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.
• Successfully pass Comprehensive Exams in two minor fields and one major field.

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 the Comprehensive or Preliminary Exams. 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.

Comprehensive Examinations for the stand-alone MA Degree in History at UIC

• The purpose of the preliminary examinations is to give students the opportunity to demonstrate a superior understanding of three areas of historical inquiry.
• Preliminary exams consist of three written examinations, one in a major field and two in minor fields. One of the two minor fields must be distinct in time and/or space from the major field. Students wishing to take a minor field offered by another department within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences must petition the Graduate Advisory Committee for approval.
• The Department of History administers preliminary examinations twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. Exams are held during a single week, with all three examinations made available via Blackboard at 9:00 a.m. on Monday and all three responses due via Blackboard by 9:00 a.m. the following Monday. Exams are graded in one of three ways: pass with distinction (for a performance of outstanding merit), pass, or fail. PhD students who receive marks of “pass with distinction” or “pass” are admitted to candidacy. Preliminary exams are evaluated by committees appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Ordinarily, the major field test is evaluated by three faculty members and each of the minor field tests by two faculty members. If the grades for a minor field exam are split (i.e., one reader grades the exam as a “pass” and the other grades the exam as “fail”), the DGS will ask a third reader to evaluate the exam and cast the deciding vote.
• Students who fail a field exam may re-take that exam up to two more times (for a total of three attempts). Students will be reexamined only on the fields that they failed. Should a student fail a minor field, the student may choose to be examined again in a different minor field. The student may exercise this option to change a minor field only once. Students who fail any written exam three times will have their status in the program automatically reviewed by the GAC, with dismissal from the program a possible outcome. Students who fail one or more exam fields may petition to retake those fields before the next regularly scheduled exam period.

Preparing for Exams

Major field exams are generally based on colloquia readings and topics covered during the past three years. Typically, these fields are subdivided into thematic subfields that represent the most salient periods, themes, and conceptual frameworks within the overarching field. These subfields represent the areas of inquiry students of this subject would be expected to master. Each student prepares an individualized reading list based on the main themes in the field. Each theme should be covered, but not every work in every category need be on each student’s list. Students are responsible for developing their own minor field reading lists in conjunction with their advisers and other faculty in the minor field area.

Examination questions are often historiographical and analytical and are not necessarily restricted to topics covered in particular graduate courses. For this reason, it is extremely important for students to consult with their exam committees  in order to become familiar with their expectations. Students are strongly encouraged to consult the most recently administered tests for their selected fields, as well as a range of course syllabi. The most recent version of written tests in most fields, as well as many course syllabi, are available from the Graduate Program Coordinator. Only one back exam will be made available to students requesting sample exams.

Exam readers will be selected during the semester preceding each exam and the identity of the readers for each field will be made known to the students at that time. Readers will also receive the names and contact information for all exam takers in their fields.

Students are strongly encouraged to meet with the chairs of their exam committees. In large fields (such as U.S. history) committee chairs may prefer to organize one general meeting for all exam takers rather than meeting individually with a relatively large number of students.

Students may petition to take up to one minor field exam in an area not included in the History Department’s approved list. The petition must be endorsed by at least two faculty members who are competent to administer the exam. In certain circumstances, one or both faculty members may come from outside the Department of History. All petitions for special fields must be submitted for approval to the Graduate Advisory Committee. Petitions for special fields must be submitted at least one semester prior to the examination.

View the U.S. Major Field Exam Reading List here.

View the Modern European Major Field Exam Reading List here.

*note that these are not the final lists for any students, but rather a foundation from which to build your own list. Please read instructions on the document carefully and consult with your advisor and exam committee.

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. Note: All calendar dates are approximate. 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: Oct. 5.

Second semester:
For U.S. history students, take Hist 551(b).*
Possible semester for seminar.*
Second opportunity to apply to take foreign language exam: Feb. 1

Third semester:
Possible semester for seminar.
Last opportunity to apply for foreign language examination: Oct. 5. Must fulfill foreign language requirement this semester.

Fourth semester:
Apply for graduation (online): Feb. 1.
Apply to take comprehensive exams: Feb. 1
Comprehensive exams: March 20.

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.