MA in History - Thesis Program in Local and Community History

Admission

Admission to the MA program in history requires completion of an undergraduate major in history, or a minimum of 18 credit hours of history; a grade point average of 2.750 or better, including all undergraduate credit hours; and a 3.000 grade point average in history. Under unusual circumstances applicants with less than a 3.000 average in history may be granted a probationary admission. Applicants must submit a one page statement of purpose, and a writing sample of no more than 20 pages to the graduate coordinator. International students are required to have a minimum TOEFL score of 600 paper-based, or 100 internet-based, or an overall band score of 7.5 on the IELTS, or a score of 73 on the PTE-Academic. The application deadline for domestic and U.S. resident students for fall admission is March 15 if they would like to be considered for a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) position, August 1 for non-GTA fall admission, and December 1 for spring admission. For international students, the deadlines are April 1 and August 1, respectively.

Program Requirements

Course Title Hours
HIST 519Introduction to Local and Community History3
HIST 725Advanced Historical Methods3
HIST 528History of Wichita3
or HIST 535 History of Kansas
Select one of the following courses (Note: Alternatives may be acceptable with consent of program director)3
Museum Administration
Internship Public History 1
Select 6 credit hours of seminar coursework from any combination of the following courses6
Seminar American History
Seminar European History
Select 12 credit hours of HIST 500- and 600-level courses12
HIST 802Thesis4
Total Credit Hours34
1

HIST 781 may be substituted for HIST 803 with the consent of the director of the local and community history program.

Comprehensive Fields

Students may select from the following areas for their comprehensive examinations:

  • U.S. history
  • Modern Europe
  • Local and community history

Written examinations will be scheduled to take place during a two week period following the spring and fall breaks.

Applied Learning

Students in the MA in history - thesis program in local and community history are required to complete an applied learning or research experience to graduate from the program. The requirement can be met by completing a thesis. Students are also required to take HIST 519 and HIST 725, which are both designed to have an applied learning component. Moreover students may take an internship/cooperative education program.