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The Department of History offers a Master of Arts degree. The degree program is designed to develop historians with special competence by systematic training in the content, methods, and interpretation of history. Although each degree program will vary, as will the individual's purpose for pursuing graduate work, the same level of scholarly competence and intellectual attainment is expected of all students.
Click on the links below for answers to specific questions:
How do I apply to the MA Program in History at Portland State?
To be considered for admission to graduate study the student should normally have the minimum preparation undertaken by an undergraduate major in history and have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.25 in upper-division history courses.
Application to graduate study at Portland State University is a dual process: applicants must submit materials to both the PSU Office of Admissions and directly to the History Department. Both the university application and the departmental application are available online: click here for the university application, and click here for the departmental application (both .pdf format). Information regarding the MA program is also available on request from the department in a hard copy packet, via U.S. mail.
In addition to the departmental application form, the History Department requires the following materials:
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Official GRE Scores (the aptitude section of the general test, not the history subject test)
The GRE test is administered only at authorized testing centers; for information regarding GRE test dates and locations in your area, consult the website for the Educational Testing Service, at www.ets.org. Please take note of the university’s admission deadlines on the enclosed information, as timely submission of your GRE scores is required as part of your application.
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Two letters of recommendation
These, ideally, should come from individuals who can comment on your academic performance, but professional references may be substituted in some cases.
We strongly recommend you ask your references to send letters directly to the department.
Letters of recommendation must be accompanied by a waiver signed by you and the recommender; electronic copy of the waiver is available by clicking here (.pdf format).
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A Statement of Purpose, approximately a page in length, that addresses the following questions:
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Why do you want to obtain a Master’s degree in history?
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If admitted, what geographic and/or thematic field(s) would you be most interested in studying (e.g., modern European social history) and why?
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How would the MA Program in History at Portland State serve your interests in terms of curriculum, faculty research areas, or program specialties?
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Copies of two writing samples, preferably history research papers
Please submit two copies of each writing sample. Copies may be double-sided.
It is not necessary that these writing samples be graded; in fact, clean copies are preferred (but not required).
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Transcripts from all post-secondary schools (colleges and universities) attended
For the departmental application, copies of official transcripts will suffice; however, the University’s Office of Admissions will require original official transcripts for the university application.
Neither the department nor the university will accept unofficial (web report) transcripts as part of your application.
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(optional) If you are applying for financial aid in the form of a teaching or research assistantship, please include an application form, available here (.pdf format).
Check the application form carefully for additional materials you may need to provide to be considered for an assistantship.
We strongly recommend applicants send materials to the department as soon as they become available. In other words, it is not necessary to send all of your application materials to us in a single packet.
What are the application deadlines?
Please note that the History Department has set Feburary 15 as the deadline for Fall term applications. (Several PSU departments have earlier deadlines than those set by the university as a whole.)
The History Department strongly prefers that applications be for Fall term, and reserves the right to defer applications for entry for other terms to Fall term entry. Applicants for terms other than Fall should explain in their statement of purpose (see below) the special circumstances requiring entry during that term. Deadlines for submitting application materials (based on term of intended entry):
Fall Term: February 15 (the Department prefers Fall term admissions)
Winter Term: September 1
Spring Term: November 1
Summer Term: February 1
What are the requirements for the MA Program in History?
University-mandated requirements for the MA degree are listed on pages 67-73 of the 2007-08 PSU Bulletin.
Specific departmental requirements are listed below:
- A minimum of 48 credits of approved graduate-level courses are required for the MA in History.
Of these 48 credits, students must complete a minimum of 36 credits in history, to include two seminars (HST 507) and a maximum of eight credits of thesis writing (HST 503).
With the approval of their thesis advisor, students can apply to their MA program a maximum
of 12 credits from graduate courses taken outside of history.
Students are normally admitted for the Fall term, and are strongly advised to complete
HST 500: Introduction to the MA Program in History during their first term of study. While HST 500 is strongly recommended for all entering graduate students, it is required for those who have not completed an undergraduate course in Historiography (HST 300 or equivalent).
See the MA requirements sheet (.pdf format) for more information.
- Course work for the MA must include two historical fields; these are generally defined geographically and/or thematically, and are also generally chronologically delimited
The first field (the major field) will consist of a minimum of 12 credits of coursework, and the second field (the minor field) a minimum of 8 credits.
All students are required to take written examinations covering their chosen fields of concentration. The written examination in the student's major field should be passed before the end of the first year of graduate study (i.e., 24 credits). Students should pass the written examination in the minor field before the completion of 32 credits.
Students must complete both written examinations before they may begin writing the thesis.
- The department stresses the importance of adequate preparation in foreign languages to be utilized by students in their advanced study and research.
Graduate students should demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language (either by passing a 203-level language course or by examination) germane to their thesis field no later than the point at which they have completed 32 credits of graduate study.
Students must demonstrate language proficiency before they may begin writing the thesis.
For more information on the foreign language requirement for the MA degree, consult the website of the PSU Department of Foreign Languages and Literature (click here).
- The Master of Arts in History focuses upon the preparation and defense of a thesis that is based upon primary source research that follows from a program planned in consultation with the student's major field advisor. A minimum and maximum of 8 credits of thesis work (HST 503) is required for the MA degree in History.
- For graduation, finally, each student must successfully defend their thesis in an oral examination before a thesis committee composed of:
(1) the student's major field advisor;
(2) a second field examiner (with consent of the advisor, another member of the History Department can take the place of the second examiner on the thesis committee);
(3) a third reader from the History Department, or, if relevant to the thesis topic, from another department (appointment of a third reader is strongly recommended but can be waived with consent of the adviser);
and (4) an outside examiner appointed by the Office of Graduate Studies.
MA students are encouraged to use the MA program worksheet (.pdf format) to plot out their course of study with their primary field advisor.
What are the requirements for the Public History track for the MA Program in History?
Students wishing to pursue a career in public history are urged to consider the department's MA in Public History track.
Public history students take field courses, seminars, internships, and laboratory courses that cover a broad range of public history sub-fields, including: archival management, oral history, museology, cultural resource management, site interpretation, publications, and historic preservation. Coursework includes a balance of classroom and practical offerings.
Students choosing the public history track as their primary field are required to have a secondary field that is geographically defined.
In addition to fulfilling all other requirements for the MA in History, students must also complete:
- HST 596: Intro to Public History;
- a public product (e.g., exhibit, website, public program, audio or video document) as part of the required master's thesis;
- one public history seminar (HST 509);
- one public history internship (HST 504);
- two public history lab courses (for a total of 6 credits of HST 511).
See the MA in Public History requirements sheet (.pdf format) for more information.
What are the requirements for the World History track for the MA Program in History?
A specialization in World History is available through the department's World History MA track.
Students pursuing the world history track fulfill all of the requirements for the MA in History, with world history as their primary (major) field. In addition, the world history track requires two regional concentrations instead of a single minor field.
The field requirements for the world history track thus include:
- Twelve (12) credits of HST 595: Comparative World History (an appropriate advisor-approved course can replace 4 credits of HST 595)
- Two regional concentrations of a minimum 8 credits in each, for a minimum total of 16 credits
Regular MA students can still choose world history as a secondary field and fulfill this requirement in the standard way by taking 8 credits of HST 595.
See the MA in World History requirements sheet (.pdf format) for more information.
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