Master of Arts in History

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Students pursuing the M.A. degree in history must satisfactorily complete 30 semester hours of approved credits. A minimum of 24 semester hours must normally be in history courses. The balance may be in history courses or in courses in an approved cognate field or fields. The 30 semester hours required for the M.A. must include a minimum of 9 semester hours of reading seminars and a minimum of 6 semester hours of research seminars. Students are allowed to take up to 12 semester hours of course work in History at the 500 level. All students must also take HIST 756 (Directed Research) to complete their master’s essay or thesis.

All M.A. students, except those majoring in United States or British history who are not planning to continue in the Ph.D. program, must demonstrate at least average proficiency in an approved foreign language or, if appropriate, in quantitative methods. Average proficiency in an approved foreign language can be demonstrated through a translation examination or, in selected languages, through successful completion of one of the special summer courses offered by the Department of World Languages and Cultures. Average proficiency in quantitative methods can be demonstrated by achieving a grade of C or better in an approved course in statistics (STAT 208 or STAT 301) and a grade of B or better in HIST 601.

Students in the M.A. program must satisfactorily complete a written comprehensive examination that involves two field essays with separate faculty examiners. At the discretion of either the examining committee or the student, the written M.A. comprehensive may be followed by an oral examination about one week after the evaluation of the written examination.

If the student receives a recommendation from the comprehensive examining committee for admission to the Ph.D. program and otherwise makes application and qualifies for such admission, the M.A. comprehensive examination will serve as the Ph.D. qualifying examination.

Check departmental information for any additional requirements. For application information, please visit, https://www.niu.edu/clas/history/graduate/grad-application.shtml

The student learning outcomes for this degree are located at http://www.niu.edu/assessment/clearinghouse/outcomes/index.shtml.

Course requirements

Core requirements (18)

HIST 610 - Reading Seminar in History Credits: 3
Students must take 9 semester hours in this course.
HIST 710 - Research Seminar in History Credits: 3-6
Students must take 6 semester hours in this course.
HIST 756 - Directed Research Credits: 3-6

Additional Course Work (12)

Up to four courses (12 semester hours) may be taken from the following list. M.A. students also may select to take up to two courses (6 semester hours) at the graduate level from an approved cognate field or fields.

HIST 502 - Gender and Sexuality in History Credits: 3
HIST 507 - Medieval Women Credits: 3
HIST 508 - Medieval Everyday Life Credits: 3
HIST 514 - European Wars of Religion, 1520-1660 Credits: 3
HIST 516 - The Age of Enlightenment Credits: 3
HIST 518 - Modern European Cultural History Credits: 3
HIST 520 - The Renaissance Credits: 3
HIST 521 - The Catholic and Protestant Reformations Credits: 3
HIST 522 - Early Modern Europe Credits: 3
HIST 523 - The French Revolution and Napoleon Credits: 3
HIST 525 - World War II Credits: 3
HIST 528 - Gender and War Credits: 3
HIST 529 - Nazi Germany Credits: 3
HIST 534 - The Russian Revolution Credits: 3
HIST 535 - Stalinism Credits: 3
HIST 540 - Islam and Colonialism in Africa Credits: 3
HIST 541 - The African Diaspora Credits: 3
HIST 542 - History of Buddhist Southeast Asia Credits: 3
HIST 543 - History of Islamic Southeast Asia Credits: 3
HIST 544 - The Japanese Empire Credits: 3
HIST 545 - The Chinese Revolution Credits: 3
HIST 546 - History of Thailand Credits: 3
HIST 547 - History of Burma Credits: 3
HIST 548 - History of Indonesia Credits: 3
HIST 549 - History of Malaysia and Singapore Credits: 3
HIST 552 - British Empire Credits: 3
HIST 553 - History of Northern Ireland Credits: 3
HIST 554 - Victorian Britain Credits: 3
HIST 556 - Ancient Mediterranean Credits: 3
HIST 558 - Mediterranean World, 1450-1750 Credits: 3
HIST 559 - The Atlantic World, 1492-1860s Credits: 3
HIST 560 - Colonial America Credits: 3
HIST 561 - The American Revolution Credits: 3
HIST 562 - Early American Republic Credits: 3
HIST 563 - Antebellum America Credits: 3
HIST 564 - Civil War Era Credits: 3
HIST 565 - Gilded Age and Progressive Era Credits: 3
HIST 566 - Corporate America: 1900-1929 Credits: 3
HIST 567 - The U.S. in Depression and War, 1929-1960 Credits: 3
HIST 568 - America Since 1960 Credits: 3
HIST 569 - The Vietnam War Credits: 3
HIST 571 - Workers in U.S. History, 1787-Present Credits: 3
HIST 572 - Topics in African-American History Credits: 3
HIST 573 - Topics in Women’s History Credits: 3
HIST 574 - Immigration in the United States Credits: 3
HIST 575 - The United States and Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent Credits: 3
HIST 576 - American Foreign Relations to 1914 Credits: 3
HIST 577 - American Foreign Relations Since 1914 Credits: 3
HIST 580 - Spies, Lies, and Secret Wars: CIA in the World Credits: 3
HIST 581 - Indigenous Mexico Credits: 3
HIST 582 - Mexico Since 1810 Credits: 3
HIST 583 - Africans in Colonial Latin America Credits: 3
HIST 584 - History of Brazil Credits: 3
HIST 585 - Modern Latin American Revolutions Credits: 3
HIST 586 - Inequality in Latin America Credits: 3
HIST 587 - The Latin American City Credits: 3
HIST 591 - Special Topics in History Credits: 3
HIST 592 - Introduction to Public History Credits: 3
HIST 594 - Oral History Credits: 3
HIST 600 - Internship in Public History Credits: 1-6
HIST 601 - Digital History Credits: 3
HIST 610 - Reading Seminar in History Credits: 3
HIST 699 - Master’s Thesis Credits: 1-6
HIST 710 - Research Seminar in History Credits: 3-6
HIST 736 - Independent Study Credits: 1-3

Concentration in Public History

The M.A. with a concentration in public history has been designed to meet the needs of those students seeking special educational preparation for careers in public and private historical agencies, archives, museums and historical societies, and research and consulting firms.

Students pursuing the M.A. concentration in public history must satisfactorily complete 36 semester hours of approved credits. A minimum of 24 semester hours in history courses must be completed to meet the normal requirements for the traditional M.A. degree described above.

The remaining 12 semester hours required for this concentration normally must be distributed as follows.

Course Requirements (12)

Electives (3-6)

ART 565 - Introduction to Museum Studies Credits: 3
OR HIST 592 - Introduction to Public History Credits: 3
HIST 600 - Internship in Public History Credits: 1-6

Recommended Electives

ANTH 562 - Museum Methods Credits: 3
ART 654 - Museum Administration Credits: 3
ART 655 - Museum Exhibitions and Interpretation Credits: 3
ART 656 - Advanced Curatorial Practice Credits: 3
ART 657 - Museum Education Credits: 3
COMS 557 - The Documentary Tradition Credits: 3
HIST 594 - Oral History Credits: 3
PSPA 656 - Management of Not-For-Profit Agencies Credits: 3

Comprehensive Examination

Students in the M.A. degree program taking the concentration in public history must satisfactorily complete a written comprehensive examination in a traditional primary field area and an internship-related report, project, or research paper.