Distribution of Courses for History Master's Degree (for students entering before Fall 2017)
- HIST 700: 3 units (3 graduate level)
- HIST 896 or 898: 3 units (3 graduate level)
- Major Field: 15 units (6-9 graduate level)
- Minor Field: 9 units (3-6 graduate level)
- Total: 30 units (21 graduate level)
1. Courses common to all history graduate students (6 units):
- History 700: History as a Field of Knowledge
- (This course must be taken in the first or second semester of study or in the semester immediately following the successful completion of any conditions attached to admission into the graduate program. Under normal circumstances, this course is a prerequisite for other graduate seminars.)
- History 896: Directed Reading (the M.A. Comprehensive Examination)
- or History 898: the Master's Thesis
2. General Field and Research Requirements (24 units):
A candidate for the Master of Arts in History must be prepared in two fields: a major field (15 units) and a minor field (9 units). A slightly different set of requirements shapes the World History concentration; see its special requirements below. The candidate will be expected to demonstrate competence in the major field by passing a four-hour written comprehensive examination in that field. Under certain circumstances a student may be permitted to write a thesis and make an oral defense of the thesis in the major field of study.
Graduate coursework must include at least one research seminar, in which students complete research based on primary sources. The research seminar may be in either the major or minor fields of study. Usually, course descriptions will state explicitly if a seminar has been designed to be a reading or a research seminar. But, if you have doubts, be sure to ask the instructor or the graduate coordinators.
Note that under university rules, students may list only six units of History 899 (Special Study) on their Graduate Approved Program, three in their major field and three in their minor field. Upon approval from the graduate coordinator students may substitute one required graduate seminar for another.
The Major Field (15 Units)
The Major Fields consist of the history of the United States, World history, Europe before 1500, Europe after 1500, Medieval and Early Modern Europe, and Gender in History. Students should consult with the graduate coordinators and their advisor(s) to establish the necessary coursework for the major field. The major field consists of 2-3 graduate seminars and 2-3 undergraduate courses (total of 5 courses or 15 units.) Please note that graduate seminars may be taken more than once as long as it is on a different topic. Moreover, upon consultation and with consent of your adviser and the graduate coordinator, students may take up to three units of work in their major field outside of the department.
When consulting advisors and instructors in your major field, keep in mind that the purpose of the required and recommended upper-division courses is to fill in any gaps in your academic background and in anticipation of comprehensive examinations. Hence, it is important to consult with an adviser to see which courses are the most appropriate for you.
(1) Europe Before 1500
Required graduate courses: History 710 (Seminar in Ancient History); History 720 (Seminar in Medieval History)
(In some cases, a graduate seminar in an ancient or medieval topic from another department may be substituted for either History 710 or History 720; depending on the topic, History 730 may satisfy the medieval requirement.)
In addition, students may also select up to three upper-division courses from the following list or upon consultation with advisor(s); courses should be chosen from both antiquity and the middle ages so as to provide a chronologically balanced program:
- HIST 320 Archaic and Classical Greece
- HIST 328 Early Christian Church to 313
- HIST 321 Hellenistic Greece
- HIST 329 Early Christian Church, 313-787
- HIST 322 The Roman Republic
- HIST 330 The Early Middle Ages
- HIST 323 The Roman Empire
- HIST 331 The High Middle Ages
- HIST 325 Late Antiquity
- HIST 334 The Renaissance
- HIST 327 The Medieval Mediterranean
- HIST 632 Jewish History to 1650
(2) Europe Since 1500
Required graduate courses: History 730 (Seminar in Early Modern Europe); History 740 (Seminar in European History since 1815)
In addition, students may also select up to three upper-division courses from the following list or upon consultation with advisor(s); courses should be chosen from various time periods so as to provide a chronologically balanced program:
- HIST 334 The Renaissance
- HIST 347 Women in Modern Europe
- HIST 336 The Reformation
- HIST 348 Modern European Intellectual & Cultural History
- HIST 337 Knowing and Unknowing
- HIST 385 The Russian Revolution
- HIST 338 Europe and the Wider World
- HIST 386 Soviet Russia, the West, and the Cold War
- HIST 342 Europe and the French Revolution
- HIST 389 European International History, 1848-1918
- HIST 344 Nineteenth- Century Europe
- HIST 390 European International History, 1918-present
- HIST 346 Recent European History
- HIST 400 Modern European Imperialism
(3) Europe - Medieval and Early Modern
Required Graduate Courses: HIST 720 (Seminar in Medieval History); HIST 730 (Seminar in Early Modern History)
(Depending on the topic, HIST 740 may also be used)
In addition, students may also select up to three upper-division courses from the following list or upon consultation with advisor(s):
- HIST 331 The High Middle Ages
- HIST 338 Europe and the Wider World
- HIST 334 The Renaissance
- HIST 342 Europe and the French Revolution
- HIST 336 The Reformation
- HIST 349 Topics in European History (Early Mod. Topics)
- HIST 337 Knowing and Unknowing
- HIST 632 Jewish History to 1650
(4) Gender in History
Required graduate courses: History 805 (Seminar in the History of Women)
(This course may be taken twice, each time with a different topic; a second graduate seminar may be taken outside the department with the consent of a graduate coordinator. Or, other graduate seminars in the Department of History on any topic may fulfill this requirement, if the research contains a significant gender component.)
