Degree Information

The History Department welcomes you, and we are glad you are considering joining us. We offer a broad range of undergraduate and graduate courses in United States, Latin American and European History taught by a nationally prominent faculty. In addition to our broad geographic coverage, the department has particular strengths in social history, ethnic studies, public history, legal history, family and gender, international business, military history, and the history of medicine.

The Undergraduate Program
Several different BAs in History are available. In addition to the Bachelor of Arts in history, we offer a Bachelor in History with Teacher Certification and a Bachelor of Arts in History with a Composite Teaching Field. The department also offers history for a Second Teaching Field and a Minor. Likewise, students should be aware that they could tailor their degree to fit specific geographic or thematic interests.

The Masters Program

REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY
EFFECTIVE August 2001

A graduate student in history may choose among three different plans to earn an M.A. degree; these plans are summarized below and described in detail on the following pages. Moreover the University of Houston, the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and the Department of History have established certain regulations concerning admission, candidacy, full-time and part-time student status, time limitations, and enrollment that apply to all three plans. Consult the University of Houston Graduate and Professional Studies Catalog for additional information. (http://www.uh.edu/grad_catalog).

PLAN I (THESIS TRACK; TEACHING AND RESEARCH FOCUS)
Plan I is designed for students who expect to continue their graduate work in history beyond the M. A. degree.

PLAN II (THESIS TRACK; PUBLIC HISTORY)
Plan II is designed for students who intend to pursue careers in such fields of Public History as historical policy and analysis, corporate history, historical preservation, historical archives and records management, and the creation, interpretation, and management of historical exhibits. Most students in Plan II will work toward the M. A. as a terminal degree, but some will decide to pursue the Ph. D. Admission to Plan II requires the approval of the Director of the Public History Program.

PLAN III (NON-THESIS TRACK)
Plan III is designed for students who desire advanced work in History (especially teachers seeking to strengthen their mastery of their subject fields) but who do not expect to pursue work toward a Ph.D., and who do not wish to take advanced training in historical research. A student who earns an M.A. degree under Plan III and then seeks admission to the Ph.D. program must first meet two requirements: (1) submit in lieu of the M.A. thesis a long research paper which will be evaluated by two faculty members, and (2) satisfy the foreign language requirement.

The Ph.D. Program
The Ph.D. program is designed to provide the training necessary for careers in college teaching and historical research. The University of Houston offers the Ph.D. degree in the fields of United States, European, and Latin American history.

Financial Support

The History Department and the university offer a wide array of financial assistance to graduate students. This assistance inclndes teaching assistanships, scholarships, research assistantships, and student loans. Teaching assistantships begin at $8600 for the first-year MA students and increase each succeeding year. Assistantships are available for a maximum of six years (over the MA/Ph.D. period). The university has also begun a new program of tuition fellowships for teaching assistants that will pay tuition and some fees for two years at the MA level and 3 at the Ph.D. . The most significant scholarship funds awarded by the department are the Murry Miller scholarships. These are traditionally awarded to doctoral students for dissertation research for travel and other research-related expenses and range in value from approximately $1000 to $5000. Some Murry Miller scholarships are awarded to new graduate students of particular promise. In addition, Marguerite Ross Barnett fellowships may be available for outstanding students interested in the study of African-American history and the diaspora. In addition to these funds, the university offers scholarships for outstanding new graduate students for which the department can nominate newly accepted students. The university also makes available some scholarship money for graduate student study abroad. The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences also administers the C.W. Moores Fellowship for advanced female graduate students.

Teaching and Professional Development at the Graduate Level

Teaching and Professional Development at the Graduate Level Teaching assistanships are not only an important form of financial aid, they are also a means of training future college and university teachers. Teaching assistants are offered opportunities to present lectures as part of a teaching colloquium, a required course (for all teaching assistants). The department has also provided training working with at risk students, and provided more senior and interested TAs with the opportunity to develop and teach small classses of at-risk students as part of its retention program. The department also offers a professional development seminar, required of all doctoral candidates, to help prepare them for the job market and for their early years in the academic profession. The History Department welcomes your interest in our gradute programs. If you are interested in applying, please see the contact information in order to receive application materials for the MA or Ph.D. programs. Our faculty look forwrd to working with you to help you achieve your academic and career goals.