Department Of History Images In History

Master of Arts in History

Degree requirements are set in part by the Graduate School and in part by the History Department. The MA student must satisfy the degree requirements that are in force at the time the MA is awarded. Below is a summary of the masters degree requirements for quick reference; MA students should read all relevant information on the History Department’s website and the Graduate School’s website. These requirements are subject to change at any time. It is the student's responsibility to be aware of the requirements in effect at the time of the degree.

Degree Requirements (Departmental)

  1. Satisfactory progress in the masters program.
  2. Completion of required Core Colloquium for first-year graduate students.
  3. Official establishment of the student's MA fields and MA Supervisory Committee. Both members of the MA Committee must be members of the History Graduate Faculty. Students construct their fields of study in consultation with their supervising faculty. The student must take at least one formal graded graduate course or an independent study with each MA Committee member prior to the MA exam quarter (working with an MA Committee member on a research seminar paper will fulfill this requirement as it pertains to that faculty member). The Request for Establishing a Masters Supervisory Committee form (which officially establishes both the MA Committee and the MA fields) must be submitted to the History Graduate Office no later than the end of the third quarter of graduate study.
  4. Successful completion of the foreign language requirement for the MA. This requirement must be satisfied no later than the quarter immediately preceding the quarter in which the student expects to take the MA exam and complete the Master's degree.
  5. Satisfactory completion of a research seminar which entails the completion of a research seminar paper. Most seminars are two- or three-quarter classes. The seminar paper should be the length and format of a journal article (10,000 to 15,000 words including footnotes). One of the student’s MA Committee members must be substantively involved in the supervision of the seminar paper. The seminar paper must be read and approved by both MA Committee members before a student can schedule the MA exam. The student must provide the History Graduate Office with a copy of the MA seminar paper as a prerequisite for taking the MA examination.
  6. Demonstrate a mastery of a substantial body of historical knowledge by examination. Students entering the MA program prior to Autumn 2011 should contact the History Graduate Office for further information concerning the written MA exam. Students entering the MA program in or after Autumn 2011 will take the oral MA exam no later than the Autumn Quarter or Winter Quarter of the student’s second year in the graduate program. All X, I, and N grades must be removed from the transcript before the beginning of the quarter in which the student intends to take the MA examination.
  7. Official submission of an application for the degree.
  8. The History Department does not require credits in excess of the 36 credits required by the Graduate School for the Master's degree. In assessing credits applicable to the degree, the History Department includes History courses numbered 400 and above, and courses numbered 400 and above offered by other departments with content relevant to the student's program of study in History.

Degree Requirements (Graduate School)

  1. A minimum of 36 credits of coursework of which a minimum of 30 credits must be earned at the University of Washington.
    • Courses numbered 400-799 that are numerically graded 2.7 and above, or have a grade of Satisfactory or Credit ("S" or "CR") count toward the 36 credit total.
    • Courses graded less than 2.7 or have a grade of Not Satisfactory or No Credit ("NS" or "NC") do not count towards the 36 credit total.
    • Courses numbered 494, 498, and 499 are not counted in the 36 credit total.
    • At least 18 credits must be in courses numbered 500 and above.
    • At least 18 credits must be numerically graded in department approved 400-level courses accepted as part of the major and in 500-level courses.
    • If a student repeats a non-repeatable class, only one set of credits counts toward the 36 credit total.
    • Thesis-track students are required to take a minimum of 9 thesis credits in their 36 credit total.
  2. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required for a graduate degree.
  3. The Master's Degree Request must be filed with the Graduate School.
    • If the Request is filed during weeks ten or eleven (weeks eight or nine during summer quarter) it is not accepted. The system is closed.
  4. All work for the degree must be completed within six years.
    • The timeframe/clock begins on the first day of the quarter that the gradaute student uses a course to satisfy degree requirements when he/she is coded as a graduate student in the department to which he/she is admitted.
    • Quarters spent on-leave or out of status (not registered, not on leave) and applicable work transferred from other institutions are included in the six years.
  5. The student must m aintain registration through the end of the quarter in which the degree is conferred or, if eligible, pay the Graduate Registration Waiver Fee within 14 days following the last day of the quarter in which all degree requirements were met.
  6. Thesis-track students are required to submit two copies of an acceptably formatted thesis to the Graduate School by 5pm on the last day of the quarter.