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Department of History

Main Departmental Office
Wooten Hall, 225
P.O. Box 13735
Denton, TX 76203-6735
(817) 565-2288

Richard M. Golden, Chair

Graduate Faculty: Aaronson, Bowman, Brownell, Campbell, Chipman, Coomes, DeCarvalho, Detrick, Eaton, Golden, Hagler, Hilliard, Huddleston, Hurley, Kamman, Kelly, LaForte, Lewis, Lowe, Lowry, Marcello, Morris, Odom, Painter, Paz, Pickens, Seligmann, Smallwood, Stephens, Stern, Tanner, Wilson.

The Department of History offers graduate programs leading to the following degrees:

Research

The research interests of the history faculty cover a broad range of United States, European, Latin American, African and Asian topics. Of special note are interests in state and local history, military history and international relations. History faculty members have published approximately four dozen books on such topics as Texas history, the U.S. South, Native Americans, 20th-century United States, early modern and modern Europe, World War II, history of sports, urban history, history of science, and oral history.

The department houses the editorial offices of two journals: Locus: Regional and Local History of the Americas and Military History of the West.

History Department Centers

The history department supports two centers, which serve to focus its efforts, but which are by no means limiting to its other intellectual endeavors. Those two centers are local history and military history. For each focus, the department supports a major journal: Locus: Regional and Local History of the Americas, for local history, and Military History of the West, for military history.

Admission Requirements

1. All general admission requirements of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies, as outlined elsewhere in this bulletin, must be fulfilled.

2. The aptitude test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required of all applicants entering the department. Master's degree candidates must score at least 1000 on the GRE. Doctoral degree requirements are listed under that degree's requirements. Undergraduate students anticipating graduate work in history should take the examination in the final semester of their senior year. In the event the examination has not been taken before the application is made, the student should take it no later than the next administration. Students from other institutions applying for admission to the PhD program must submit GRE scores as a part of their application prior to being admitted for graduate course work.

3. A candidate for the master's degree may enroll in the graduate history program for the first time with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher for the last 60 hours of undergraduate course work.

4. To re-enroll for a third semester, a master's degree candidate must have earned a GPA in history in their program of 3.25, and the candidate must maintain that average, exclusive of I and PR grades, each semester until the degree is awarded.

5. To re-enroll for a third semester, a PhD degree candidate must have a GPA in history in their program of 3.5, and the candidate must maintain that average, exclusive of I and PR grades, each semester until the doctorate is awarded.

Degree Programs

Master of Arts and Master of Science

Thesis Option - 31 Hours

1. A graduate major in history consists of 25 hours of graduate work in history, including a 6-hour thesis, 1 hour of historical bibliography and at least two research seminars.

2. The student normally will have a minor of 6 hours in a related field approved by the chair. Under appropriate circumstances students may, with approval of their major professors and committees, substitute 6 hours of history for the minor.

3. A candidate for this degree must successfully complete an oral examination on the course work and the thesis.

Non-Thesis Option

Three separate plans exist for pursuing the non-thesis option. Plans A and B are primarily for teachers of history in pre-college schools. Plan C is designed for applied history. All non-thesis plans are regarded as terminal degrees by the UNT history department.

Plan A: 37 hours

1. A student selecting this option must take two research seminars in history and 1 hour of historical bibliography. The remaining 30 hours may be all in history or may include a minor up to 6 hours in a related field approved by the department chair.

2. A candidate for this degree must successfully complete an oral examination on the course work.

Plan B: 37 hours

1. A student selecting this option must take one 5000-level studies course in each of the following areas: African history, American history, Asian history, European history, Islamic history, and Latin American history.

2. These courses, with the historical bibliography course, would amount to 19 hours. Each student will take 9 hours of electives from not less than two of the above areas.

3. Each student will take two research seminars, but not in the same area.

4. Each student, as a capstone to this master's program, will take History 5310, Studies in the History of World Civilizations.

5. A candidate for this degree must successfully complete an oral examination on the course work.

Plan C: 36 hours

1. Under this plan the student still majors in history but can focus the selection of courses in applied history. Applied history trains students for occupations in archives, museums, college and university libraries, public and private libraries, oral history programs, various manuscript repositories, private industries interested in document and artifact preservation, historical agency administration and the United States government.

2. Requirements under this plan include 21 hours of applied history, 9 hours of traditional American history and 6 hours of library science. The 21 hours of applied history must come from the following three categories: (1) oral history, (2) archives and local history, and (3) museums, local history and site visitations. At least 9 hours must be taken in one of the three categories.

3. The basic courses in archives, museums and oral history also must be taken as part of the 21-hour requirement. The 6 hours of library science must include SLIS 5300, Management of Information Agencies, and one of the following: SLIS 5600, Information and Access Services; SLIS 5230, Records Management; and SLIS 5295, Preservation.

