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The history department offers a major, minor and electives for undergraduates, an accelerated B.A./M.A. fifth-year free option for qualified Clark undergraduates, and a Ph.D. program. |
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Accelerated B.A./M.A Program
Overview
The M.A. in History provides the highly-motivated student with an opportunity
to work intensively under the direction of one or two faculty members, as junior
and senior honors students in upper-level undergraduate courses that include
graduate students, and as M.A. students working in a graduate seminar with Ph.D.
students, in upper-level undergraduate courses that include graduate students,
and in individually-designed tutorials under the direction of a faculty advisor.
By undertaking intensive research in primary sources in the undergraduate
honors program, students are typically able to complete the Master's degree in
only one additional year beyond the B.A. degree.
Departmental eligibility requirements
The M.A. in history is open only to Clark history undergraduate majors who
successfully complete the honors program in history.
Program of Study
In the senior year, students take eight courses, three of which are in
the Honors Program: one directed
readings course (299.1) in the general area of the student's research, and two
Honors Thesis courses, one each semester, in which the student conducts research
in primary sources and completes an honors thesis (followed by an oral defense
with the thesis advisor and one other department faculty member).
Typically, of the five remaining courses, the student would probably take
several other history courses, mostly at the 200 level.>
Several of these would likely be related to the student's area of
specialization. Our students
typically specialize in the main areas of our graduate program, American History
or Holocaust History, because these are the only areas in which we regularly
offer upper-level undergraduate research seminars and graduate seminars.
In the fifth year, the student typically takes one graduate seminar each
semester, one 200-level course (with an additional graduate level assignment
such as a research paper), and one directed readings or directed research course
on a tutorial basis.
Typically, the directed research or the graduate seminar is
taken for two academic credits, so that the student takes four graduate credit
units each semester.
The M.A. student
has two options in fulfilling the research requirement for the master's degree:
Option 1:
the traditional master's thesis, which is usually done over two semesters (one thesis research course each semester) often with the writing being completed after the academic year is finished. While this is recommended for those students who intend to continue on in a Ph.D. program, it is difficult to complete all the required course work and a master's thesis within one academic year.
the
traditional master's thesis, which is usually done over two semesters (one
thesis research course each semester) often with the writing being completed
after the academic year is finished.
While
this is recommended for those students who intend to continue on in a Ph.D.
program, it is difficult to complete all the required course work and a master's
thesis within one academic year.
Option 2: one research paper in each semester (either from a graduate seminar or a
directed research course. The two
research papers are usually revised (on the advice of one or more faculty
members) and then submitted to the director of graduate studies who, with one or
more other faculty members, determine that the two research papers are the
equivalent in research experience to the traditional master's thesis.
Program Advisor (Signature Required on Application: Part 1)
Professor Drew McCoy
508-793-7789
dmccoy
Advice for Students
The most important advice for students wishing to enter the B.A./M.A. program in
history is that they need to acquire the necessary research and writing skills
as an undergraduate in order to complete the rigorous research requirements for
the master's degree within one year. The
student ideally should decide by the sophomore year to become a History major,
and should take History 120, Writing History, in the second semester of the
sophomore year. Then in the junior
year, the student should take several 200-level history courses, and at least
one seminar, in preparation for the honors program in History in the senior
year. The honors program, with
three courses in the senior year, two of which are devoted to research and
writing the honors thesis, provides excellent training for the rigors of
graduate-level work in the fifth year.
Student Profiles
- Melodee Beals completed her B.A. in 2004 and her M.A. in 2005. Her senior
honors thesis, directed by Professor Greenwood, was entitled, “Caledonian
Canaan: Scottish Cultural Identity in Colonial New England.” Building on her
honors thesis, she wrote a master’s thesis, directed by Professor Klooster,
“Thinning Acquaintances: National, Familial, and Commercial Identity in the
British Atlantic World, 1740-1840.” Melodee’s research in Scottish history
has led her to the University of Glasgow where she is pursuing a doctorate.
- Jeffrey Malanson completed his B.A. in 2003 and his M.A. in 2004. Working
with Professor McCoy, Jeff wrote an honors thesis on “The Symbiotic Evolution
and Complex Relationship of the Electoral College and Political Parties.” His
master's thesis, “The Monroe Doctrine Revisited: Its Origin, Principles, and
Intent,” was directed by Professor Klooster. Jeff is currently working on
his Ph.D in American history at Boston College.
- Lisa Donofrio completed her B.A. in 2003 and her M.A. in 2005. She pursued her interests in the Holocaust, African American slavery,
and women’s history in her honors thesis, “Blessed Burden: A Comparative
Analysis of Motherhood as Experienced by Jewish Women during the Holocaust and
African-American Women during Slavery,” directed by Professor Greenwood. Lisa
completed her M.A. with two original research papers: one that analyzed letters
of ex-slaves to their former masters in the U.S. South after their migration
to Liberia; and second paper that compared domestic service among black women
in the Jim Crow South and South Africa during apartheid. Lisa currently works
for a social services agency in Pittsburgh.
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Academic Catalog & Requirements
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Additional Resources
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