Master of Arts Program in HistorySPECIALIZATION IN HISTORY OF WOMEN AND GENDER
The Department of History offers a Master of Arts program in history
with an area of study focus in history of women and gender. Students
wishing to pursue an M.A. in history may only enroll with the history
of women and gender focus. The department additionally offers separate
master’s programs in world history and in archives and public history,
as outlined below. The program for the master’s degree in history
offers students graduate work that serves a variety of needs and
purposes. A master’s program can be an end in itself for students whose
personal and/or professional goal is an M.A. degree. The M.A. can also
be a preparatory graduate degree en route to the doctorate; however
acceptance into the M.A. program does not constitute admission into the
Ph.D. program in the Department of History. Students who decide they
want to pursue a Ph.D. may later apply for admission to the doctoral
program.
The Master of Arts degree requires the completion of 32 points, of
which at least 24 must be within the history department. No more than 8
points may be transferred from other graduate schools. A request for
transfer credits must be made within the first year of enrollment.
Students must take at least one seminar in which a substantial research
paper is completed. The student must achieve a grade of B or better in
the seminar. There is no general language requirement for the M.A. in
history.
The M.A. program in history encourages students to explore the social,
cultural, and political meanings and uses of gender constructs and to
challenge traditional narratives about men and women across history.
Our field draws its strength from our faculty’s commitment to
investigating the history of women and gender, and from a long
tradition of feminist scholarship.
Our field brings together faculty and graduate students from a wide
range of geographical, chronological, and thematic fields, and is
strengthened by departmental fields in African diaspora and Atlantic
world, as well as by joint degree programs with Hebrew and Judaic
Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and the Institute of French Studies.
NYU also has a strong Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, and
our graduate students are encouraged to take courses with scholars of
gender in other university departments. Admission to the program is
highly selective.
Earning an M.A. degree in history prepares students for careers in
museums, historical societies, and historic houses; with archives and
historical papers; and in film and television. It can also prepare
students for teaching at the secondary-school level or serve as a
foundation for graduate study at the Ph.D. level.
Students in the history of women and gender field complete a 32-credit program of study consisting of the following courses:
1. The M.A. Proseminar (G57.2022) is
required of all M.A. students in the Department of History and provides
them with an introduction to the professional study of history (4
points).
2. At least three courses that focus substantively on gender, offered
either by our core faculty or, with approval, by faculty from across
the university and beyond (12 points).
3. Three topical history courses intended to deepen historical expertise in chronological or geographical fields (12 points).
4. The M.A. thesis (research paper) in the student’s field of
specialization (normally determined by the end of the first semester),
which will consider gender as a central category of analysis; students
select a faculty adviser to direct the thesis and register for an
independent study with the adviser (4 points).
WORLD HISTORY
The Department of History offers a master’s program in world history
that introduces students to the methods and approaches used by
historians to study global and transnational phenomena. It also engages
students in comparative and thematic work exploring the history of at
least two world regions. It is aimed at those who are seeking an
historical perspective on the increasingly interconnected global
society in which we live. Among those whose needs it may serve are
educators, professionals involved in international occupations,
journalists or others working in the field of communications, and those
exploring their own interest in further study. Acceptance into the M.A.
program does not constitute admission into the Ph.D. program in the
Department of History, but students who decide they want to pursue a
Ph.D. may later apply for admission to it.
The core curriculum for the program normally includes eight
one-semester courses (32 credit points), including three core courses,
three courses in a major field of study, and two courses in a minor
field. Students must present a master’s essay, and they must
demonstrate a reading knowledge of a foreign language relevant to their
work. Students may take cognate courses in world history in the Draper
Interdisciplinary Master’s Program in Humanities and Social Thought,
and, with approval, up to two courses in anthropology, sociology,
politics, economics, or literature.
Students must undertake study of two regions of the world, one of which
will be designated the major field and one as the minor. The available
regions are Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Latin America and
the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North America. Students must elect
at least one field outside of Europe and North America.
All M.A. students must take the M.A. Proseminar, usually in their first
semester. Students in the world history program must take Methods and
Approaches in World History, usually in the first or second semester.
This course explores the conceptual issues involved in the study and
teaching of world history. It includes a broad range of methodological
perspectives and addresses current debates about world history.
Students in the world history program must take a course covering
comparative or transnational themes. Normally, this expectation is
addressed by a variety of courses offered each year in the Department
of History. Appropriate course topics include migrations and diasporas,
globalization, frontiers and borderlands, colonialism and
decolonization, global cities, and biological and ecological exchanges,
among others. Each student is required to complete a master’s essay,
which should address some of the thematic or comparative questions
encountered in the core courses. Master’s essays must receive a grade
of A- or higher.
The M.A. program is a terminal degree program and should not be seen as
a precursor to the department’s Ph.D. program in any way.
All students enrolled full-time are expected to complete their course
work after three semesters, including the passing of a language exam.
They qualify for the degree when their master’s essay has been
approved. Part-time students are allowed to stretch the program out
over a maximum of six semesters. Students may petition to substitute
one course that does not fit the above program if their special needs,
interests, or background justify it.
ARCHIVES AND PUBLIC HISTORY
The Department of History offers a master’s program in archives and
public history. The master’s in archives and public history can be
combined with an advanced certificate in archival management or public
history. Archivists and public historians present and interpret history
in a wide variety of dynamic venues, ranging from history museums to
digital libraries. For three decades, NYU has prepared students for
successful careers as archivists, manuscript curators, documentary
editors, oral historians, cultural resource managers, historical
interpreters, and new media specialists. The program emphasizes a solid
grounding in historical scholarship, intense engagement with new media
technologies, and close involvement with New York’s extraordinary
archival and public history institutions. Students in the program elect
to follow a concentration in either archival management or public
history.
As part of their required core course work, students have the
opportunity to embark on independent research projects using the unique
resources of New York City as their public history and archives
laboratory. In addition, internships are integrated with course work,
contributing to a professionalized and constructive learning
environment. The program offers students an M.A. degree in archives and
public history, with individual concentration in either field. Students
who already hold M.A. degrees may attain an advanced certificate in
either archives or public history.
Students in the archives and public history program must complete the following M.A. degree requirements:
1. Satisfactory completion of 32 points and a grade of B or better in the Research Seminar.
2. All required courses and at least two electives within concentration.
3. A capstone research project approved by the director.
Required M.A. courses include
1. M.A. Proseminar
2. Introduction to Archives I
3. Introduction to Public History I
4. Internship Seminar
5. Research Seminar
There is no general language requirement for the archives and public history program.
| |
