The Master’s Thesis
The Master’s Thesis
What is a Master’s Thesis?
The M.A. Thesis is a unique opportunity to work on a significant research project under the direction of a faculty advisor. The project is an excellent opportunity for graduate students to work as independent historians, providing a setting in which students are able to explore and delve more deeply into a long-standing interest or topic. Although challenging, a thesis is an intellectually rewarding and satisfying experience not only for students who intend to pursue further graduate study, but also for those with careers in education, business, government, or other professions.
Students electing to write a thesis will designate (in consultation with the Program Director) a 3-person thesis committee consisting of one Advisor and two Readers. The student and Committee will have a proposal meeting (prior to registering for thesis credits) and a defense of the completed project, scheduled when the Advisor and Committee deem the student ready.
Registration, Credits, and Timeline:
Criteria for the M.A. Thesis
The option of doing a master’s thesis is available to any degree-seeking graduate history student of good academic standing. A graduate student completing a thesis will register for 6 hours of thesis credits. This means that out of the 30 credits needed to graduate, the student will complete 6 thesis credits and 24-course credits. The Graduate program will work with the Registrar’s Office to create and register the student for the thesis course during the semester the student is expected to begin the thesis. This ordinarily will be for the semester immediately following the approval of the thesis proposal.
Deadlines for M.A. Thesis Proposals
The deadline for proposals for a fall thesis is the first week in August; the deadline for spring registration is the last week of November. Students must submit a thesis proposal including the proposed thesis committee to the Program Director, Dr. Jeff Johnson, for approval before starting work.
Recent M.A. Theses
- Matthew Lussier (2023) – Not Just O Jogo Bonito: How International Soccer Impacts the World and Vice Versa
- Katherine Lynch (2022-2023) – “A Duty to Shout ‘Stop'”: Irish Solidarity with Palestinian Refugees, 1960-2000
- Kara Berlin-Gallo (2022-2023) – “No Unified Laboring Class”: The Cholera Epidemic of 1854 and Antebellum New York’s Working Class
- Elsie McLaughlin (2021-2022) – “The One Who Cares For Egypt”: Queen Ahhotep and Feminine Power in the Late 17th Dynasty
- Emily Dupuis (2021-2022) – “Real Irish in Their Thinking”: A Transatlantic History of Irish Catholic Women (1840-1915)
- James Kelly (2021-2022) – Who’s This “We” You’re Talking About?: Department Store Workers, Ownership, and the Devolution of Retail Labor, 1900-2022
- Rebecca Farias (2021-2022) – Doe as Thou Wouldest Be Done By: Relief Responses to Mental Illness in Puritan New England
