Graduate Studies in History

Program Requirements for the 2025-2026 Catalog Year

Program Progression and Additional Graduation Requirements

• Students must earn a grade of "B" or better in all graduate-level classes. A grade of B- does not meet this requirement.
• Pursuant to University guidelines, all course work for the degree must be completed within seven years of admission to the program. Extensions may be approved by the History Graduate Program Leader and the Office of Graduate Studies for extenuating circumstances.
• No more than 6 credits of HIS 6905 Directed Readings will be permitted. Additional hours may be permitted under exceptional circumstances with the approval of the History Graduate Program Leader.
• Students may take a maximum of 9 credits of cross-listed (undergraduate and graduate combined) courses.
• Students who have taken HIS 6971 Master's Thesis while pursuing the Thesis Option, and then change to the Non-Thesis Option may apply up to 6 credits of HIS 6971 to the appropriate Field of Study requirements with the approval of the History Graduate Program Leader.
• Graduate students may not take undergraduate courses for graduate credit.
• Graduate students must complete HIS 6004 before they can serve as Teaching Assistants.
• A maximum of 9 graduate credits may be transferred from an institution that maintains accreditation by a U.S. Department of Education sanctioned accrediting body (https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/college-accreditation) or equivalent foreign institution.
• Students must register for a minimum of one credit during the semester in which they apply for graduation.
• Earn more than 50% of the credits toward the degree through FGCU.
• Submit an application for graduation by the semester deadline listed in the FGCU Academic Calendar.
• If pursuing the thesis option, submit one electronic copy of the completed thesis to ProQuest. Refer to the Graduate Studies website for guidelines

Program Requirements

1. Professional Practice (3 credits)
   Select one of the following:
   HIS 6004 College-Level Teaching (3)
   HIS 6159 Historiography (3)
   HIS 6937 Academic Writing and Editing (3)
   
   Additional professional practice courses may be taken to fulfill other program requirements in the appropriate field of study.
   
   
2. Thesis or Non-Thesis (33 credits)
   Complete one of the following options. All courses must be selected in consultation with the faculty advisor.
   
   
   1. Thesis Option
      
      1. Complete 18 credits in the thesis field of study, to include 6 credits of HIS 6971 Master's Thesis.
      2. Complete 6 credits in the non-thesis field of study.
      3. Complete 9 credits of elective courses at the 5000 level and above.*
      4. Thesis:  Students will, under the supervision of a faculty advisor, complete a thesis in one of the fields of study below.  Students are required to complete and defend the thesis and submit one electronic copy of the completed thesis to ProQuest.  The production and style of these will follow established university guidelines.
         
         
   2. Non-Thesis Option
      
      1. Complete 33 credits of graduate level (5000 and above)* courses. A maximum of 18 credits can be selected from any one field of study.
      2. Take and successfully defend a comprehensive exam.
         
         *A maximum of 9 credits of courses from outside of the History program may be substituted with the approval of the History Graduate Program Leader.

3. Fields of Study

In consultation with a faculty advisor, students will select appropriate courses from three fields of study: U.S. History; State, Local, and Public History; and World History. The specific courses selected will depend on student interests, career goals, and selection of thesis or non-thesis option. Courses selected for the thesis field will serve as the foundation for development of the thesis.

US History Courses
AMH 6116 American Colonial Hist (3)
AMH 6176 Civil War and Reconstruction (3)
AMH 6278 U.S. in the Cold War (3)
AMH 6424 Modern Florida (3)
AMH 6516 American Diplomatic History (3)
AMH 6535 American Immigration History (3)
AMH 6546 American Military History (3)
AMH 6567 Women in American History (3)
AMH 6576 African-Amer Hist to 1865 (3)
AMH 6577 African-Ameri Hist since 1865 (3)
AMH 6915 Research in American History (3)*
AMH 6939 Seminar in American History (3)*
HIS 5930 Special Topics (3)*
HIS 6905 Directed Readings (1-3)
HIS 6966 Comprehensive Exam (3)
HIS 6971 Master's Thesis (1-3)

State, Local and Public History Courses
HIS 5930 Special Topics (3)*
HIS 5941 Internship in History (1-3)
HIS 6067 Public History (3)
HIS 6077 Oral History (3)
HIS 6093 How Societies Remember (3)
HIS 6156 Material Culture (3)
HIS 6168 Issues Digital & Public Hist (3)
HIS 6905 Directed Readings (1-3)*
HIS 6966 Comprehensive Exam (3)
HIS 6971 Master's Thesis (1-3)

World History Courses
AFH 6256 Africa in World History (3)
EUH 6184 Medieval Ecclesiology and Law (3)
EUH 6249 Themes in Holocaust History (3)
EUH 6517 Tudor and Stuart Britain (3)
EUH 6939 Seminar in European History (3)
HIS 5930 Special Topics (3)*
HIS 6905 Directed Readings (1-3)*
HIS 6966 Comprehensive Exam (3)
HIS 6971 Master's Thesis (1-3)
LAH 6137 Colonial Latin America (3)
LAH 6306 Modern Latin America (3)
LAH 6939 Seminar Lat Am Hist (3)
WOH 6201 Environmental History (3)
WOH 6207 Age of Discovery (3)
WOH 6247 Century of Global Conflict (3)
WOH 6265 Making of the Global Order (3)
WOH 6939 Seminar in World History (3)
Other graduate courses with the prefixes AFH, ASH, EUH, LAH, and WOH

*With appropriate topic

Total Credits Required: 36 HRS

History M.A.
Academic Learning Compact

Consistent with its mission and guiding principles, Florida Gulf Coast University is committed to academic excellence and continuous quality improvement, as supported by a sound teaching-learning process. Within this process, students and instructors share responsibility for learning that is a movement from the simple to the complex, the concrete to the abstract, and the dependent to the independent. The Academic Learning Compact (ALC) initiative supports the teaching-learning process by clearly identifying expected core student learning outcomes; aligning curricula with expectations; and using assessment to guide continuous improvement.

MAHist-DIS1 Graduates of the program will be able to express a scholarship-based understanding of key historiographical theories and philosophies, and their application to a variety of historical subject matters.

MAHist-DIS2
Graduates of the program will be able to evaluate and deconstruct a range of historical texts including primary and secondary sources, in a complex manner.

MAHist-DIS3
Graduates of the program will be able to conduct advanced historical research and scholarship, using relevant resources and databases that engages with interdisciplinary perspectives, adds to scholarly understanding, provides challenging perspectives, or analyzes various ethical and professional issues.

MAHist-DIS4
Graduates of the program will be able to create sophisticated and professionally informed written works and employ prose that is clear and effective.

Learning Outcomes will be assessed in the following courses: