Course of Study

The Master of Arts degree requires a total of 32 semester credit hours, including a 12-hour required core and 20 hours of elective credit. Students have a choice of three summative project options: a traditional thesis; a capstone project; or, a comprehensive exam.

The Core

Designed to provide the student with a survey of the major events and ideas which shaped the modern United States, the full 12 semester hour core is required of all students.

Course Number	Course Title	Hours	Prerequisites
AHG 501	The American Revolution	2	None
AHG 502	The American Founding	2	None
AHG 503	Sectionalism and Civil War	2	None
AHG 504	Civil War and Reconstruction	2	None
AHG 505	The Progressive Era	2	None
AHG 510	Great American Texts	2	None

 

Electives

All students must earn 20 hours of elective credit.

Course Number	Course Title	Hours	Prerequisites
AHG 601	Sources of the American Regime	2	None
AHG 602	European Discovery and Settlement	2	None
AHG 603	Colonial America	2	None
AHG 604	The Early Republic	2	None
AHG 605	The Age of Enterprise	2	None
AHG 606	America between World Wars	2	None
AHG 607	America during the Cold War	2	None
AHG 610	American Foreign Policy	2	None
AHG 611	The American Way of War	2	AHG 610
AHG 620	The Reform Tradition in America	2	AHG 503, 505, or 607
AHG 621	Race and Equality in America	2	None
AHG 622	Religion in American History and Politics	2	None
AHG 623	Gender and Equality in America	2	None
AHG 630	American Statesmen	2	None
AHG 631	American Political Rhetoric	2	AHG 630, 632, or 633
AHG 632	The American Presidency I, Washington to Lincoln	2	None
AHG 633	The American Presidency II, Johnson to Present	2	None
AHG 640	The Congress	2	None
AHG 641	The Supreme Court	2	None
AHG 642	Political Parties	2	None
AHG 660	Topics in American History and Government	2	None
AHG 670	Directed Study	2	None
AHG 690	Research Methods	2	Completed 20 Hours
AHG 691	Thesis	4	AHG 690
AHG 692	Capstone Project	4	AHG 690
AHG 693	Comprehensive Examination	2	Permission

 

The Comprehensive Examination, Capstone Project, and Thesis Tracks

Students may choose the thesis, the capstone project, or the comprehensive exam track. In choosing a track, students should consider their professional and educational goals and needs in consultation with their academic advisor. The comprehensive examination and capstone project tracks are appropriate for students who do not plan to continue their studies beyond the master’s level. The thesis track is open to any student, however it is strongly recommended for those students who plan to continue their studies beyond the master’s level.

Each option serves the same goal: that is, by completing the comprehensive examination, capstone project, or thesis a student will demonstrate mastery of the topics taught in the program. In addition to content mastery, students must also display well-developed analytical and interpretive skills in the use of original documents and their relationship to the broader subject of American history and government.

The student need not choose a track until the semester during which he or she reaches 20 hours in the program. With the permission of the program chair, the student may switch tracks after he or she has made an initial decision.

Comprehensive Examination Track

Students who choose this option must earn 12 hours of core course credit and 20 hours of elective credit. At the time the student registers for his or her final semester the student should contact his or her academic advisor to schedule and prepare for the comprehensive examination.

The comprehensive examination is composed of essay response questions based upon the core and elective courses taken by the student as part of their curriculum. Students will be provided with a list of possible questions for study and review purposes; the actual examination questions to be answered will be selected by the faculty from this list. Students may repeat the examination once. If the student fails to successfully pass the exam after their second attempt, the student may face dismissal from the program.

Capstone Project Track

Students who choose this option must earn 12 hours of core course credit, 14 hours of elective credit, and successfully complete AHG 690 and AHG 692.

The Capstone Project allows a student to demonstrate his or her mastery of subject matter, as well as analytical and interpretive skills in a practical, useful, or creative format of the student’s choosing. A capstone project combines different kinds of practical experience (e.g., as a docent or historical reenactor) or other written work (e.g., lesson plans or historical fiction) with analytical and interpretive writing in the form of one or more essays. Capstone projects may include:

• Creation of a selection of materials (e.g. primary documents) to enhance a curriculum, with essays providing justification of the selections and analysis and interpretation to assist in their use.
• Participation in a Civil War battle reenactment, with interpretive essays explaining the significance of the battle in the military and political outcome of the Civil War.
• Development of an exhibition at a school, library, or museum, along with analytical and interpretive essays explaining the significance of the exhibition.

Students will work individually with the program’s faculty to plan their capstone project proposal during AHG 690 (Research Methods). Students may register for and begin work on AHG 690 around the time that they complete 20 hours in the program. The capstone project requires the approval of the program’s faculty committee, which will review proposals to make sure they meet substantive and methodological requirements of a master’s program. Once the proposal is approved by the program’s faculty committee, the student may begin work on the project. Each student will have a capstone advisor to help him or her complete the capstone project.

Thesis Track

Students who choose this option must earn 12 hours of core course credit, 14 hours of elective credit, and successfully complete AHG 690 and AHG 691.

The Thesis allows a student to demonstrate his or her mastery of subject matter, as well as analytical and interpretive skills in a traditional written format. A thesis is a written work stating a claim or interpretation and supporting it with data and argument. For example, a thesis might claim that a certain type of protestant theology is responsible for political reform movements in the United States and support that claim by examining, in one of a number of different ways, the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Students will work individually with the program’s faculty to plan their thesis proposal during AHG 690 (Research Methods). Students may register for and begin work on AHG 690 around the time that they complete 20 hours in the program. The thesis requires the approval of the program’s faculty committee, which will review proposals to make sure they meet substantive and methodological requirements of a master’s program. Once the proposal is approved by the program’s faculty committee, the student may begin work on the thesis. Each student will have a thesis advisor to help him or her complete the thesis.