The History Department offers a masters program that qualifies students for employment in a number of fields, including teaching and government research, though in past years a substantial number of people admitted to this program have ultimately gone on to pursue the Ph.D.Please note that the masters program only accepts students for the fall semester. Full-time students can normally expect to complete the program in three semesters.
The Department only admits a limited number of students to the master’s program each year, and interested students are strongly encouraged to contact the faculty members with whom they may be interested in working. Prospective students should be aware that funding opportunities for masters students are limited, as Graduate School regulations stipulate that students pursing only a master’s degree in a department that offers a doctoral degree cannot be awarded a teaching assistantship or similar forms of funding. For additional information on financial aid for masters students, see http://naples.cc.stonybrook.edu/Prov/financial.nsf.
I. PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Students in the masters program follow the same course of study as entering doctoral students. They are expected to develop a concentration in a region or period, or in an interdisciplinary field, and to conduct research in this area of concentration in the core seminar.
A. Coursework: The required coursework for the masters degree consists of 30 credit hours distributed in the following manner:
1. Core Seminar (HIS 525/526, 524/527, 3 credits each semester): This course provides an intensive, year-long introduction to historical theory and research and familiarizes students with the thematic organization of the Stony Brook graduate program. All full-time students in the master’s program are required to take this course, which is offered only as a fall/spring sequence, during their first year.
2. Two Field Seminars (3 credits each): The department offers a number of field seminars designed to familiarize students with the history and historiography of specific regions. These courses include HIS 501/502, 521/522, 541/542, 561, and 562. These courses are offered–at minimum–on a two-year cycle, though many of them are offered each year. Students choosing to concentrate in the history of a specific region are encouraged, but not required, to complete both parts of the field seminar sequence where available.
3. Two Theme Seminars (3 credits each): The theme seminars are the heart of the department’s commitment to the theoretically-informed, interdisciplinary study of history. Theme seminars are offered in the following areas: 1)Women, Gender, Sexuality and Reproduction; 2)Nation-State and Civil Society; 3)Empire, Modernity, and Globalization; and 4)Environment, Science and Health. A minimum of two theme seminars are offered each semester. Topics change regularly, and students are free to choose among the theme seminars being offered.
4. Four Electives (3 credits each): The remaining 12 credits can be selected from Field Seminars, Theme Seminars, the graduate courses offered in conjunction with other departments (e.g. sociology, Africana Studies, and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies), and Workshops.
Below is one sample course of study for students in the masters program:
Fall
HIS 524: Core Seminar
HIS 521: Field Seminar - United States History to the Civil War
HIS 584: Workshop (elective)
HIS 5XX: Theme seminar
Spring
HIS 526: Core Seminar
HIS 522: Field Seminar - United States History since the Civil War
HIS 584: Workshop (elective)
HIS 5XX: Theme seminar (elective)
Summer
HIS 561: Field Seminar - Asian History (elective)
HIS ***: Orals Workshop (elective)
B. Language Requirement: Master’s students with a concentration in European history must pass a written exam in an appropriate foreign language, and students in Latin American history must pass a written exam in Spanish or Portuguese. The other areas of concentration currently do not require a foreign language for the master’s degree.
C. Oral Examination: By the second semester in the program the student in consultation with her/his advisor should name two other members of the department as her/his examination committee. The committee will help the student define her/his examination field based on her/his coursework and reading in the program.
The oral examination is taken at the end of the student’s course of study. By the end of the semester that precedes the examination, the student shall present to each member of the examining committee a list of books read. At that time the committee shall advise the student of any additional reading to be completed before the examination. This reading may be completed as part of an orals workshop during the semester of the examination. The student should see the Graduate Program Coordinator to set the time and date of the examination. The examination will be oral, approximately two hours in length, and based on the student’s examination field. The committee will grade the examination “pass with distinction”, “pass”, or “fail”.
II. Advising
Upon acceptance of the student into the graduate program, the graduate director will assign the student an advisor based on the interests identified by the student in her/his application to the program. If the student decides to make a significant change in field of interest, her/his advisor should be changed accordingly, in consultation with the graduate director.
The advisor will meet with each advisee during the registration period of the first semester to discuss the structure and requirments of the program and the student’s individual course of study. The advisor will meet with the student for the same purpose each semester. Course and requirement check-off sheets will be given to the student each semester, which will be filled out for the Department’s Graduate Office in consultation with the advisor.
The advisor will be present and participate in the annual Faculty Meeting and Student Conference, where departmental instructors discussion each student’s overall performance and progress over the school year (see below). In general, the advisor will meet with the student regularly as she/he progresses through the program.
III. Master’s Students Seeking to Enter the Ph.D. Program
Master’s students seeking to continue into the Ph.D. program must submit a formal application to the Graduate School. Admission into the Ph.D. program is not guaranteed.
Friday, September 26th, 2008
Please click here for this fall’s schedule of papers and speakers in this initiative. The series is a collaborative effort of the History and Sociology Departments at Stony Brook.
