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Together with the School of Information Sciences (the iSchool), the Department of History offers an interdisciplinary master’s degree program leading to a Master of Arts degree in History and a Master of Science in Library and Information Science. The joint degree program matches expertise in historical research and writing with professional education, and prepares students for professional careers in archives, libraries, museums, historical societies, corporations, and government agencies.
The History Department has fall admissions only. Application instructions, deadline, and required materials can be found at the link below.
Financial support
Although the History Department is not currently able to offer employment or fellowships to MA/MS students, there are many opportunities for employment on campus, including in the library through the iSchool. Most appointments include tuition and partial fee waivers, including when students in this joint program are registered in History (when the waiver is covered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences).
Degree Requirements
The joint degree requires 56 total credit hours (most graduate courses are 4 credit hours) divided between courses for History and LIS (28 course hours in each program; no more than 12 hours can double count). Students will use the MA/MSLIS degree checklist as they progress through this program to track their requirements progress. All requirements for History need to be completed on campus; History does not currently offer graduate online courses.
History Requirements: 28 credit hours (online graduate courses are not offered)
- HIST 593: Approaches and Methods in History (Fall semester of your first year--4 credit hours)
- HIST 594: Introduction to Historical Writing (Spring semester of your first year--4 credit hours)
- At least two History courses in one of the graduate fields of specialization established by the department or a constructed field approved by the department: 4 credits of which must be at the 500-level and 4 credits of which must be taken as a "research seminar," which consists of original research and writing based on primary sources, a requirement that can be satisfied in any course (with the instructor’s agreement) or in History 596 (individual directed research). This research seminar is in addition to History 594.
- Elective course work in history should be selected in consultation with an advisor who is a member of the History Department. These may include approved coursework in related disciplines, courses on topics of interest and relevance to you, and, if you wish to write a Master's thesis (which is optional) up to 8 hours of HIST 599.
Language Requirement
Proficiency can be demonstrated in one of the four ways:
- passing an appropriate graduate reading course or sequence of undergraduate courses (through intermediate level) with a grade of B or better
- passing a departmental exam administered each September and February: analysis and paraphrase of an article or excerpt for modern languages, of a primary source for premodern languages
- evidence of proficiency as approved by the advisor in consultation with the DGS
- native fluency.
Library and Information Science Requirements
Information about the degree requirements for the MSLIS can be found on the iSchool website.
Questions?
Our graduate program staff are happy to answer your questions and help you navigate the program.