Note: Admission to the accelerated M.A. program is open to current KU undergraduate students only. If you are a non-KU student interested in graduate study, consult information about our M.A. and Ph.D. programs, respectively.

The accelerated M.A. program in history enables qualified KU students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master's degree in history in five years. Students apply to join the accelerated program in their Junior year, and spend the following two years completing a mix of undergraduate and graduate course work.

The M.A. may be pursued as a terminal degree or as preparation to pursue doctoral studies at KU or elsewhere.

Careful course selection and steady progression through the undergraduate career is necessary to ensure all requirements for both degrees be completed within the five-year timeframe.  All prospective students should discuss their interest in admission to the accelerated program with both the director of undergraduate studies and the director of graduate studies as early as possible but no later than fall of the student’s Junior year.

Admission to Graduate Studies

Admission Requirements

• All applicants must meet the requirements outlined in the Admission to Graduate Study policy. 

• Bachelor’s degree: A copy of official transcripts showing proof of a bachelor's degree (and any post-bachelor’s coursework or degrees) from a regionally accredited institution, or a foreign university with equivalent bachelor's degree requirements is required.  

• English proficiency: Proof of English proficiency for non-native or non-native-like English speakers is required. There are two bands of English proficiency, including Admission and Full proficiency. For applicants to online programs, Full proficiency is required. 

Prospective students are eligible to apply to the graduate program in their Junior year. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but should be submitted before the end of the applicant’s junior year.  Applications must be received at least 4 weeks prior to start of the student’s second to last undergraduate semester.

The following program requirements must be met by this time:

• Major GPA of at least 3.5 and cumulative GPA of at least 3.00;
• On track to complete all requirements for a B.A. degree in history from KU with one additional year of study beyond the junior year.

Applicants must complete an Application for Graduate Study online.  Please submit the inquiry form below and contact the graduate program coordinator prior to starting the application. The following information should be gathered in advance and uploaded with the application:

• 2 letters of recommendation (preferably from professors in the major). Your recommenders will automatically receive an email requesting their letters when you submit the application. It is not necessary for your recommenders to send hard copies of their letters to the department if they submit their letters electronically. 
• Résumé or curriculum vitae
• A one-page statement of educational and career objectives
• A writing sample, preferably from a history course, 5-10 pages of text not including the bibliography, endnotes, or images following endnotes.

Upon review of the application for admission, the History Department will notify the student of their eligibility to begin course work in the program the following fall semester.  Final acceptance to the graduate program will be contingent upon the following:

• Successful completion of all requirements for the bachelor’s degree;
• Grades of B+ or above in all history graduate-level course work taken in the final year of undergraduate study.
• Submission of a Program of Study Worksheet

Program of Study

• After acceptance to the program, M.A. students will submit an M.A. Program of Study Worksheet. Students are expected to identify three fields of study (geographical, thematic, and chronological) in consultation with their primary advisor. These fields must be approved by the primary advisor and director of graduate study by April 15. The Program of Study Worksheet also designates a primary advisor and two other faculty advisors as the official members of the student’s M.A. committee.

To express interest and request further information about the history accelerated M.A. program, click one of the links below to complete a short form.

Current KU Students inquiry form

Future Jayhawks inquiry form

Master’s Degree Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Graduate course work taken during the senior year		12
HIST 802	Seminar in: _____	3
HIST 805	The Nature of History	3
4 History elective courses numbered 700+		12
Total Hours		30

M.A. Examination

In the final semester of enrollment, M.A. students complete a portfolio and oral examination with their faculty committee. The portfolio covers the student’s research fields and the papers prepared in the undergraduate capstone seminar (HIST 696 or HIST 690 and HIST 691) and the graduate research seminar (HIST 802). The committee must meet the requirements outlined in the Office of Graduate Studies' Master's Student Oral Exam Committee Composition policy.

A detailed presentation of departmental degree requirements and regulations is included in the department’s Graduate Student Handbook.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Elective Options
HIST 705	Globalization in History	3
HIST 720	The Modern Museum: Institutions, Knowledge and Audiences	3
HIST 721	Museum Education and Public Engagement	3
HIST 722	Preventive Conservation in Museums	3
HIST 723	Introduction to Museum Exhibits	3
HIST 725	Introduction to Collections Management and Utilization	3
HIST 727	Archival Theory and Practice	3
HIST 728	Managing Museums	3
HIST 800	Readings in: _____	1-8
HIST 801	Colloquium in: _____	3
HIST 806	Studies in: _____	3
HIST 810	Colloquium in Nationalism Studies	3
HIST 811	Colloquium in Comparative Empires	3
HIST 862	Indigenous Archives and Tribal Historic Preservation	3
HIST 878	Colloquium in Global Environmental History	3
HIST 879	Colloquium in North American Environmental History	3
HIST 881	Slavery in the Atlantic World	3
HIST 883	Ethnohistory of the Americas	3
HIST 891	Colloquium in 19th Century U.S. History	3
HIST 892	Colloquium in 20th Century U.S. History	3
HIST 895	Colloquium in the History of Gender	3
HIST 982	Colloquium in the History of the American West	3

Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
HIST 500+ Elective	3	HIST 696 or 691 (Capstone, Major, MA Requirement)	3
HIST 690 (Honors Thesis First Course; or HIST 500+ Elective)	3	HIST 500+ Elective	3
	6		6
Year 5
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
HIST 805	3	HIST 802	3
HIST 700+ Elective	3	HIST 700+ Elective	3
HIST 700+ Elective	3	HIST 700+ Elective	3
	9		9
Total Hours 30

At the completion of this program, students will be able to: 

• Synthesize and assess information gathered from primary and secondary source materials.
• Construct an historical question.
• Conduct historical research and develop informational literacy through the navigation of libraries, databases, and archives.
• Effectively compose and communicate an historical, evidence-based argument to both specialists and a general audience.
• Appreciate and examine diverse perspectives across time and space.
• Formulate a distinctive insight into a historical question and demonstrate analytical rigor in discovering and interpreting data to answer that question.
• Effectively compose and communicate historical, evidence-based arguments in written and oral form to varied audiences.
• Mobilize qualitative and/or quantitative methodologies to access and evaluate historical sources to identify patterns, formulate and support interpretations.
• Recognize, analyze, and contextualize the diversity of human experiences and perspectives across time and space.
• Maintain the highest standards of intellectual integrity in our discipline.