Thesis / Non-Thesis Options
Graduate Advisor :
Dr. Mary Brennan
Graduate Advisor
Office: TMH-209
Email: mb18@txstate.edu
Phone: (512)245-2110
Thesis Credit :
Thesis students enroll for thesis credit, History 5399A and 5399B, usually after completing at least 15 graduate hours in history. These are required courses for students writing theses. To be eligible to register for Thesis A, a student must have completed an application for permission to write a thesis and secured the signatures of the proposed members of his/her committee. To register for Thesis B, a student must have a completed thesis proposal.
M.A. Candidates Writing a Thesis :
For students completing a thesis, the comprehensive exam required by the Graduate College of Texas State University— San Marcos will consist essentially but not exclusively of a defense of the thesis presented. Students should check with each faculty member involved in such an exam in order to determine the scope of the issues to be covered. If the examination is to cover matters beyond the student's defense of the thesis, the student must take care to discover exactly what aspects of previous course work will or will not be considered fair game for each examiner. The student's thesis supervisor and the second and third readers will administer this examination.
Master's Thesis :
Students seeking an M.A. in History with thesis will complete an essay of appropriate length and depth, divided into appropriate chapters based on substantial research in primary source materials. The topic of the thesis, the research to be undertaken, and the nature of the final product will be determined through consultations between the student and the graduate advisor. The final paper will be read and critiqued by a thesis committee composed of the advisor, a second reader from the History Department, and a third reader who may be either a historian or a faculty member from another discipline (if the student took a minor outside of history). The student must successfully defend the thesis before the committee in order to receive the M.A. degree.
M.A. Candidates Opting for the Non-Thesis Degree: Purpose :
For students not writing a thesis, comprehensive examinations are intended to provide an opportunity to synthesize data pertaining to themes contained within their fields of study from a variety of materials covered in their regular courses. Comprehensive exams will not cover matters already addressed in exams offered within individual courses, but students will be expected to incorporate material and insights from their readings into a conceptual framework that includes readings from more than one course.
Format :
Students, in consultation with their graduate advisors, will designate three faculty members to examine them in their respective areas of concentration. Except in the most unusual circumstances, one of these faculty will be the student's graduate advisor. During the first week of the semester during which the exam is to be completed, each of the designated faculty will submit to the student no more than 2 questions to be answered in essay form. These questions would serve as preparation for the oral exam. The student will complete the essays and return them to the professor by October 15 th [for the Fall semester], March 15 th [for the Spring semester] or June 30 th [for the summer term]. If the essays meet with the approval of the faculty member, the oral exam may proceed on schedule. If there are serious problems with the essays, the professor should inform the student as soon as possible to give the student an opportunity to improve the essay. Or, the professor may choose to discuss the issues during the oral exam. If the committee finds the student's performance less than adequate, the student may retake the exam later in the semester or the following semester.
Links :
Graduate Program in Public History
Additional Program Information :
Forms:
History Department Application for Graduate Studies
Graduate College Application
Additonal Graduate Student Forms
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