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Master of Arts

Why Graduate Study at GSU?

Graduate study provides an opportunity for teachers to continue their study and pursue their own academic interests. For many, graduate study can also serve as a way to obtain training in specialized subject areas, build credentials and improve opportunities for career advancement. But above all, for those who care about history, graduate school is an opportunity to expand one’s knowledge of the rich and varied cultures, ideas, and experiences of the past. Moreover, graduate study affords a unique opportunity to pursue those interests in small seminars and one-on-one study with faculty.

Degree and Non-Degree Options

Georgia State University’s M.A. and Ph.D. programs provide students a broad, flexible course of study that includes coursework in World, European and American History. Our faculty have worked with students on a wide range of research projects, from local research on Atlanta to global perspectives on world history. We also offer specialized courses of study at the M.A. level in World History, Public History and Heritage Preservation as well as a thesis and a non-thesis option. The non-thesis option is based primarily on coursework. The thesis option culminates in an independent research project supervised by a faculty advisor.

For students interested in preparing for subject certification or continuing their own education, but not interested in seeking an M.A. or Ph.D. degree, the history department also offers opportunities for non-degree students to take graduate-level history classes in all areas of our curriculum. In both the M.A. and Ph.D. programs, students have an opportunity to define their own fields of specialization and their own research specialty.

For additional information on our program and areas of study, please see the links at right.

Program Requirements

M.A. students are required to take a total of nine courses. These courses include:

  1. Six courses in history. Four of these must be courses offered exclusively for graduate students. For students entering after Fall 2005, one of these six courses must be a research seminar. These six courses should include:
    1. One course in U.S. history
    2. One course in European history
    3. One course in African, Asian, Latin American, or Middle Eastern history
    4. Hist 8000 Introduction to Historical Methods and Theory (4)
    5. One course from among History 7010, 7020, or 7030. (This course may also be used to satisfy a., b., or c. above.)
    6. One (or two) courses of electives in history, in order to reach a total of six. Two courses in a related field of study, which may be in the Department of History or another academic department.
  2. History 8005 Introduction to Graduate Studies in History
  3. Proficiency in one alternate language
  4. A general oral examination to be taken within one semester after completion of coursework. This examination will be conducted by a committee that will consist of at least three faculty members with whom the student has taken coursework. The examination may be repeated once following a minimum interval of three months. A student who fails the examination for the second time will be subject to scholastic termination. Committees for both the thesis and the nonthesis option are nominated by the student and appointed by the chair of the department.
Thesis Option:
  1. One course in Hist 8999 Thesis Research
  2. A thesis prospectus, approved by a director and a second reader, and a thesis.
Non-Thesis Option:
  1. Three additional graduate history classes. When possible, these classes should be chosen to form a concentration. Concentrations can be defined geographically (as in Areas A, B. or C, see below) or thematically (as in Area D, see below), in consultation with the student’s advisor.
  2. A written examination, to be administered by an examination committee, which will consist of the advisor and one additional
    faculty member.