1. Ph.D. Application Materials and Deadline
Final deadline for fall semester is March 1.

2. M.A. Application Materials and Deadline
Final deadline for fall semester is May 1.

Instructions for applying to the Graduate School are in the "Admissions" section of the Graduate School web site. In addition to the application materials required by the Graduate School, the Department of History also recommends:

• A writing sample

2. Assistantship Deadline

The deadline for consideration for teaching assistantship, scholarships, internships, and all other financial aid is March 1. All complete files received on or before the March 1 deadline will be reviewed for a teaching assistantship.

3. International Students

• See information in the "Admissions" section of the Graduate School web site.
• The TOEFL exam can substitute for the GRE

email: michael.mayer@umontana.edu

Financial Assistance

For additional information about financial assistance, see the "Financial Information" section on the Graduate School web site.

Teaching Assistantships

Ten teaching assistantships are available to history graduate students. These are awarded on a competitive annual basis and are renewable once. Teaching assistants handle discussion sections in the American and European surveys. Some money is available for graders in individual courses.

In addition to their salaries, teaching assistants receive a tuition fee waiver (in-state or out-of-state) and a waiver of the registration fee. Other fees charged by the University are not included in the TA fee waiver package. Teaching assistants are required to register for 9 credits each semester.

Research Assistantships

Research money is available for specific projects from three sources: the A.B. Hammond Fund for Western History administered by the department; the Research Advisory Council, administered by the Vice President for Research and Economic Development; and the Stephenie Ambrose-Tubbs Fellowships, also administered by the department.

Scholarships/Fellowships

The Moser-McKinney Scholarship is awarded to a Ph.D. student. It includes a waiver of tuition and all fees. It is renewable for four years.

The Cappadocia Fellowship of $3,000 is awarded annually to a graduate student in European history.

Requirements

Ph.D. History

Candidates for the PhD, before they advance for formal candidacy, must

1. Complete 15 credits past the MA (total of 45 credits). Students may transfer up to thirty (30) credits at the discretion of the graduate committee.

2. Demonstrate competence in foreign languages. Students in US history will be required to demonstrate competence in one foreign language. Students in other areas will be required to demonstrate competence in two foreign languages. Passage of 102 at UM or the equivalent elsewhere will demonstrate competence. Students may also satisfy the requirement by taking the ETS exam and scoring above the 45th percentile. These requirements are a minimum. At their discretion, advisors may require a higher degree of competence or additional languages.

3. Write an MA thesis. If accepted directly into the PhD program, students may instead submit two research papers which must be approved by a committee.

4. Pass written exams in four fields. In order to qualify to take the exams, students must meet any language requirement, maintain a 3.5 average in course work, and complete the research requirement (in #3). Exams will be offered in December and May. No two fields may be taken with the same advisor. Students who fail to pass their exams may take them a second time. Failure on the second attempt will mean termination from the program.

One field may be taken outside the department. This field would be chosen in consultation with the student's advisor and must be approved by the advisor. For fields taken outside the department, the supervising professor will administer the written exam and will be part of the oral exam committee (see below). Students may opt out of exams in the field outside the History department if they take two or more courses in preparation (chosen in consultation with the student's advisor, at least one of which must be at the 500 level) and if they maintain, a 3.5 average in the courses offered for the field.

A student may take up to nine credits outside the history department and have them count towards his or her degree. Students entering with a MA may take no more than six (6) credits outside the History department.

Students will select written examinations from the following fields.

Fields will be defined as follows.

I. American History

A. to 1789
B. 1789-1896
C. 1896-present
D. Topical

II. European History

A. Medieval
B. Early Modern
C. Modern
D. Topical

III. World History

A. Modern East Asia
B. Middle East and Islam
C. Latin America
D. Topical

Students may take no more than two fields in any of the designated groups.

Students may offer no more than one topical field. Topical fields will be determined by the student in consultation with the professor administering the examination. Examples of topical fields are: U.S. Social History, Early Modern and Modern European Diplomacy, American Legal History, etc.

5. Pass a comprehensive oral exam. The committee will be made up of professors who prepared and examined the student in the various fields. The oral exam will be given the week following the written exams. All professors on the committee must agree that the student has passed.

6. Submit a proposal for a dissertation topic, which must be approved by the student's dissertation committee. The committee will be appointed by the Chair of the Graduate Committee on the advice of the student's advisor (and in consultation with the student).

7. Upon completion of these requirements, write a dissertation. The dissertation must be an original contribution to scholarship. It must be presented in acceptable literary form. It must be of a quality that all or a substantial part of it would merit eventual publication. One member of the committee must come from outside the History Department. The final stage will be an oral defense of the dissertation. The Graduate Committee proposes the following as the basis for a department's discussion of a PhD program.

M.A. History

In addition to the regulations specified in the bulletin of the Graduate School, the Master's student in History must complete the Department's language, credit, examination, and thesis requirements.

