2003-2005 - Graduate School - The University of Alabama

History159General Degree RequirementsCourse load. Resident students are expected to register for full loads each semester— at least 9 hours, except in the case of .50 FTE teaching assistants, who must take atleast 6 hours. All courses must be numbered 500 or above, but HY 699 Dissertation Researchdoes not count toward the course hour requirement for any graduate degree.Historiography requirement. All incoming graduate students (M.A. or Ph.D.), unlessspecifically exempted by the Graduate Committee, must take at least two of the basic historiographycourses (HY 601 Literature of American History, HY 603 Literature of Europeanhistory, and HY 605 Literature of Latin American History) as part of their degree program.They are encouraged to take these courses as early as possible in their program.Proseminar-seminar requirement. All M.A. students who choose Plan II (describedunder “Requirements for the M.A. Program” below) must take at least one proseminarseminarse quence. Students entering the doctoral program who have not completed aproseminar-seminar sequence at the master’s level must also do so.Language requirement. Unless specified to the contrary, all graduate degree pro gramsin history require that each student demonstrate reading profi ciency in one or moreforeign languages. These languages should be selected from the standard researchlanguages (Spanish, French, German, and Russian), but other languages relevant to thestudent’s program may be substituted with the recommendation of the student’s adviserand the permission of the Graduate Committee. The student must fulfi ll this requirementby passing the examination administered by the relevant language department at TheUniversity of Alabama. Completion of any of the various “language for reading pro fi -cien cy” courses offered at The University of Alabama with a fi nal grade of “B” or abovealso meets the language requirement.Requirements for the M.A. ProgramPlan I:Coursework. Coursework totaling 24 credit hours in history and a thesis (an additional6 credit hours of HY 599) are required, and the student must demonstrate reading proficiency in one foreign language before taking the fi nal oral examination.Thesis. The topic of the thesis will be selected by the student in consultation withhis or her adviser. After the topic has been agreed upon, the student will prepare aprospectus describing the topic and the proposed plan of approach, including the principalsources to be used. Copies of the prospectus will be distributed to the student’sadvisory committee, which shall consist of three members, all of whom must indicatetheir ac cep tance of the topic.Oral exam. The Plan I oral exam is on the M.A. coursework and the thesis. Theexamination committee consists of the three professors who served as readers on thethesis, plus at least one additional history professor and the representative of an outsidedepartment — if possible, someone who is familiar with the thesis subject area. TheM.A. thesis must be submitted to the student’s primary adviser no later than six weeksbefore the scheduled defense, and the revised thesis must be submitted to the remainingmembers of the student’s advisory committee at least three weeks before the scheduleddefense. The examining committee fi les with the director of graduate studies a writtenopinion regarding the student’s suitability for further graduate work in history.Plan II:Coursework. Coursework totaling 30 credit hours in history is required, and the studentmust demonstrate profi ciency in reading one foreign language before taking thefi nal oral examination.Oral exam. Plan II students must take an oral examination on their history coursesand on a revised seminar paper, copies of which must be furnished to the members ofthe examining committee at least 10 days before the date of the oral examination. Theexamining committee consists of at least fi ve history professors, including as many aspossible with whom the student has taken courses. The examining committee fi les withthe director of Graduate Studies a written opinion regarding the student’s suitability forfurther graduate work in history.