/Institutions/Catholic-University-of-America/json/2023-2024/Graduate-Announcements-local.json

/Institutions/Catholic-University-of-America/json/2023-2024/Graduate-Announcements.json

Graduate Announcements > School of Arts and Sciences > Departments and Programs in the School of Arts and Sciences > Department of History

Department of History

Professors	Katherine L. Jansen; Michael C. Kimmage, Chair; Nelson H. Minnich; Lawrence R. Poos; Árpád von Klimó
Professors Emeriti	Uta-Renata Blumenthal; Ronald S. Calinger; John E. Lynch; Timothy Meagher; Leslie Woodcock Tentler; Jerry Z. Muller
Associate Professors	Thomas Cohen; Jennifer Davis; Laura E. Nym Mayhall; Caroline R. Sherman; Stephen A. West; Julia Young; Lev Weitz
Assistant Professors	Samuel K. Fisher
Clinical Associate Professor	Jennifer Paxton
Clinical Assistant Professor	Seth Smith
Affiliate	William Klingshirn
Visiting Professors	Massimo Ceresa

The department offers a B.A./M.A., an M.A. and a Ph.D. in history, as well as joint programs at the M.A. level with the Department of Library and Information Science, the Department of Education, and the Columbus School of Law. The joint M.A./M.S.L.I.S. and M.A./J.D. programs integrate history with professional training.

The focus at the M.A. level is on building a broad understanding of the historical development, critical historical issues, and research methodologies in one of three broad fields of history (Medieval Europe, Modern Europe, or United States), or in the special field Religion and Society in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World. Within these fields, no subfields are formally recognized. Thus, for example, while a student may have a strong interest in colonial United States history the student must also take courses on the nineteenth and twentieth century United States and will be expected to be conversant with the major issues of the entire period before completing the M.A. While it has special requirements (see below and consult the departmental website), the special field in Religion and Society in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World shares this characteristic.

At the Ph.D. level, the reverse expectations hold. A student works with faculty to develop three narrow fields of specialization-one defined as a major field and two as minor fields. The emphasis in the major field is on the development of depth of understanding and preparation for the Ph.D. dissertation. Students must expect to work very closely with individual faculty members and take courses that are closely focused.

Acceptable grades for a graduate student are A, A-, B+, B and B-. The University also records grades of C, but in the Department of History, although a student may receive University credit for completion of this course, any course receiving a grade below B- does not count towards a degree program. Any student incurring more than one grade below B- (“C” or “F”) in a program may be dismissed.

Master of Arts

The M.A. requires completion of a minimum of 30 credit hours (10 courses) beyond the bachelor's degree. These courses must include HIST 601 and at least two research seminars (800-level courses or 700-level directed research). In consultation with the DGS and his or her advisor, a student may choose whether or not to write a thesis in lieu of the two research papers for the M.A. degree; those who choose the thesis option will register for six credit hours of thesis direction toward their minimum required credits.

Completion of the degree further requires satisfactory performance on a comprehensive examination in the student's chosen area of study (medieval or modern European, U.S., or Religion and Society in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World). Every student must also satisfy a language requirement, to be completed prior to the taking of the comprehensive examination. For most areas of study this requires qualification in a minimum of one language, but for medieval European history, two (typically Latin plus one other modern language). Satisfaction of the language requirement may be by any of the means outlined in the General Information section of these Announcements or by passing the Department of History language exam. Elementary language courses primarily concerned with grammar or reading comprehension do not count toward the minimum number of credit hours required for the degree. All M.A. students must also deposit copies of two research seminar papers with the department DGS. Students who choose the thesis option must register twice for thesis guidance and have the topic approved by the faculty and the dean. They will be awarded six hours of credit upon successful completion of the thesis.

The department offers a special M.A. degree program with a concentration in Religion and Society in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World. This program is designed for students who wish to study the historical dimensions of religion and religious experience in the period from the 14th to the 18th century in Western Europe and the Western Hemisphere. The requirements for this degree are essentially the same as for the regular M.A. degree except that students will concentrate their studies in a range of courses relevant to the program. The comprehensive examination will reflect the specific focus of this program.

Joint M.A. Programs

In addition to the regular M.A. program outlined above, the department cooperates with the Columbus School of Law and with the Departments of Library and Information Science and of Education.

1. The BA/MA Program in History

The BA/MA program offers students the opportunity to earn both degrees on an accelerated basis. Students accepted into the program may count up to four courses (12 credit hours) toward both the BA and the MA, thereby reducing the number of courses ordinarily required for the two degrees if pursued separately, and making it possible to earn both degrees in five academic years.

Successful completion of the program requires careful planning; any student interested in the program should meet with the department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) and Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) as early as possible during undergraduate study in order to discuss and plan.

There are two stages of application to the program:

Application to participate: this should be filed by the end of the sophomore year. Eligibility requires a CUA cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

A student intending to apply to the program should meet with the DUS and the DGS to plan a series of graduate-level courses to be taken during the junior and senior years and to be designated as counting toward both BA and MA degrees. Students should be aware that the eventual MA degree will be in one of the areas offered by the department (Medieval Europe, Modern Europe, Religion and Society in the Late Medieval and Early Modern World, United States), and so the courses planned must fall into the area that the applicant intends to study at the master’s level.

The application form (obtainable from the School of Arts and Sciences, 107 McMahon) requires approval by the chair of the department, the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs of the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs of the School of Arts and Sciences.

The ordinary expectation is that a student in the program will take one graduate-level course each semester during the junior and senior year. (No student in the program may take more than two graduate-level courses in one semester before completion of the BA degree.)