4. A candidate for this degree must successfully complete an oral examination on the course work.

Cooperative Degree Programs

The Department of History and the School of Library and Information Sciences also offer joint master's degrees:

Doctor of Philosophy

The Doctor of Philosophy degree is offered with a major in history and concentrations in United States and modern European history. The minimum program for the PhD in history consists of 90 semester hours beyond the bachelor's or 60 hours beyond the master's degree.

The first year beyond the bachelor's degree will consist of organized course work, with a minimum amount of research and independent study. The second year will consist of organized course work, research and independent study, and the third year will consist of research and dissertation.

Degree Requirements

Before entering the history doctoral program at the University of North Texas, a student must score at least 1100 on the Graduate Record Examination, submit a statement of purpose in seeking the doctorate in history, provide two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with the applicant's post-secondary academic record, have written a master's thesis, and meet all other university requirements. Each candidate's application and supporting materials will be reviewed by the graduate faculty.

To remain in good standing after admission, the student must be enrolled in and complete successfully at least six courses (18 semester credit hours) per year. All course work and language requirements must be completed and preliminary examinations passed within four years from first admission to the doctoral program. Existing university regulations concerning completion of the doctoral dissertation also apply.

The Doctor of Philosophy is offered in two fields of history: United States and modern European. A doctoral student will choose one of these fields as a major and one as a minor in the department. The major field will consist of four areas chosen from a list provided by the department. The student must have a minimum of 48 hours of graduate history courses (including dissertation) in the major field and a minimum of 12 hours of graduate courses in the minor. A minimum of four research seminar courses in history and a minimum of 3 hours in either American or European historiography, whichever is appropriate, are required. If a second minor field outside history would enhance the student's program or career plans, the student's committee may allow the outside minor with the permission of the department chair. If an outside minor is allowed, the student must have a minimum of 36 hours in the major. Completion of a specific number of graduate hours does not automatically make one eligible for a degree. The student must show proficiency by satisfactory performance on written and oral examinations, by completion of the language requirement and by completion of an acceptable dissertation.

The program and degree plan of each doctoral student will be planned by the student and his or her advisory committee during the first year of study on the doctorate. The student will initiate a request to establish an advisory committee through the office of the graduate adviser who, in consultation with the student and with the approval of the department chair, will select a major professor from the approved list. The person appointed will serve as chair of the student's committee. The major professor, in consultation with the student, will select other members of the committee. The student's degree plan and the composition of the advisory committee must be certified by the graduate adviser and approved by the chair of the department and the dean of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies.

The committee will advise the student on program planning, arrange for all departmental examinations, approve in conjunction with the student the dissertation topic and judge the completed dissertation as a piece of original research justifying the awarding of the degree.

Doctoral committees in the Department of History must include a university graduate faculty member who is either Category I, II or III, and whose principal faculty appointment is in a department other than the history department. The student's major professor and the student will work together to select a university member whose expertise will contribute meaningfully to the dissertation.

Foreign Language Requirement

The student must demonstrate a reading knowledge of two foreign languages, ordinarily French, German or Spanish. Substitution of another language for one of these three, if a given research area indicates the need, may be approved by the dean of the School of Graduate Studies upon recommendation of the advisory committee.

With the approval of the advisory committee, the student may substitute computer science or statistics for one language. To fulfill this option the student must satisfactorily complete a specified group of courses in computer science or statistics. A listing of these courses is available in the history department office.

All language requirements or courses in lieu of a language must be taken prior to taking the qualifying examinations.

Admission to Candidacy

The qualifying examinations ordinarily will be taken at the end of the second year of graduate work when course work, other than research and dissertation, has been completed. These examinations, arranged by the advisory committee, will consist of written examinations covering both the major and minor fields and an oral examination covering the major field and minor field. The successful completion of these examinations is a prerequisite to admission to candidacy for the degree.

Admission to candidacy is granted by the dean of the School of Graduate Studies upon recommendation of the advisory committee and the department chair, based upon the academic record of the student, approval of a dissertation topic and successful completion of language requirements and qualifying examinations. Any student who fails to register for two consecutive semesters in classes at UNT will be required to reapply for admission to the history doctoral program.

Research and Dissertation

The doctoral student will submit a dissertation that is a significant contribution to the knowledge of history. Completion of the dissertation requires original and independent research in the major field of specialization. The final oral examination will be primarily a defense of the completed dissertation.

Courses of Instruction

College of Arts and Sciences Table of Contents

UNT Graduate Catalog Table of Contents

Course and Subject Guide

UNT Home Page

UNT Public Affairs and Information Services



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