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 100 or STAT 200) 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.
Students seeking admission to the M.A. program in the Department of History must meet all of the requirements for admission to the NIU Graduate School. In addition to the standard requirements for graduate admission, the master’s program requires degree-seeking applicants to submit the following materials:
Baccalaureate Field: A B.A./B.S. in History or a closely related discipline is expected for admission. Candidates from other disciplines should have taken significant course work in history.
Grade Point Average (GPA): At least a 3.20/4.00 GPA is desired, as is a minimum of 3.25/4.00 in history courses.
Letters of Recommendation: Two (2) letters of recommendation from individuals who can speak to the applicant’s ability to be successful in the completion of a graduate-level degree program. The individuals who submit a letter should be professors or other professionals who can comment substantively on the applicant’s previous academic work in history.
Application Essay: This statement should be about 500-750 words in length and describe the applicant’s preparation to undertake graduate work in history, particular historical interests, relevant life experiences, and reasons for wanting to do graduate work in history. It is especially important for the applicant to mention the field of history that they want to study, what preparation they have for that field, and whether they have language training.
Writing Sample: The writing sample should ideally be a research paper from an undergraduate history course or a thesis. If that is not possible, the applicant should submit a paper that best represents their intellectual and analytical abilities.
Deadlines: Applications for fall semester enrollment must be submitted by January 15 to be considered for assistantship funding. March 1 is the final deadline for fall semester admission. Applications for spring semester enrollment must be submitted by October 1 for international applicants and November 1 for domestic applicants. Applicants for spring admission are not considered for assistantship funding.
For additional admission information, please visit, https://www.niu.edu/clas/history/graduate/grad-application.shtml
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.
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.
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.
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