As our Alumni page testifies, the M.A. program is flexible enough to meet a number of career objectives. Full-time students seeking a terminal Masters degree, for example, can complete the program in one calendar year (two semesters plus summer course work). Alternatively, students seeking in depth preparation for a Ph.D. program usually extend their full-time study into the second year. This is particularly advisable for students on thesis track. The program gives students wide latitude in developing their course of study. The department offers a diverse array of courses ranging from thematic seminars on social, cultural and women's history to more 'traditional' subjects such as the Enlightenment, the American Revolution, Modern Latin America, and the US Civil War. A centerpiece of the program is a required course, Historiography, that introduces students to the methodologies and theoretical frameworks that historians employ. Normally taken in the student's first semester of study, Historiography serves as the foundation for subsequent course work, independent research and/or thesis preparation.

II. Thesis Track

The M.A. with Thesis involves 30 semester hours, up to six of which may be completed as HIS 5950 (thesis credit). Students on the thesis track work closely with their intended thesis advisor to prepare a Thesis Proposal, submitted normally in the second semester of course work. The Proposal must outline an original research project, the methodology to be employed, and must include a substantial bibliography of relevant primary and secondary sources. The proposal must be approved by the Graduate Studies Committee before a student is permitted to enroll in HIS 5950. Once approved, students writing a thesis should obtain a Thesis Manual from the Graduate School. The thesis must conform to the rules and mechanics of the most recent edition of Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers. The thesis director and two other readers with professional knowledge in the topic area (one of whom may be outside the History Department) must approve the completed work. The thesis director and at least one of the final readers shall also sit on the individual's oral examination committee.

HISTORY (M.A. with thesis)

Approved History courses numbered 4750 or above* . . . . . . . . 21 s.h.
HIS 5000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 s.h.
HIS 5950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 s.h.
TOTAL. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 s.h.

Students with American and European concentrations complete at least 18 semester hours (including HIS 5950) in their field of concentration, and 9 semester hours in the student's minor field. Those with a Modern World concentration complete at least 18 credits in non-Western history (post 1700), 6 credits in European, 3 credits in US.
*No more than 12 s.h. in courses numbered 4750-4999 may be applied to the degree. If a student can demonstrate that graduate courses in other disciplines are necessary to his or her goals, the Coordinator may approve a limited number of hours outside of History.

Recent theses include:

-Ervin, Ryan, “The Slave Trade, the Constitutional Convention, and the Compromises that Led to Union: A Reinterpretation (M.A., 2006, Honorable Mention EIU Distinguished Master Thesis Award)

-Bell, David, “The Battle for the University: The Vietnam-Era Student Movement at Universities in Central Illinois (M.A., 2004, Honorable Mention EIU Distinguished Master Thesis Award)

- Bailey, Christopher, "Saxo Grammaticus: History and the Rise of National Identity in Medieval Denmark" (M.A., 2002, EIU Distinguished Master Thesis Award)

-Aydt, Gregory, "A Radical Cure: Thomas Dimsdale, Radical Republicanism, and the Montana Vigilantes during the Civil War" (M.A., 1999, EIU Distinguished Master Thesis Award)

-Wuthrich, Bryan, "The New Frontier: The Presidential Election Campaign of JFK" (M.A., 1999).

-Dove, Alexander James. "The Autumnal Celebrations of the Ritual Calendar Year in the later-Stuart Period." (M.A., 1997)

-Crawford, Kristan J. "'Exciting the Rabble to Riots and Mobbing': Community, Public Rituals, and Popular Disturbances in Eighteenth-Century Virginia (M.A., 1995).

-McGuffee, Vernon A. "A Fabric Unravelled: The Rise of Party Politics in York, England, 1679-88" (M.A., 1994).

-Pfanzelter, Eva. "The South Tyrol and the Principle of Self-Determination: An Analysis of a Minority Problem." (M.A., 1994)

III. Non-Thesis Track
(32 semester hours)

HISTORY (M.A. without thesis)

Approved History courses numbered 4750 or above* . . . . . . .29 s.h.
HIS 5000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .3 s.h.
TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 s.h.

Students with American and European concentrations complete at least 18 semester hours (including HIS 5950) in their field of concentration, and 9 semester hours in the student's minor field. Those with Modern World concentrations complete at least 18 credits in non-Western history (post 1700), 6 credits in European, 3 credits in US.
*No more than 12 s.h. in courses numbered 4750-4999 may be applied to the degree. If a student can demonstrate that graduate courses in other disciplines are necessary to his or her goals, the Coordinator may approve a limited number of hours outside of History.

IV. Study Plan & Bibliography

During the first semester of course work, the student chooses a history professor to mentor the student's progress in his or her intended concentration. The student should meet with the mentor (as well as the graduate coordinator) from time to time to monitor progress towards exams. A formal study plan should be approved by the department graduate coordinator and filed in the Graduate School, at the beginning of the last semester in which the student is enrolled in courses counting toward the graduate degree. The student must also contact professors who agree to serve as exam committee members based on the student's concentration at that time. Also in their last semester, all students prepare a bibliography of all works read during their graduate studies, which becomes the basis for their written and oral exams.

V. Examinations

All candidates must pass written comprehensive examinations in the student's concentration and an oral comprehensive examination in both concentration and minor field upon completion of all course work, and submit a graded and revised research paper and a bibliography of works read during their graduate studies.

Unless modified by agreement with the coordinator, European concentration exams will be composed of questions on early modern (1500-1815) and modern (1815-present) Europe; American concentration exams will be composed of questions on colonial to Reconstruction (to 1877) and Reconstruction to the present (from 1877). One of these examiners shall be considered the student's chief examiner and shall also chair the oral examination. The two additional members of the oral examination committee shall represent the other part of the major and the minor areas of concentration. Modern World concentration exams cover the period from 1700, and committee makeup consists of two faculty members with specialization in African, Asian, or Latin American History, and one member specializing in either European or American History.

The written comprehensive exam shall consist of answering four out of six broad area questions and should be taken during the term in which course work is completed. The exam will be graded pass/fail by two examiners within the department who specialize in the principal area of concentration. Those students whose written exams (both parts) are awarded a "pass with distinction" by both readers from the committee may be awarded (upon the approval of the full exam committee) the same "pass with distinction" on the certificate of comprehensive knowledge (and upon the transcript) upon successful completion of the oral examination. The oral examination lasts approximately an hour and can be taken only after the successful completion of the written comprehensive and all required course work (except finals for that semester). If needed, there is a 60-day waiting period before a second exam may be taken.

NOTE: Students who receive a failing grade on either portion of the examination in three successive attempts forfeit the right to earn their degree.

Contact:

Dr. Edmund Wehrle

Graduate Coordinator

History Department

Eastern Illinois University

600 Lincoln Avenue

Charleston, IL  61920



Fax: 217-581-7233

Telephone: 217-581-6372

E-mail: efwehrle@eiu.edu