The Masters degree requires a total of nine courses: three in a first field (either a regional area emphasis or a thematic emphasis), two courses in a second field (either regional or thematic), a two-quarter research paper seminar (History 202/203), and two electives (taken either inside or outside the Department). Upon entering the program, Masters students choose a Department faculty member to serve as advisor and work closely with this mentor throughout the course of study. Masters students may write a thesis or take oral exams in a chosen field of study for degree conferral.

Historical fields are selected from courses with an area studies emphasis and/or courses with a thematic emphasis. The Department offers area studies fields in U.S. History (History 260ABC), Latin American History (History 250ABC), Asian History (History 280ABCD), Middle East and African History (History 275ABC), European History (History 220ABC), and World History (History 240ABC). Thematic fields and course offerings vary depending on demand and may include Gender and Sexuality; Global Migrations, Slavery, and Diasporas; Empire and Colonialism; Science and Medicine; and Environmental History.  Students usually select a first field with an area studies emphasis (Latin America; Europe, etc.) and a second field based either on a different area (Asia; World, etc.) or in a thematic emphasis (Gender and Sexuality; Science and Medicine; History and Theory, etc.)  Students pursing a thematic field may take one required course outside the History Department.

The History Department annually offers a two-quarter sequence in History and Theory (History 200A and History 200B), which is mandatory for Ph.D. students but is an elective or field option for Masters students.  These classes explore a variety of theoretical issues and methodological concerns that have sparked lively debate in the humanities and social sciences in past decades and which remain of urgent concern to twenty-first century historical writing. Topics may include the relationship between materialist approaches and cultural analysis; subjectivity and governance; gender and sexuality; ethnicity and racial formation; the politics of religion; "the archive" and archival practice; nationalism and post-colonialism; world history and transnational studies. Course readings comprise a mix of texts from different disciplines, encouraging students to think of history as a type of theory (arguments about the past) as well as to explore what other disciplinary approaches have to offer historical scholarship.

Masters students take a two-quarter course sequence in research and writing during the fall and winter quarter. The first quarter (History 202) focuses on a given thematic category or subject (history of gender, science, diaspora, etc.), followed by a second quarter seminar (History 203) in which students write a research paper on a topic of their choice, using methodologies and questions explored in the previous quarter.

Masters students have two options for a final capstone project.  In Option One, students write a Master’s thesis based on an expanded version of the required research seminar paper they completed for History 202.  The Masters thesis is supervised by a faculty advisor in the student’s major field and reviewed and approved by a three-member thesis committee, at least two of which must be Senate faculty members in the History Department. The second option, in lieu of a thesis, a candidate must pass a comprehensive two-hour examination administered by three faculty members covering the student’s major field. Students opting for an exam undertake an intensive readings course in their final quarter.

Students in the M.A. program whose major field requires use of foreign language sources demonstrate competence in a foreign language in the process of writing the first-year research paper and thesis. Other M.A. students do not have to meet a foreign language or alternative skills requirement.

The M.A. requires a minimum of three quarters in academic residence and can be completed during a single academic year of full-time study. Part-time enrollment is permitted to accommodate working students. Students are allowed up to three years of graduate study to complete the Masters.

Please see information for prospective students.