Graduate School
The department offers graduate course work leading to a Master of Arts in History. In pursuing their Master of Arts degree, students may choose a program with or without a traditional thesis.The department also offers courses in the Secondary Education option for the Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction degree. (See ASU Bulletin, 2005-07, page 497, under the School of Education.)
The Master of Arts degree is designed to serve students desiring to pursue historical studies beyond the baccalaureate degree. It is intended to instill in its students and demand of its graduates historical consciousness; those technical skills necessary to research, analyze, and write effectively; and a broad knowledge of the history of the United States and other selected areas of study. The Master of Arts degree provides graduate level preparation appropriate for individuals who plan to teach, to pursue advanced degrees in history, or to follow other career directions which call for analytical and communication skills.
FACILITIES
An expanding collection of original research materials, located for the most part in the University library, provides the graduate student in history with excellent opportunities for research and study. The Department of History places a strong emphasis on regional, Texas, and Western American history. The emphasis is supported by the accessibility of numerous primary sources in the forms of diaries, journals, and memoirs of early settlers and pioneers of the American frontier. The records of Fort Concho also are available and offer promising research potential. Original manuscript sources are complemented by excellent holdings of historical journals and periodicals.Faculty research activities also extend to European and Latin-American history, as well as to more general aspects of American history. A good basic collection of primary source materials in American history is available. Study and research in European and Latin-American history is supported by library microfilm collections with some emphasis on nineteenth and twentieth-century diplomatic developments in these regions.
The Department of History is housed in the Academic Building.