History Graduate FAQs
1. What are the requirements for admission to the MA program in History?
Minimum admission standards are a grade point average of 3.0 in the applicant’s major and 2.85 overall GPA in the last 60 units taken; a score of at least 500 on the verbal portion of the GRE exam; and 12 to 15 units of upper-division coursework in history. Please note that these are minimum standards and do not guarantee admission to our increasingly competitive program
2. How do I apply for admission?
Students should apply to the university on-line. Deadlines are listed. Please send your application and application fee, two copies of your official (sealed) transcripts of all college courses, and your GRE scores to Enrollment Services, Graduate Admissions Document Processing Unit, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-7416. All other supporting materials (a 400-word statement of purpose, two recommendations, and a brief writing sample, if desired) should be sent in one complete packet directly to the History Department, c/o the Graduate Advisor. Please include a stamped self-addressed postcard if you wish us to acknowledge receipt of your materials. ALL application materials (including GRE scores) must be received by March 15, 2008. For further information, email the History Graduate Advisor to request an information packet.
3. Can I apply to be admitted for spring semester?
No. The History Department is accepting applications only for fall admission.
4. If I haven’t taken enough History courses to apply, what should I do?
You can take 500-level courses (open to both upper-division undergraduates and graduate students) through Open University at SDSU, if there is space and the course instructor agrees. You can also take upper-division History courses at other universities.
5. If I don’t meet the requirements for admission, can I be admitted conditionally?
No. The History Department is no longer admitting students conditionally.
6. What are the course requirements for an MA degree in History?
The requirements for a Master of Arts in history are the satisfactory completion of 30 units, usually ten separate courses. A student is required to take a minimum of four 600-level courses (12 units). A student may take a maximum of four 500-level courses (12 units). Students may elect either Plan A, the normal option, requiring a thesis, or, in special circumstances and with the prior approval of the graduate adviser and the student's major professor, Plan B, requiring a comprehensive written and oral examination in both a major and minor field of history chosen in consultation with the graduate adviser. Required courses are History 601, 665; six units selected from History 620, 630, 640, 650, or 680; History 797; and History 799A for those students electing Plan A. Students approved for Plan B shall meet the same course requirements as those enrolling in Plan A, except that they must enroll in History 795 (three units) and one additional three-unit history course numbered from 620 to 680 in place of History 797 and 799A.
With the approval of the graduate advisor, a student may substitute up to 6 units of special study, HIST 798, or up to 6 units earned outside the department, for up to 6 units of electives.
7. When should I take History 601?
You should take History 601 in your first semester as a graduate student in History. It will introduce you to the professional study of history, to various approaches to historical analysis and writing, and to your fellow graduate students.
8. When should I take History 665?
History 665 is the capstone research seminar in our program. It launches most students on their thesis research in a seminar setting. It should be taken near the end of your 500- and 600-level coursework, after 601 and at least one other 600-level course (620, 630, 640, 650, or 680) are completed. It may be taken concurrently with your last 600-level course and/or with History 797.
9. How long does it take to complete an MA in History?
A full-time student may complete the program in two years. Most of our graduate students, who work part-time or full-time, take three or more years.
10. How can I fulfill the language requirement?
You are required to demonstrate competency in one foreign language. This competency may be demonstrated by the successful completion of 12-15 units of university-level coursework in one foreign language, through the intermediate level. Competency may also be shown through successful completion of an examination involving translation of a written passage into English. Such exams are offered routinely by several of the language departments on campus. Competency in a computer language or statistics may be substituted, with the graduate advisor’s permission, only in rare cases where such competency is directly related to a student's thesis.
11. What is an official program of study and when should I file it?
The Official Program is an official list of the 30 units that a student will use to satisfy the requirements for the MA degree. It is the document that the Graduate Division will use to evaluate the student's application for graduation and completion of their degree. Successful filing of the official program triggers the student's "Advancement to Candidacy," which establishes her/his eligibility for graduation.
A student may file an official program with the university after completing 12 units of coursework (which may be as early as the beginning of the second semester). However, since the department's future offerings may not be known at this time, it is advisable for most students to wait until their third semester on campus to file their official program. Students must complete official programs and advance to candidacy before the beginning of the semester in which they will graduate.
Once the official program has been filed, there are strict rules governing alteration. Completed courses may not be removed from an official program once it has been approved. It is possible to petition the Graduate Division for a substitution for courses that have yet to be completed.
