Pamela Riney-Kehrberg
Director
Agricultural History and Rural Studies Program
Graduate Students
Graduate students may take any 400-level history course except 490
and 495 for graduate credit.
No more than 12 credits of 400-level courses, however, may be used
toward the minimum credits required for a graduate degree in history.
Additional work is required for graduate credit in 400-level courses.
Most history graduate courses are either proseminars or seminars.
Proseminars acquaint students with the historical literature of a
field and prepare them for careers in teaching and research. Seminars
require students to conduct original historical research and to write
extensive research papers reporting the results.
The History Department has recently revised both the AHRS and HOTS Ph.D. programs. Both programs now emphasize a broad general knowledge of history, and encourage understandings of comparative history. Our goals are to prepare students who are both excellent researchers and excellent teachers, capable of performing in a broad variety of professional positions, both inside and outside of academia.
The M.A.
in history. For the M.A. in history, students may elect
a thesis or a nonthesis program. See the departmental brochure on
the M.A. in History for a full discussion of the options and requirements.
A student shall demonstrate proficiency in the use of a research tool
such as a foreign language, statistics, computer programming, or the
like, as prescribed by his or her advisory committee. The M.A. in
history program serves as the basis for continued study in history,
law, or business; preparation for teaching in high school or junior
college; preparation for government service; or as part of a general
education. For international students, a TOEFL score of 600 is required
at the time of admission.
The M.A. and Ph.D. in history of technology and science.
The graduate program in the history of technology and science examines
the role of technology and science in the formation of modern societies
and their attitudes toward people and the world. The program is structured
in a sequence of courses leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Since
these courses approach their subject in the context of social and
cultural change, they are also open to and appropriate for students
in engineering, the sciences, science education, and science journalism.
For a thorough description of the program requirements, see the department's
website on the history of technology and science program.
The
Ph.D. in agricultural history and rural studies. The
program is designed as a Ph.D. program, but students without an M.A.
in history will be expected to qualify for the departmental M.A. in
history while progressing toward the doctorate. In some cases, the
M.A. may be recommended as the terminal degree. Thirty semester hours
of graduate credit are required for the M.A. and 72 for the Ph.D.
Students who continue beyond the M.A. are expected to pass a qualifying
examination in their general field of study and preliminary examinations
in three areas of specialization, complete a dissertation, and defend
it orally in the Ph.D. final examination. See the departmental brochure
on the program for a full description of requirements.
