• How to think critically about and conduct effective research into the past.
• How to compose this research into an eloquent story about the past on the basis of primary, secondary and theoretical sources in critical debate with other historians about historical events, interpretations, methodology, theory and historiography.
• How to communicate their histories in a variety of oral and written modes appropriate to professional historians (in book reviews, articles, conference-style presentations, peer debate and with academic honesty).

Program Options

The Department of History offers two options leading to the master of arts degree. Both require 36 credit hours.

• M.A. in History with Thesis. This degree is for students who want to keep open the option of continuing their education beyond this degree.
• M.A. in history without Thesis. This degree is for students wishing to conclude their history education with this degree.

The Department of History will consider for admission as a regular graduate student any student:

• Whose undergraduate major was History.
• Who had a 3.0 grade-point average in History courses and a 3.0 grade-point average overall.

Applicants who do not hold an undergraduate degree in History, but whose baccalaureate program included substantial training in History and/or related subjects, may also be considered for regular admission.

In order to be admitted into the program, applicants must provide evidence that they have scored

• A minimum of 500 on the verbal portion and/or
• A minimum of 3.5 on the analytical writing portion of the GRE test
• A minimum score of 80 (internet) or 550 (paper) or 213 (computer) on the TOEFL and a minimum score of 4.0 is required for English as Second Language speakers.
  

and submit all of the following supplemental materials in addition to the basic admissions application:

1. An autobiographical essay (typically 2 pages long),
2. An essay detailing your scholarly interests, including if possible: the faculty with whom you wish to study(typically 2 pages long),
3. A sample of your scholarly writing,
4. Three letters of recommendation, and
5. A completed admissions application.

It is crucial that the entire application be completed and supplementary materials submitted in three steps:

1. Complete the admissions application online at www.umkc.edu/admissions/.
2. Send copies of your official test results and letters of recommendation to:

   Mailing Address

   University of Missouri-Kansas City
   Office of Admissions, Administrative Center, Room 120
   5115 Oak Street
   Kansas City, MO 64110-2499

    

3. Complete the supplementary application process online at www.umkc.edu/grasp/ Please take great care to answer all questions. You submit application materials, including letters of recommendation and writing samples, by faxing them directly to (573) 884-4898 for domestic students or -4894 for international applications.

Do not send anything directly to the Department of History. It is your responsibility to confirm the receipt of all materials by the due date.

Completed applications are due by March 15, for admission in the Fall semester of the new academic year and October 1, for admission in the Spring semester of the following calendar year. The History Department does not accept students for admissions beginning in the Summer semester.

Financial Aid

There are a limited number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships available. For information and forms, contact the History office directly. The School of Graduate Studies also administers graduate fellowships and scholarships. For all other inquiries about financial aid, contact:

Financial Aid and Scholarships Office
Administrative Center, Room 101
5115 Oak Street
(816) 235-1154 (Kansas City Metro)
1-800-775-8652 (Outside of Metro)
Fax: (816) 235-5511
finaid@umkc.edu
http://www.umkc.edu/finaid

Graduate Student Orientation

The History Graduate Student Association will host an annual Graduate Student Orientation during the week prior to the start of the Fall semester. At which students will be:

• introduced to the program curriculum and administration and
• encouraged to build working relationships with faculty and peers.

Minimum Expectations

1. Receive a grade of 2.67 or higher in all courses taken in the History Department.
2. Maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 graduate GPA.
3. Adhere rigorously and conscientiously to academic standards of honesty (see below).
4. Demonstrate serious commitment to scholarship and intellectual engagement.
5. Abide by all requirements of the School of Graduate Studies (see School of Graduate Studies section of the Graduate and Professional Catalog), in addition to those of the Department of History.

1. A tentative program of study, and the form listing the initial members of the Supervisory Committee, by the 15th of October or 15th of March before the completion of the student's 15th credit hour.
2. A final program of study, and the form listing the final members of the supervisory committee, by the 15th of October or 15th of March before the completion of the student's 30th credit hour.

Extenuating Circumstances

Probation

Academic Dishonesty

Research dishonesty refers to any conduct that is intended to mislead or communicate false research data or results, or which communicates such data or results in reckless disregard of their false or misleading character. Illustrations of research dishonesty include, but are not limited to, the following:

• False or misleading statements or publications concerning research data or results
• Intentional or reckless distortion or misinterpretation of research data or results
• Use of research methods which the researcher knows to be unreliable or which produce erroneous results, unless appropriately explained in publications and reports of the research
• Release of research data or scholarly efforts of other persons, and representing them as one's own or failing to give appropriate credit to their sources
• Misuse of the work of others or misrepresentation of authorship as that of the student

The Supervisory Committee

• For Non-Thesis students, the supervisory committee will ordinarily serve as the final examining committee. In consultation with the supervisory committee, the student should select fields for examination.
• For Thesis students, the supervisory committee will serve as the readers for the thesis.

• One member of the committee may be a full-time, regular member of another UMKC department so long as that person is also a member of the graduate faculty.
• A fourth member may be added to the committee from the adjunct graduate faculty or from the graduate faculty of another institution.

Final Masters Examination for Non-Thesis Students

1. Including chronology, bibliography, major themes and interpretations
2. Implying that the student’s knowledge significantly exceeds his or her class work
3. Reflecting an in-depth knowledge of that field of historical scholarship

• In writing and orally, to summarize a body of literature and take a critical position in that historigraphic debate
• To use particular historical facts to draw interpretive conclusions
• To use historical interpretations to engage in critical debates about how history should be written

1. Propose a list of no fewer than 15 landmark monographs and essays to each committee member that reflect the trends and debates in the field for which they are responsible.
2. Meet with the individual member of the faculty to discuss these texts (possibly as part of Non-Thesis Reading/Research 5597).