12. Do I have to file an official program of study before taking History 797 or 799?
Yes. There is often a delay of several weeks while the Graduate Division reviews the official program, so you should file at least six weeks before you plan to enroll in History 797 or 799.
13. How do I enroll in History 797?
The History Department controls access to History 797. Students must obtain a Special Study form from the History Department office. Working with one advising professor, they complete a brief description of the research project and the specific requirements for the semester. Once the form is completed, the student must receive signatures from the advising faculty member, the History graduate advisor and the chair of the department. After submitting a completed form to the department office, the student receives an add code for the course.
14. How do I enroll in History 799A?
Access to History 799A is controlled by the Graduate Division. Students may only obtain a Thesis Committee Form from the Graduate Division after having been advanced to candidacy (see FAQ 11 above). To complete the form, students must secure the signature of three faculty members who are eligible and agree to serve as advisors to the project. (This is your thesis committee.) After receiving signatures from three readers and the History graduate advisor, a student submits the Thesis Committee Form to the Graduate Division and receives an add code.
Note that the university's new add/drop deadlines apply to 799 courses. Students who wish to enroll in 799A should not wait until the beginning of the semester to form their committees. Also, students should be aware that the Graduate Division asserts the right to hold them to precisely the title they indicate on the thesis form. Titles or topics that diverge (too greatly) from the thesis form may not be acceptable to the Graduate Division at the time of submission.
15. Who is eligible to serve on my thesis committee, and how do I select the members?
Your primary advisor must be a tenured or tenure track member of the History faculty. Your second reader must also be a member of the History faculty. On rare occasions, non-tenure track faculty members may be approved by the Graduate Division to serve as second readers; consult the History graduate advisor about the process. Your third reader must hold a faculty position outside the Department of History.
As you think about possible topics and areas for your thesis, talk with History faculty members with expertise in your area of interest (geographical, temporal, or methodological). You might seek guidance from faculty with whom you have had courses and with whom you work well. Ask a professor with whom you’d like to work whether your general topic area seems feasible for an MA thesis, what you might read to help you refine your topic, and whether he or she would be willing to advise you. Once you have a primary advisor or first reader, ask him or her to help you select the other members of your thesis committee.
16. How long is the average thesis?
Theses vary in length, depending upon the analytical method employed (those based upon quantitative analysis are often shorter). The average thesis has several chapters and is no more than 100 pages long. It is wise to consult your thesis advisor and other members of your thesis committee about their expectations early in the process of researching and writing your thesis
.
17. How can I pay for my graduate education?
In addition to the financial assistance offered by SDSU, the department offers work-based financial aid for graduate students in three forms. Graduate assistants serve as graders for large lower-division courses. Teaching associates serve as discussion leaders and graders for large-lecture courses. They may also be assigned to the Freshman Success Program, to lead one study session per week linked to a lower division lecture course in the fall semester. Research assistants assist faculty with their research.
GA, TA, and RA positions are selected on a competitive basis through applications submitted each spring. Generally, the department offers financial aid to students to cover the whole of the coming academic year. Applications remain on file and new students may submit applications mid-year. Vacancies or additional positions may be filled from this pool of applicants.
18. What do I do if my courses expire and I haven’t finished my thesis?
Coursework on a student's Official Program of Study expires after seven years. Email the graduate advisor to ask if and how your expiring courses can be “validated for recency.” But be aware that the validation lasts only one year, and that there is a limit to the number of courses that can be validated. SDSU wants its graduate students to finish within seven years.
19. When should I have my thesis drafted in order to graduate this semester?
Early in the semester! The Graduate Division publishes a final date by which theses must be submitted in final form to Thesis Review each semester; it is usually about a month before graduation. But keep in mind that your first reader will need a couple of weeks to read your draft, you will then have to make revisions and resubmit it to your first reader, and then (if all goes well) your second and third readers will need a couple of weeks to read the revised draft. Each of the readers can request or demand revisions, which might send the thesis back to the entire committee again. And your committee might need to meet to discuss possible revisions. Everyone will feel better about your thesis if you give everyone enough time to read, consider, and consult.
20. Should I come to graduation when I finish my degree?
Absolutely! Our MA degree graduates receive individual and special recognition at our History Department graduation ceremony (following the College of Arts and Letters ceremony) and are the first to receive their degrees. Don’t miss it!