History

The graduate program in history at North Dakota State University has offered a master's degree since the Graduate School was founded in 1954 and a Ph.D. in History since 2002. For more information on our Master's and Doctoral programs, please see the department's website www.ndsu.edu/history/.

Admission Requirements

Master's Degree

The Department of History graduate program is open to qualiﬁed graduates of universities and colleges of recognized standing. In addition to the Graduate School admission requirements, the applicant must also

Provide a statement of intent that clearly outlines the applicant's interest and purpose for seeking a master's degree in history. The department uses this statement to assess the applicant's ability to organize thoughts, to formulate a plan of academic study, and to complete the graduate program. This statement also enables the department to determine whether North Dakota State University's graduate history program suits the applicant's needs and objectives.
Submit a substantial paper submitted for an upper-division history class or for a class in the humanities and social sciences. The paper should provide evidence of an applicant's ability to synthesize information, organize thoughts logically, and communicate clearly and effectively.

Ph.D.

Preference for admission into the Ph.D. program with full graduate standing will be given to applicants who have a GPA of at least 3.5 in history courses in an earned bachelor's or master's degree.

Applicants must submit a statement of purpose clearly outlining their research interests, potential major adviser, career goals, and purpose for seeking a Ph.D. in History. Applicants must also submit a substantial paper submitted for a class in History to provide evidence of ability to research thoroughly, interpret and analyze primary and secondary sources, synthesize information, organize thoughts logically, and communicate clearly and effectively.

Residency Requirements

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program are required to complete at least one academic year (18 credits minimum) in residence on campus.

Most graduate courses are held during the workday, but several courses are offered in the late afternoon and evening each semester to accommodate working professionals within driving distance of NDSU. Online courses are not typically offered.

Financial Assistance

Both graduate teaching and research assistantships are available. Students wishing to apply for assistantships should indicate this in their application. The deadline for assistantship applications is March 1. Graduate assistants work between 10 and 20 hours per week. In addition to the stipend, graduate assistants receive a graduate tuition waiver. Tuition waivers cover base tuition for NDSU graduate credits only. Students are responsible for differential tuition, student fees, and tuition for non-graduate level credits taken or Cooperative Education credits.

The department awards and renews assistantships based on maintenance of good standing in the program and full-time registration during the appointment, demonstration of historical knowledge and good communication skills, progress toward completion of a degree, ﬁnancial need, and minority status in cases of equally qualiﬁed candidates.

Master's students can expect a maximum of 2 years of funding, while doctoral students may have 4 years of support if the above expectations are met and funding is available.

Master's Degree

Master of Arts

The department offers both the Master of Arts (M.A.) and the Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in history. The Master of Arts requires proficiency in at least one foreign language and the successful defense of a thesis. Those planning to continue graduate study in history at the doctoral level are strongly encouraged to pursue the M.A. The Master of Science is designed for in-service professionals and has no language or thesis requirement; students pursuing the M.S. are generally not awarded assistantships or tuition waivers. Both degrees require a minimum of 30 credit hours with a minimum of 24 hours in history.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
HIST 702	Historiography	3
HIST 705	Directed Research (taken during second year)	1
HIST 710	Research Seminar in North American History	3
Select six credits of the following (one to be in the student's major area and the other the minor area)		6
HIST 730	Readings in North American History
HIST 760	Readings in European History
HIST 780	Readings in World History
History coursework numbered 601 or higher		6-9
HIST 798	Master's Thesis	8
Total Credits		30-33

Master of Science Degree

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
HIST 702	Historiography	3
HIST 710	Research Seminar in North American History	3
HIST 730	Readings in North American History	3
HIST 760	Readings in European History	3
HIST 780	Readings in World History	3
601 or above courses (Up to 3 credits may be taken from outside of the history department.)		12
HIST 797	Master's Paper	3
Total Credits		39

Ph.D. Degree

The department offers a Doctor of Philosophy degree in History. The Ph.D. in History is a research degree. It requires the successful defense of a dissertation based on primary sources that makes an original contribution to knowledge. We only admit students who already hold an M.A. in History or another very closely related field.

Foreign language requirements vary from field to field. One foreign language is required for students in the U.S. field. At least two foreign languages are required for all others, depending on the languages needed to conduct research and access the secondary literature. The language requirement can be met by completing college coursework in that language through the second year (e.g., SPAN 202) or by passing a language exam administered by the faculty.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Course Requirements		60-90
HIST 702	Historiography
HIST 705	Directed Research
HIST 710	Research Seminar in North American History
Readings courses (Any of them may be repeated for credit, provided the topics are different.)		6
HIST 730	Readings in North American History
HIST 760	Readings in European History
HIST 780	Readings in World History
6xx - level or higher courses (At least 3 and no more than 6 of these credits must come from non-HIST courses)		15
HIST 899	Doctoral Dissertation

Ashley Baggett, Ph. D.
Louisiana State University, 2014
Field: Women’s History/Gender Studies, 19th century U.S., Southern History

Tracy Barrett, Ph.D.
Cornell University, 2007
Field: East and Southeast Asia, Overseas Chinese

Bradley Benton, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles, 2012
Field: Latin American History, Colonial Mexico; Nahua (Aztec) Politics, Society, and Culture; the Early Modern Atlantic World; Cross-Cultural Contact and Exchange.

John K. Cox, Ph.D.
Indiana University, 1995
Field: Eastern Europe, Russia, Germany, Ottoman Empire

Mark Harvey, Ph.D.
University of Wyoming, 1986
Field: American West, Environmental History, Public History

Thomas D. Isern, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University, 1977
Field: History and Folklore of the North American Plains, History of Agriculture

Don Johnson, Ph.D.
Northwestern University, 2015
Field: Colonial and Revolutionary America History

Marcela Perett, Ph.D.
The Medieval Institute, University of Notre Dame, 2009
Field: Late Antiquity, Medieval Europe, Renaissance & Reformation

Angela Smith, Ph.D.
Middle Tennessee State University, 2011
Field: Public History, 20th Century American History, Cultural History, Digital History

University Catalog 2023-24

History

Master's Degree

Master of Arts

Master of Science Degree

Ph.D. Degree