MA

MA students concentrate on one major and two minor fields of study, and the minor fields must be distinct in space or time from the major field.

MA Degree Requirements:

• Earn a grade of A or B in History 501, Introduction to the Graduate Study of History. This course is ordinarily taken during the first semester of graduate study.
• Complete at least 32 credit hours in graduate-level courses. At least 20 of these credit hours must be taken in courses at the 500 level and at least 16 of those credit hours must be in 500 level courses taught by members of the graduate faculty in the Department of History. Students enrolled in courses listed at the 400 level will be expected to undertake extra work or demonstrate a higher standard of proficiency than undergraduates enrolled in the course. No student may receive graduate credit for a course below the 400 level.
• Maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0
• Earn a grade of A or B in one research seminar. The research seminar requires preparation of a major research paper based on primary sources.
• Complete the colloquia series required for the student’s major and minor fields. (Students majoring in Colonial America and the United States are required to pass History 551 parts 1 and 2. Students majoring in other fields should consult with their faculty adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies to determine which colloquia are required.)
• Demonstrate a reading knowledge of one foreign language. This is normally done by taking the Foreign Language Exam. Faculty advisers may require that students demonstrate competence in additional languages if they deem it necessary for the field of study.
• Produce a substantial research paper in HIST 552. The resulting paper will be reviewed by a committee of three faculty members: the instructor of HIST 552, the MA’s student advisor, and one additional faculty member in the student’s area of concentration, to be selected by the Director of Graduate Studies. This committee will determine whether the student passes the “seminar paper” milestone. The research paper will present a historical analysis of an issue in the student’s major field of study and be based on primary and secondary sources. The evaluation will assess the student’s ability to: 1) clearly articulate a research question and thesis statement; 2) effectively use primary and secondary sources; 3) analyze and contextualize primary sources; 4) maintain a logical structure and organization; and 5) write in a clear and concise manner suitable for academic work. For more information see the MA Paper Guidelines

Note: Any exceptions to these requirements must have the support of the student’s faculty adviser and the approval of the Graduate Advisory Committee.

Graduate students at the M.A. and Ph.D. programs must demonstrate a reading knowledge of one language other than English. The purpose of this requirement is different for students who will be working extensively with foreign-language sources while in graduate school than for students who will not, so the History Department has designed two paths to fulfillment of the requirement. Students are to select one of the two paths in consultation with their advisors.

FAQs about the Foreign Language Examination

Path I. This path is intended for Ph.D. students who will be working extensively (i.e. on a daily or weekly basis) with foreign-language primary and secondary sources in their research for the dissertation. The goal is to ensure that these students are adequately prepared to comprehend, analyze, and translate sources in at least one of the primary languages in which they will be working. Students on Path I must successfully pass a written exam, which comprises translating a passage of college-level prose, roughly one page in length, into standard English. Students are given two hours to complete the exam, for which they are allowed use of a dictionary. The text is selected and the exam is read by a two-member faculty committee (either from inside or outside of the History Department) appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. A passing grade is given for an exam that demonstrates graduate-level proficiency in translating the text both in its specific details and in its overall meaning, not by translating it word for word but by conveying the sense of each sentence clearly and correctly. If a student fails the exam, it may be twice retaken.

Path II. This path is designed for Ph.D. students who will not regularly depend on foreign-language sources for their research, as well as for all students in the terminal-M.A. program. The goal is to ensure that these students possess a basic ability to understand written work in at least one language other than English, sufficient to allow them to read primary and secondary sources with a general level of comprehension when they encounter them. Such familiarity with, if not fluency in, another language is an increasingly important qualification for teaching, scholarship, and participation in the profession for all historians today, especially given the transnational turn of historical scholarship in all fields and the multilingual diversity of high-school and college history students. This requirement is intended to encourage a broad acquaintance with non-English sources and perspectives, providing a gateway for scholars of British and U.S. history in particular to pursue lines of inquiry that cross the English-language border. Students on Path II may fulfill the language requirement either by passing a written exam or by taking a course:

• The written exam for Path II calls for paraphrasing rather than translating a passage of college-level prose, roughly one page in length, and then answering a brief series of guided questions about the text. Students are given two hours to complete the exam, for which they are allowed use of a dictionary. The text is selected and the exam is read by a two-member faculty committee (either from inside or outside of the History Department) appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. A passing grade is given for an exam that demonstrates basic comprehension of the main ideas and overall meaning of the text. If a student fails the exam, it may be twice retaken.
• Alternatively, students on Path II may fulfill the requirement by completing and receiving a grade of “A” or “B” in a relevant language course. This can be either a graduate-level readings course (e.g., French 401: Reading French for Graduate Students, or German 400: German for Reading Knowledge) or a 104-level undergraduate language course (i.e., the intermediate level corresponding to the fourth semester of college language instruction).

All graduate students must complete the language requirement no later than the semester prior to taking HIST 552. In special cases, students may request postponements or waivers of the language requirement, in consultation with their advisors, by petitioning the Graduate Advisory Committee. Such waivers may be granted, for example, to Ph.D. students who are native non-English speakers or whose research plans require special training in a skill comparable to learning a language, such as quantitative analysis. Students in the terminal-M.A. program may be granted waivers if no foreign language is directly relevant to their studies.

This is a list of time-sensitive steps in the process of acquiring an MA as the final degree in the UIC Department of History. It is not a list of all degree requirements. Italics indicate that this is a logical semester in which to complete this item, although it is not necessary to do it during this semester. For exact dates for each academic year, consult the Director of Graduate Studies.

First semester:
Take Hist 501.
Take colloquium in major field. For students in U.S. history, take Hist 551(a). First opportunity to apply for foreign language examination.

Second semester:
For U.S. history students, take Hist 551(b).* Second opportunity to apply to take foreign language exam.
Possible semester for seminar.*

Third semester:
Possible semester for seminar. Last opportunity to apply for foreign language examination.
Must fulfill foreign language requirement this semester.

Fourth semester:
Apply for graduation (online)

Graduate with MA.

*Students should be aware that the combination of a major field colloquium and a seminar taken in the same semester involves a lot of work, although it may be doable, depending on other commitments.