M.A. students are expected to enroll in three courses each semester. First-year Ph.D. students are as well. Some of the course options include:

History 606 – This is a course on historical methods and is required of all students.

Reading seminars – these courses are offered at the 600-level and introduce a student to the major historical problems of a field. They examine major works, conflicting interpretations, and the issues historians are currently debating. Usually, readings seminars require written work such as shorter book reviews, longer interpretive essays, or a longer historiographical review.

Research seminars – these courses are offered at the 700-level and are designed to teach students the methods of historical research and scholarly writing. Students are expected to produce a research paper of about 20-30 pages that is an original work based on primary sources.

Undergraduate lecture/discussion courses – The department’s 500-level courses are designed primarily for advanced undergraduate students, but graduate students may take these courses for graduate credit. Faculty members will usually require an additional written assignment of graduate students.

Independent study – History 695 is the department’s course designation for independent study or supervised readings. The department discourages this form of graduate training, but it recognizes the practical necessity of arranging for special topics tutorials for some students. Permission to enroll in 695 requires the completion of a contract form available from the DGS assistant and the final approval of the DGS.

M.A. thesis research – Students researching and writing an M.A. thesis may sign up for History 748.

M.A. residency status – students who are finishing the M.A. may register for History 768 if they have finished their course work and need to maintain their registration.

Ph.D. dissertation research – doctoral students who passed the qualifying examination must register for History 769 or 767 in order to fulfill the residency requirement.

An overview of the new 767 post-qualifying residency policy that first took effect in the fall of 2005...

Under the previous post-qualifying residency policy, students were required to register for two consecutive full-time (9  hours) or three consecutive part-time (6 hours or more) semesters of HIS-769 before they could graduate. The  semester of the qualifying examination counted toward this requirement if the examination was taken within the first 6  weeks. If more time was needed to complete the dissertation, students then registered in 769 (or 749) for 0 credit hours  each fall and spring semester until graduation.

Under the new post-qualifying residency policy, students are required to remain continuously enrolled in a new 2 credit  hour course, HIS-767 every fall and spring semester until they have completed and defended the dissertation. As with  769, two semesters of 767 must be completed to be eligible to graduate.

All students pay the in-state tuition rate plus mandatory fees for these two credit hours.

This new 767 post-qualifying residency policy applies to all students first enrolled in a doctoral program in the fall of 2005. According to University rules, any student who was first enrolled in a doctoral program before the beginning of the fall 2005 semester, but who has not yet taken the qualifying examination, may opt to follow either the old (769) or new post-qualifying residency policy. Doctoral students who opt for the old 769 policy must have maintained continuous enrollment in their program. Students who are readmitted to a program will be subject to the new 767 policy, if they have not yet taken the qualifying examination.