Program Requirements
In consultation with an advisor, each degree candidate will develop a plan of study which includes course work at both institutions. The plan of study must be submitted to the Program Director upon completion of the first six hours or the first semester of graduate work.
In addition to lectures and examinations, graduate courses demand wide reading, thorough research, and advanced historical writing. Only graduate students admitted to the MA program will be automatically enrolled, but non-degree students and exceptional undergraduates-upper division majors in history and related disciplines-may be enrolled, in 500-level courses. For this, however, they will need permission from the instructor and are expected to have a minimum GPA of 3.4 in history courses. No more than two 500-level courses may be taken by an undergraduate. 600- and 700-level courses are for MA program students exclusively.
The Master of Arts in History is conferred upon those candidates who successfully complete an approved program of study consisting of a minimum of 33 semester hours of graduate credit with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. Twelve credit hours must be taken at the College of Charleston.
The program offers two tracks, according to students’ career goals:
- Thesis track students must take one research seminar, HIST 801 and HIST 802 , and successfully defend their thesis.
- Non-thesis track students must take one research seminar, preferably within their area of concentration, two elective courses, HIST 803 , and a comprehensive exam in two distinct areas.
For students who will write a Master’s thesis, the distribution of courses follows this general scheme:
- Major area: 12 hours
- Minor area: 6 hours
- Historiography: 3 hours
- Third area: 3 hours*
- Electives: 3 hours**
- HIST 801 , HIST 802 , 6 hours
The coursework above must include one research seminar, preferably taken in the student’s major area of concentration.
For students who will take the comprehensive examination, the distribution of courses follows this general scheme:
- Major area: 12 hours
- Minor area: 6 hours
- Historiography: 3 hours
- Third area: 3 hours*
- Electives: 6 hours**
- HIST 803 , 3 hours
The coursework above must include one research seminar, preferably taken in the student’s major area of concentration.
*All students must take at least three hours in each area offered by the program (US, Europe, World).
**In history or a related discipline in the humanities or social sciences. Students must obtain prior approval from their campus program director to take a non-history elective. A specific number of courses must be distributed between both institutions.
All students are encouraged to attain proficiency in a foreign language. There is no formal requirement for all students in the program to demonstrate language proficiency at a certain level. However, depending upon the program, a candidate may be required by the advisor to demonstrate mastery of an appropriate foreign language, indicated by the satisfactory use of source material or literature in the relevant foreign language in seminar or research work.
African American Studies Emphasis
Students who elect this option must meet all the normal requirements by the master’s degree. In addition, they must complete one of the two courses of study below and all courses must meet the approval of the graduate program director.
Thesis Option:
- 6 hours in African American oriented history
- 3 approved hours in another discipline
- 6 hours in an African American oriented thesis
Non-Thesis Option:
- 9 hours in African American oriented history
- 3 approved hours in another discipline
- 3 hours in African American oriented independent study or similar (i.e., research seminar)
Three hours of independent study on an African American topic may be included as part of the nine hours of course work.
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