Required Introductory Course: 3 Hours

• HIST 6013 - Introduction to the Professional Study of History. Semester Hours: 3

Major Courses: 18 Hours

• HIST 5234 - Introduction to Public History. Semester Hours: 3

•  

  Concentration Requirement (optional)

  Students who choose to concentrate in museum studies or historic preservation must take either

• HIST 5231 - History in Museums. Semester Hours: 3

• -OR-

• HIST 5232 - Historic Preservation. Semester Hours: 3

•  

  Research Seminar (3 hours)

  Research seminars focus on students’ development of an original, primary research paper.

   

  Major Electives (9-12 hours)

  Electives are made up of courses in public history, which focus on methodology and practice and thesis or project credits. These courses include:

   

• HIST 5133 - Management of Material Culture and Museum Collections. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 5228 - Western Art and Architecture. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 5229 - Colorado Historic Places. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 5240 - National Parks History. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 5242 - Oral History. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 5243 - Public History Administration. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 5244 - Interpretation of History in Museums: Exhibits and Education. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 5245 - Heritage Tourism. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 6645 - Archival Management. Semester Hours: 3
• HIST 6992 - Seminar: Colorado Studies. Semester Hours: 3

•  

  Additionally, special topics courses may be offered in such areas as historic reenactments, monuments and memory and recreating historic house interiors. Students who didn’t take HIST 5231 or HIST 5232 as their concentration requirement may use these courses toward their elective requirements.

   

Minor Electives: 12 Hours

Electives are made up of courses in the minor field, including readings courses, which address specific field historiographies, or research seminars.
 

Open Elective: 3 Hours

Students may use the open elective to explore a course outside their major or minor or to do extra course work in one of their fields.

Total: 36 Hours

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INDEPENDENT STUDIES AND/OR INTERNSHIPS

Candidates may register for up to 6 hours of internships or independent study, only one of which may be at the 6000-level. Only in exceptional circumstances will students be allowed to satisfy the research seminar requirement via independent study. Any independent study at the 6000-level needs the permission of the graduate advisor. Students interested in pursuing an independent study must find a faculty member willing to oversee their work, and they should expect the workload for an independent study to equal or exceed that required for other courses at the same level. 

• HIST 5840 - Independent Study. Semester Hours: 1 to 3
• HIST 6840 - Independent Study. Semester Hours: 1 to 3
• HIST 6939 - Cooperative Education. Semester Hours: 1 to 6

Thesis Requirements

Students writing theses are expected to develop an original research agenda resulting in an extended paper. Students work with their major field advisor, who will help guide them through the process of research and writing.  Students are expected to take no less than two semesters (enrolled in HIST 6950) to complete their theses. Before registering for HIST 6950, students must have a thesis proposal and initial bibliography approved by their advisor. The first semester of the thesis course is organized as a seminar in which students meet regularly with a department member and other thesis writers.

A thesis is evaluated by a committee of three, including the major advisor and two other faculty members chosen by the student in consultation with the major advisor. Upon completion of the thesis, the student meets with the committee members, who ask questions about the research and conclusions which the student must defend.  In many instances, the committee will require further revisions, sometimes major in scope, before the thesis is accepted and cleared for submission to the Graduate School in fulfillment of degree requirements.

Project Requirements

In lieu of a thesis, public history majors may choose to enroll in one semester of HIST 6952 to complete a public history project. Projects, which are usually conducted in collaboration with a public history organization, can entail creating an exhibit, organizing a museum or archival collection, conducting a preservation survey, or similar activities. Students are required to prepare a paper describing the process and results of their project.

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Curriculum Projects

Licensed teachers enrolled in the history graduate program may choose to complete a curriculum development project. Students arrange curriculum development  projects with a sponsoring faculty member. Generally, students are expected to develop and submit a complete course curriculum plan for each 3-semester-hour project. Projects need to show evidence of familiarity with the relevant historiographies and primary sources. Students may apply the credits from HIST 6951 to either the major field or the minor field, depending on the project subjects.  Curriculum plans must meet minimum criteria established by the history department in the document “Advanced History Curriculum Development Projects” section.

• HIST 6951 - Masters Project: Advanced History Curriculum Development. Semester Hours: 1 to 6

• (3 or 6 semester hours in their major field, or 3 semester hours in their major and 3 semester hours in their minor)

Secondary Teacher Licensure

Students interested in becoming secondary history and social studies teachers may choose to earn both the MA in history and secondary teacher licensure. For detailed information, see the following URL:  http://thunder1.cudenver.edu/clas/history/maPlanV.html

We strongly encourage students to complete the School of Education & Human Development’s initial professional teacher education (IPTE) program before enrolling in the history MA program; the history graduate program and the IPTE program require separate admission. Students complete 36 semester hours in history and 37 semester hours in the IPTE program . For the history degree, students take 18 semester hours in their major field, 12 semester hours in their minor field and 6 semester hours in curriculum and methods course work, which apply both to the IPTE program and the MA in history:

• HIST 5464 - Problems and Methods in Teaching History and Social Studies I. Semester Hours: 3

• -and-

• HIST 5465 - Problems and Methods in Teaching History and Social Studies II. Semester Hours: 3

•