Ordinarily, a student in the program will write the undergraduate senior thesis in the fall of senior year, and will do so by participating in one of the regularly scheduled sections of senior thesis seminar (HIST 496); that seminar must fall within the area in which the student will pursue the MA (as above). However, a student doing so should register for graduate-level directed research (HIST 793), and will be graded by graduate standards. This will meet both the senior thesis requirement for the BA and one of the two research seminars required for the MA. Students who do this will be eligible for consideration for the Zeender Prize for best senior thesis.

Application for admission for the MA: this should be filed in the fall of the senior year. The department’s graduate admissions committee will evaluate the application, and performance in graduate-level courses taken up to that point will be an important criterion for acceptance. Students in the BA/MA program do not need to take the GRE examination. The application is online at https://www.catholic.edu/admission/graduate/index.html

In all other respects except those noted above (the double-counting of up to four courses toward both BA and MA, and the arrangement for senior thesis to count as one of the two research seminars required for the MA), students in the program must meet all the requirements for the MA degree as specified in the department’s graduate studies handbook, available at http://history.catholic.edu/graduate/Handbook.cfm

There are time limitations within which each part of the BA/MA program must be completed; for this, students should consult the general policy of the School of Arts and Sciences for BA/MA and BS/MS programs at http://arts-sciences.catholic.edu/undergraduate/advising-handbook/formbama.cfm

2. J.D./M.A. Program.

Admission to the law school is a prerequisite for the joint J.D./M.A. program. Nine law credits can be applied toward the minimum of 30 credits required for the M.A. in History. Students fulfill all other requirements for the Master's degree: proficiency in a modern language, minimum G.P.A of 3.0, two research seminars, satisfactory performance on the comprehensive exam. For further information regarding this option, contact the department Director of Graduate Studies.

3. M.A./M.S.L.I.S Program.

The joint program leading to an M.A. in history and an M.S.L.I.S. in library and information science requires a total of 51 credit hours (30 in library and information science and 21 in history). The history segment of the program requires that the student follow the non-thesis option and complete HIST 601, one research seminar (800-level courses or 700-level directed research), and five more courses (readings courses or research seminars) in the student's chosen area of history. Nine credits are transferred from the M.S.L.I.S. in library and information science program to complete the degree. The student must also satisfy the requirements for a comprehensive examination and languages described above. For information on the M.S.L.I.S. in library and information science requirements, consult the Department of Library and Information Science section of these Announcements.

4. M.A./M.A. in Secondary Education Program.

The joint program leading to an M.A. in history and an M.A. in secondary education requires 24 credit hours in secondary education courses, 12 credit hours (one semester) of full-time student teaching, and 21 credit hours in history of which one course (3 credit hours) must be HIST 601. The joint program thus requires a total of 57 credit hours, as opposed to 72 for the two degrees taken separately. Insofar as history is concerned, most other requirements apply as for the basic M.A.: students in the joint program must meet the same language requirement and take the same comprehensive exams, although the joint program requires one research seminar instead of the two required for the basic M.A.

In addition, applicants should demonstrate undergraduate coursework in the following fields: geography, economics, civics, anthropology and/or sociology. Lack of prior work in these fields does not limit the possibility of an applicant being accepted into the program, but applicants without such preparation may need to complete additional courses required for licensure in secondary social studies teaching before beginning student teaching. A transcript analysis will determine if additional coursework is necessary to meet licensure requirements.

Doctor of Philosophy

The Ph.D. requires completion of a minimum of 54 credit hours (18 courses) beyond the bachelor's degree. At the end of the first semester of residency, a departmental committee reviews the grades and performance in the semester's courses and evaluates good progress. In the case of students entering the Ph.D. program with an M.A. degree already obtained from another institution, the department may transfer a maximum of 24 credit hours (eight courses) toward the minimum required for the Ph.D. The 54 credit hours must include HIST 601 (or its equivalent from another institution's graduate program) and a minimum of four research seminars (800-level courses or 700-level directed research, though HIST 603 can be substituted for one of the seminars). An M.A. thesis in history from another institution may take the place of two of these seminars

Further, the Ph.D. requires satisfactory performance on comprehensive examinations in one major and two minor fields of historical study, which are defined through consultation with each student's adviser. Every student must also satisfy a language requirement prior to the taking of the comprehensive examinations: for most areas of study this requires qualification in a minimum of two languages, but for medieval European history, three (Latin plus two others). Satisfaction of the language requirement may be by any of the means outlined in the General Information section of these Announcements or by passing the Department of History language exam. Elementary language courses primarily concerned with grammar or reading comprehension do not count toward the minimum number of credit hours required for the degree.

Finally, the Ph.D. requires completion of a dissertation under the direction of faculty advisers and the dissertation's satisfactory defense.

Every Ph.D. student's program of study is tailored to that student's particular fields of focus, which in turn are intended to relate to the nature of the eventual dissertation research. Students must thus work closely with their mentors, and student and mentor together must make every effort to define the comprehensive examination fields and the curriculum necessary to prepare for them as early as possible in the student's progress through the program. Within two or three semesters of entering the Ph.D. program, each student must have a colloquy--a formal meeting with the faculty members expected to participate in examinations in that student's major and minor fields--in order to define the nature of the fields and to specify remaining coursework necessary to prepare for each field. The report of the colloquy committee remains part of the student's departmental file as a guideline for completion of studies. One of the minor fields may be in a discipline entirely outside history (such as literature, political science, or anthropology, for example).

The department has a limited number of merit-based, tuition-remission scholarships, endowed stipends and stipendiary teaching assistantships to offer graduate students, and reviews the credentials of all applicants to identify potential candidates for such awards.

A more complete set of instructions regarding all aspects of the graduate degree programs may be obtained from the department's Website.