Foreign Language

M.A. students must fulfill (or have fulfilled) the Department's B.A. foreign language requirement or its equivalent (one year of instruction). At UM the requirement may be satisfied by completing any one of the following options:

1. The 101-102 active skills sequence in any foreign language at UM or equivalent courses elsewhere. Students must earn a "C" or better to fulfill this requirement.
2. Any single course at or above the 102 level in any foreign language at UM or equivalent courses elsewhere. Students must earn a "C" or better to fulfill this requirement.
3. An equivalency test administered by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

Students may be required by their major professor to do further work in a language or in cognate fields.

Courses and Credits

Thirty (30) credits beyond the B.A. are required for the Master's degree.

A maximum of twelve (12) credits may be obtained in 300- and 400-level courses. Of those, a six (6) credit maximum at the 300-level may count toward the degree unless the department submits a request to the Graduate Council and the Council grants the request. These upper-division undergraduate courses carry graduate credit with faculty approval and a "graduate work increment." Make arrangements with the instructor at the beginning of the course. Graduate students may not receive credit for courses numbered 395. Make arrangements with the instructor to take these courses as 595.

Up to six (6) credits of "Thesis" (History 699) may be applied toward the 30 necessary for the degree.

Up to six (6) credits in cognate fields is permitted, with the approval of the Graduate Committee.

All students must take History 300 (The Historian's Craft) or its equivalent. Enrolled graduate students must take this course for graduate credit.

Language exams and History 300 may be met by work completed as an undergraduate student. However, no graduate credit will be given for any other work completed as an undergraduate.

Readings courses (History 593) may be offered in any combination for an aggregate of 3 credits in each semester with the approval of the advisor. Enrollment in readings courses is usually confined to special cases, e.g., when a regular course needed by the student is not offered.

In order to demonstrate sufficient progress toward a degree, students are strongly encouraged to pass a minimum of 2 exams in the first year of study.

Graduate school rules require that one-half of all coursework be done at the 500-level.

M.A. Examinations

Students are required to complete successfully a minimum of four 500-level history courses. These courses must be regularly scheduled graduate reading courses. At the conclusion of the course, students must pass a written examination.

The four courses must be spread over at least two of the following areas:

United States
Europe
World

A minimum of two of these courses must be in the designated major area (the area in which the student plans to write his or her thesis).

Administration

Each of the three examinations will be no more than four (4) hours in length. A passing performance consists of a B- or better on each of the three examinations. An unsatisfactory performance on an examination may be made up by repeating that one exam with a B- average. No more than one repeat performance is permitted.

Thesis

Six (6) thesis credits may be counted toward the total of thirty (30) credits required for the M.A. These credits may be taken in any semester or semesters in which students are in a position to pursue the required work.

No thesis may go to committee nor may any examination thereon take place until all other requirements for the degree have been fulfilled (including: language requirement, History 300, all field exams).

The thesis will be directed and signed by a major professor and examined by a committee composed of at least three (3) members: the major professor, one other Department member, and one outside faculty member to be selected by the student and the major professor.

The department strongly suggests that thesis committees convene as students begin work on a thesis. This meeting will enable faculty and students to set a research agenda, to discuss methodological issues, and to become familiar with each other. Subsequent meetings prior to the defense may be arranged at the discretion of the advisor and student.

There will be an oral thesis examination; a "pass" to be determined by unanimous vote of the faculty on the committee.

M.A. candidates must adhere to the semester schedule provided by the Graduate School, which stipulates that the approved committee draft of the Master's thesis must be submitted to the Graduate Dean at least twenty days before the end of the semester in which all degree requirements will be completed. The draft must be approved by the Graduate Dean before the final oral examination. The University must be in session and students must be enrolled at the time of the defense.

NonThesis Master's

Requirements are the same as for the thesis M.A., except that the student will:

1. Complete thirty-six (36) hours of course work. A maximum of eighteen (18) credits may be obtained in upper-division undergraduate (300- and 400-level) courses, with a "graduate work increment." No more than three (3) professional paper credits (599) may count toward the degree.

2. Prepare one professional paper of "publishable quality." Specifically the professional paper shall consist of an article-length, monographic study, based substantially on primary sources. A professional paper committee, composed of the director of the professional paper, one additional faculty member, and a faculty member from outside the Department, will conduct an oral defense of the professional paper, with a "pass" to be determined by unanimous vote of the committee. The final draft shall be submitted to the second departmental reader and the outside reader no less than ten days before a scheduled defense.

Conclusion

Any successful graduate program rests on a mutually interactive relationship among teachers and students. The History Department at Montana stresses such close scholarly and professional contact through regular classes, the advising system, faculty/student seminars, Phi Alpha Theta, the History Club, and the participation of students in local and regional history conferences. Both curricular and extracurricular activities mark the functioning of a successful program in History. For further information, write or call: Department of History, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812 (telephone 406-243-2231).