1. Meet to develop an integrated set of questions for that particular student’s exam.
2. Meet with the student in advance of the examination to explain what is expected.

1. One exam per field
2. One exam per day
3. Three hours for each exam
4. A choice of questions for each exam

Fields of Study

Fields of History offered by Regular Graduate Faculty:

William B. Ashworth, Jr.Science, Renaissance, Early Modern European 

Andrew S. Bergerson     Modern European, Modern German, Everyday Life, Material Culture, German Studies

Jessey J. C. Choo          Premodern East Asia, China, Japan, Religion, Women, Gender, Everyday Life, Material Culture

Gary L. Ebersole            Religious, Japanese, Cultural

Miriam Forman-Brunell   Women, Gender, Sexuality, United States Social, Everyday Life, Girls' History, Material Culture

Viviana Grieco               Precolonial, Colonial, and Modern Latin American

John Herron                   Environmental, Western United States, 19^th and 20th Century United States          

Carla L. Klausner           Islamic, Ottoman, Modern Middle East, Medieval Europe, Medieval Jewish

Pellom McDaniels III       American Studies, Black Studies, Sports, Masculinity

Dennis Merrill                U.S. Diplomatic, Contemporary United States, Modern Latin America, Globalization, International Relations

Linda Mitchell                Medieval English and Irish, Women

Diane Mutti Burke          19th Century American, Southern United States, Women, Gender, United States Social

Lynda S. Payne             Modern British, Science, Medicine, Gender, The Body, Women, Early Modern European

Shona Kelly Wray          Early Modern European, Medieval European, Renaissance

Master's Thesis (for the Thesis Option)

1. Meet regularly with the faculty adviser during research and writing.
2. Solicit the advice of the other members of the committee before submitting a final draft to the entire committee.

1. Summarize the literature/s relating to this area of research and take a critical position in it/them, engaging questions about chronology, bibliography, major themes and interpretations.
2. Explain and justify its theory and methodology.
3. Tell a story about the past eloquently on the basis of primary sources.
4. Comply with academic standards of honest and disciplinary standards of evidence.
5. Comply with all formal and administrative, University-wide guidelines for thesis submission. (Students are highly encouraged to attend a workshop offered by the School of Graduate Studies on proper thesis format held typically during the third week of each semester.)

Defense of Master's Thesis

1. Make a 20 minute conference-style presentation of his/her research.
2. Respond to questions from the audience and the committee about events, interpretation, theory, method and historiography.

Honary Organizations

Language Requirements

Course Requirements

1. How To-History I & II (HISTORY 5581 and 5582) for a total of 6 credits,
   
2. A minimum of two graduate level Colloquia (HISTORY 5585 and/or 5586) for a minimum of 6 credits, and
   
3. A minimum of one Research Seminar (HISTORY 5587) for 3 credits.
   

1. They are demonstrably graduate level courses.
2. They clearly relate to the student's program of study.
3. The student receives the approval of her/his supervisory committee.

Non-Thesis students may take up to 6 credits of Non-Thesis Research/Readings (HISTORY 5597) in which they receive one on one instruction in areas of their own special interest (a course offered at the discretion of individual instructors).

Thesis-option students must take at least 1 and no more than 6 credits of Thesis Research/Readings (HISTORY 5599R) in which they receive one-on-one mentoring as they develop their own contribution to knowledge based upon extensive research, reflection, and careful analysis (a course offered at the discretion of individual instructors).

How To-History

These foundational courses in the doing of history are offered in a two-semester sequence in the evening.

• In Part I (Fall semester), students will learn about the major trends in historiography by reading the “great books” of historical scholarship and learn the basics of historical criticism; the major assignment is a literature review that will aid the students in preparing for How To-History II.
• In Part II (Spring semester), students will learn the research methodologies and professional obligations of historians; the major assignment is a viable research prospectus that will aid the students in preparing for their Research Seminar.

Colloquia

1. Read broadly and learn about the major trends in the historiography of a particular historical problem, place, period, or specialization.
2. Develop fundamental skills of the professional historian such as the ability to write academic book reviews, make conference-style presentations, and discuss among peers the work of other historians critically.

Research Seminars

• Communities and Identities
• Gender, Sexuality and the Body
• Globalization and Internationalism
• Material Culture and Everyday Life
• Region and the Environment
• Science, Technology and Medicine
• Texts and Ideas

On a rotating basis, two of these courses are offered in the Spring semester in the evenings. Students may take two in the same semester only with the approval of their Faculty Advisor. In them, students will

• read a few examples of this field of scholarship,
• propose a viable research project with a professional prospectus,
• conduct historical research,
• write up the results to demonstrate a contribution to the existing literature,
•  make conference-style presentations of their research, and
• discuss the work of other historians critically among peers.

This course culminates in the production of an article-length “publishable” paper based on primary research. Students writing superior papers will participate in a Graduate Student Conference at the end of the Spring semester. All masters students will attend this conference as an audience.

Dual-Numbered Courses (300/5500 & 400/5500)

The Annual Graduate Student Conference

The History Department will host an annual Graduate Student Conference on Thursday afternoon and evening of the reading period in the Spring Semester (typically the last week in April or the first week in May). Graduate students should plan to attend as required by the program. In it, students will

• demonstrate their expertise in a research agenda of their own creation,
•  present their research to peers and faculty,
•  comment constructively and critically on the research of others,
• engage critical questions in public, and
•  celebrate their academic achievements that year.

At the conclusion to this conference, the faculty will present two student participants with the Carla Klausner Award for the Best Paper Presentation in History and the Lynda Payne Award for the Best Poster Presentation in History.