance of the work. Approval is indicated by the committee members' signatures on the cover sheet of the prospectus, which must include the student's name, the tentative title of the thesis, and the statement "This prospectus has been approved by the advisor and committee members whose signatures appear below." The original goes to the graduate coordinator, with copies to the student and the thesis committee members.
Committee
At least three graduate faculty members, at least two of them historians, shall serve on the thesis committee. The thesis advisor, always a historian, will be selected by the student at the time the student chooses the thesis option. Other committee members will be chosen by the student in consultation with the thesis advisor.
Timetable
A thesis option student will have two years following completion of regular course requirements to write and defend the thesis. Continual enrollment in HIS 6971 Thesis Research will be required (summer terms excepted). Thesis students must complete at least 6 hours, but no more than 15 hours, of HIS 6971. A student who has not finished the thesis two years after completion of course work may be required to transfer to the non-thesis option, and will have a third year for the additional course work and the final oral examination.
Thesis Preparation
Master's theses prepared for the department of history must use footnotes (rather than endnotes). Footnote form must follow the Chicago Manual of Style (current edition), available in the library and in the department office. This is also the style reflected in Clifford's Advice on Doing History. Theses must conform to the general manuscript guidelines spelled out in the University's policy, which can be found on the UNF Library website here.
Defense and Acceptance
Upon completion of the thesis, the student should submit it to the committee, and ask the supervisor to schedule a public oral defense before the committee. The oral defense should be scheduled at least four weeks before commencement in order to graduate in that term. If the thesis is passed by the committee, it is sent to the department chair, the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and the Graduate Dean for approval. At any point after the defense, the thesis committee, the chair, the Dean of Arts and Sciences, or the Graduate Dean may reject the thesis entirely, or request revisions to the thesis before final approval is given. After the thesis has been accepted, the student is responsible for fulfilling the university's requirements regarding binding of the thesis and its delivery to the UNF library.
Non-Thesis Option
Students in the non-thesis option may take no more than three HIS 6905 Directed Independent Study or HIS 6946 Internship in History courses. Students may take HIS 6946 Internship in History no more than two times. Directed Independent Studies, Internships and courses taken outside the department will not substitute for the Readings courses or the Research Seminars.
United States History Concentration
Students who choose the non-thesis option in US history must take:
· the two-course sequence, AMH 6935 Readings in US History and Historians I and II, as well as a third Readings course in another area (9 hours total)
· three 6000-level Research Seminars, two of which must be in US history (9 hours total)
· six elective courses, two of which must be at the 6000 level (18 hours total).
European History Concentration
Students who choose the non-thesis option in European history must take
· the two-course sequence, EUH 6935 Readings in European History and Historians I and II, as well as a third Readings course in another area (9 hours total)
· three 6000-level Research Seminars, two of which must be in European history (9 hours total)
· six elective courses, two of which must be at the 6000 level (18 hours total).
Examination for the Non-Thesis Option:
The student will choose one of the research papers of at least 20 pages written for a Research Seminar to submit to an examination committee, consisting of three faculty members, at least two from the student's area of concentration, selected by the student and the Graduate Program Director. The exam committee will then conduct an oral examination of the student’s work on the paper, on the paper’s historical and intellectual context, and on the ramifications of the student’s work in the larger historical field. The results of the examination will be graded either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, and will be communicated to the student and the graduate coordinator.
Non-thesis students will have one year following the completion of their course work to pass the final examination.
Questions about the UNF M.A. in History should be directed to the Graduate Program Directors, Charles Closmann (in the fall), cclosman@unf.edu or Philip Kaplan (in the spring), pkaplan@unf.edu, or the Chair of the History Department, Dale Clifford, clifford@unf.edu.