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Department of History |
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Administration
Building, 7th Floor |
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Completing six credits of HIST 799 “Master's Thesis” or HIST 750-751 “Master's Project” constitutes the final coursework necessary for earning the Master of Arts in Historical Studies at UMBC. The HIST 750-751 course sequence is intended for students whose research or career interests make the completion of a master's project more appropriate than the traditional master's thesis. There is no general advantage or disadvantage to choosing either option. Students conducting primary research and writing an analytical narrative in a traditional hard copy format (as opposed to lesson plans, website presentations, or a museum exhibit) should pursue the thesis option. The general boundaries for thesis length is 75-150 pages. The Master's Project option is a more flexible format, but an equivalently rigorous intellectual effort.
Master's thesis research is conducted under the direction of a tenured or tenure-track faculty member in the History Department and is completed over at least a two-semester period as six credits of HIST 799. Students are responsible for seeking a primary advisor who guides the selection of an appropriate research topic. This should be done by the time a student has completed 15 credits of coursework in the program (see Declaration of Advisor form). After selecting the topic, the student prepares a thesis prospectus that is then approved by the advisor. Upon topic and prospectus approval, students should begin writing thesis chapters under the guidance of the thesis advisor.
Once the writing process is underway but certainly by the beginning of the semester in which the student intends to defend the thesis, the student, in consultation with his or her advisor, should gain the participation of at least two additional faculty members willing to serve on the thesis committee. The appropriate Graduate School forms for the completion of coursework as well as for the composition of the thesis committee, and the defense date must be completed and submitted to the Graduate School according to its deadlines. A copy of the completed forms should be filed in the student’s folder located in the Department of History office and revised as necessary.
Once the advisor decides the revised chapters are ready to be distributed to the thesis defense committee, either the individual chapters or the entire thesis should be distributed to the committee members. The committee should be allowed at least two weeks to read and comment on the thesis and to request revisions, if necessary. Two weeks prior to the thesis defense the certification of completion of the thesis must be submitted to the Graduate School. This typically means that the thesis should be completed at least one month prior to the scheduled defense deadline (usually at least a week before the end of classes) during the semester the student hopes to defend the thesis and graduate. The scheduled thesis defense takes place after preliminary acceptance of the thesis by the advisor and committee members. The final approved thesis is then submitted to the UMBC Graduate School. All theses must follow the format guidelines established by the UMBC Graduate School. Deadlines for graduation requirements are published each academic semester on the UMBC Graduate School website.
Revised Nov. 2002