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.
Students who choose the thesis option must take:
- Readings courses (three) in any 6000-level readings course: AFH, AMH, ASH, EUH, HIS, and/or LAH (9 hours total).
- Research Seminars (three) in 6000-level Research Seminars (9 hours total)
- Elective Courses (four courses) at the 5000 or 6000-level, two of which need to be non-Western history (AFH, ASH, or LAH)
- 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, and the Graduate Dean for approval. At any point after the defense, the thesis committee, the chair, 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 the final electronic submission of the thesis.