In addition, students may also select up to three upper-division courses from the following list or upon consultation with advisor(s):
- HIST 313 Comparative History of Love and Sexuality
- HIST 468 Women in the United States 1890 to Present
- HIST 314 Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual History
- HIST 469 Childhood: Past and Present
- HIST 347 Women in Modern Europe
- HIST 535 Women in Latin America
- HIST 467 Women in the United States to 1890
- HIST 575 Women in China and Japan
(5) Latin America
Due to faculty retirements, Latin America is not currently available as a stand-alone major field. Students who wish to concentrate on Latin American history should choose World History as their major field.
Required graduate courses: History 830, (Seminar in Latin American History)
(This course may be taken twice, each time with a different topic; a second graduate seminar may be taken outside the department with the consent of the graduate coordinators.)
In addition, students may also select up to three upper-division courses from the following list or upon consultation with advisor(s):
- HIST 500 Colonial Latin America
- HIST 528 History of Brazil
- HIST 501 Latin America : National Period
- HIST 535 Women in Latin America
- HIST 520 Central American and the Caribbean
- HIST 550 Social Change in Latin America
- HIST 524 History of Mexico
(6) World History
The World History concentration is structured differently than the other concentrations. Students must build their major fields along a transcultural and transregional theme (e.g. colonialism). Their minor fields must be rooted in a specific geographic area (e.g. the Middle East, the U.S., etc.)
Required graduate courses: HIST 701 (The Historiography of World History); HIST 850 (Topics in World History since 1500) or other appropriate graduate seminar.
The following classes have been selected for automatic inclusion in the World History concentration. Students must select from these classes to fulfill major field requirements. If you are interested in taking a class not on this list for your major field you must get prior approval from one of the graduate coordinators and be prepared to make a case for the importance of the class in your particular field.
- HIST 313 Comparative History of Love and Sexuality
- HIST 584 History of Indian Subcontinent
- HIST 317 Holocaust and Genocide
- HIST 588 History of Southeast Asia
- HIST 323 Imperial Rome
- HIST 604 Islamic World I: 500-1500
- HIST 325 Late Antiquity
- HIST 605 Islamic World II: 1500-Present
- HIST 326 Byzantine Empire
- HIST 611 Modern Africa
- HIST 327 Mediterranean World
- HIST 632 Jewish History: Beginnings to 1650
- HIST 386 Soviet Russia, the West, and the Cold War
- HIST 633 Jewish History: 1650-Present
- HIST 389 European International History, 1848-1918
- HIST 640 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 390 European International History, 1918-1945
- HIST 642 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 400 History of Modern European Imperialism
- HIST 644 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 460 U.S. Foreign Relations to 1913
- HIST 710 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 461 U.S. Foreign Relations, 1913-Present
- HIST 720 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 473 Unfree Labor
- HIST 740 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 500 Colonial Latin America
- HIST 790 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 550 Social Change in Latin America
- HIST 830 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 570 Imperial China
- HIST 840 Various Topics on Advisement
- HIST 571 Modern China
- HIST 850 Various Topics on Advisement
(7) The United States
Required graduate courses: History 780 (Seminar in U.S. History to 1877); History 790 (Seminar in U.S. History since 1877)
In addition, students may also select up to three upper-division courses from the following list or upon consultation with advisor(s); courses should be selected so as to provide a chronological balance in the program:
- HIST 420 American Colonial History
- HIST 426 U.S. 1877-1916
- HIST 422 Founding of the American Nation
- HIST 427 U.S. 1916-1945
- HIST 424 U.S. 1827-1877
- HIST 428 U.S. since 1945
- Other 400-level courses
Note: History 450, California History, is the one 400-level course that will not fulfill the major field requirements in U.S. History.
The Minor Field (9 units)
The Minor Field consists of 1-2 graduate seminars and 1-2 undergraduate courses for at total of 3 courses (9 units). The Minor Fields are the United States , Europe before 1500, Europe since 1500, Early Modern Europe, Latin America, East Asia, Gender in History, World History, and, with the prior approval of the Graduate Coordinators, a special field designed by the student (e.g., urban history, labor history, historiography, or public history). Students should consult with instructors and the graduate coordinators before constructing a Minor Field. Three units of work in the minor field may be taken outside of the department.
Research
Within the student's coursework, three graduate units must be devoted to research in either the major or minor field. If the student takes a research seminar, this requirement will be met by that course. If the student takes three reading seminars, a directed research course must be taken, preferably in the form of, in conjunction with and directed by the instructor of one of the student's graduate reading seminars. This research must involve the use of primary sources and should ordinarily involve the utilization of the student's auxiliary skill.