Track Description
The Public History Track in the History MA program is designed to teach students how to preserve and interpret history while engaging a broad variety of audiences. Students who wish to pursue careers in community and local history, digital history, historic site preservation and administration, museum studies, oral history, heritage tourism, or a variety of other careers that employ applied research will find this degree valuable and rewarding.
Courses in the Public History Track allow students to learn the theories, methods, and technical skills historians use as they put history to work in the world. They build on the foundation of reading colloquia and research seminars that are firmly located in time and space to explicitly focus on the practice of history.
Curriculum
The Public History track requires a minimum of 36 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree, including 9 credit hours of required core courses, 15 credit hours in the public history area of concentration, and; 6 credit hours of elective courses taken outside of the area of concentration. All students must pass a foreign language competency test, pass a written examination in two fields, and successfully complete and defend their thesis or project. No graduate credit is given for any grade lower than “B-.”
Total Credit Hours Required: 36 Credit Hours Minimum beyond the Bachelor’s Degree
Required Courses—24 Credit Hours
Core—9 Credit Hours
- HIS 5067 - Introduction to Public History 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 6159 - Historiography 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 6905 - History Capstone Class 3 Credit Hours
Specialization—15 Credit Hours
Students must take 9 credit hours of Public History courses or internships from the following:
- AMH 6346 - Seminar in the History of American Automobility 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 6429 - Seminar in Community and Local History 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 6592 - Seminar in Oral History 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 5083 - Cultural Heritage Management 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 5925 - History in the Digital Age 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 6096 - Seminar in Historic Preservation 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 6165 - Digital Tools for Historians 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 5088 - Readings in Curation and Public History 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 6094 - Seminar in Curation and New Media 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 6167 - Spatial History 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 6942 - Internship 3 Credit Hours
Western Hemisphere Courses: Caribbean, North American, or South American
In addition, students must take 6 credit hours from the following Western Hemisphere courses:
- AMH 5116 - Colloquium in U.S. Colonial History 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5149 - Colloquium in Early U.S. History, 1789-1815 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5169 - Colloquium in Age of Jackson 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5176 - Colloquium in Civil War and Reconstruction 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5296 - Colloquium in 20th Century U.S. 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5378 - History of Technology 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5391 - Colloquium in U.S. Cultural History 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5406 - Colloquium in American South 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5077 - Colloquium in Twentieth Century Tourism 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 6346 - Seminar in the History of American Automobility 3 Credit Hours
- HIS 5926 - Colloquium: History of Women and Gender 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5636 - Colloquium in US Environmental History 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 5925 - Colloquium in US Military History 3 Credit Hours
- AMH 6939 - Seminar in U.S. History 3 Credit Hours
- LAH 5920 - Colloquium in Latin American History 3 Credit Hours
Elective Courses—6 Credit Hours
Students choose 6 hours of electives in the Eastern Hemisphere field, from the following:
Eastern Hemisphere Courses: African, Asian and Middle Eastern, or European
- AFH 5259 - Colloquium in African History 3 Credit Hours
- AFH 5806 - The Historiography of Slavery in Africa 3 Credit Hours
- ASH 5229 - History of the Middle East 3 Credit Hours
- ASH 5408 - Colloquium in Modern China 3 Credit Hours
- ASH 5485 - U.S. China Relations 3 Credit Hours
- ASH 5925 - Colloquium in South Asian History 3 Credit Hours
- ASH 6936 - Seminar in US-China Relations 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 5419 - Colloquium in Roman History 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 5459 - Colloquium in French History 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 5546 - Colloquium: British History 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 5579 - Colloquium in Soviet Russia 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 5905 - European Imperialism 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 5925 - Colloquium in Medieval Europe 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 5208 - Colloquium in Early Modern History 3 Credit Hours
- EUH 6939 - Seminar in European History 3 Credit Hours
Thesis—6 Credit Hours
- HIS 6971 Thesis 6 credit hours minimum
The culminating event of the program is a minimum of six credit hours at the 6000-level developing and sustaining a historical argument in writing according to the accepted professional and ethical standards of the discipline.
Thesis or Project Defense
The final step in completing the thesis requirement is a one-hour oral defense before the thesis committee.
Comprehensive Examination
Each candidate for the Master of Arts in History must pass written examinations in two fields upon conclusion of regular course work and before beginning a thesis. These examinations must be taken and passed as part of the requirements for the capstone course. Students are provided two attempts at successfully passing the examinations. Each student will also submit a thesis prospectus and preliminary bibliography, which the three members of the student’s thesis committee judge acceptable as the preliminary step to beginning the thesis. An oral defense of the written exams and the thesis prospectus and bibliography is also a requirement of the capstone course.
Foreign Language Competency
Students will also be expected to demonstrate a reading competency in one foreign language. The foreign language examination must be completed one semester prior to the thesis defense. For detailed information on the History Foreign Language Exam requirement and process, please see the department’s MA program guidebook.
Application Requirements
For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. All requested materials must be submitted by the established deadline.
In addition to the general UCF graduate application requirements, applicants must provide:
- One official transcript (in a sealed envelope) from each college/university attended.
- A bachelor’s degree in History (or an equivalent).
- A 3.25 GPA in all upper division history courses taken as an undergraduate student.
- Official, competitive GRE score taken in the last five years.
- NOTE: The GRE has been removed as an admission requirement for this graduate program for applicants applying Spring 2021 through the Fall 2021 term. This is a temporary measure in response to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A written statement describing personal goals and objectives in seeking a graduate degree in history.
- Three letters of recommendation from former professors who can address applicant’s ability to undertake graduate-level history courses.
- A computer-based score of 233 (or 91 internet-based score) on the Test of English as a Foreign language (TOEFL) if an applicant is from a country where English is not the official language, or if an applicant’s degree is not from an accredited U.S. institution, or if an applicant did not earn a degree in a country where English is the only official language or a university where English is the only official language of instruction. Although we prefer the TOEFL, we will accept IELTS scores of 7.0.
- Applicants applying to this program who have attended a college/university outside the United States must provide a course-by-course credential evaluation with GPA calculation. Credential evaluations are accepted from World Education Services (WES) or Josef Silny and Associates, Inc. only.
Applicants who hold an undergraduate degree in History but do not have a GPA of 3.0 in all work attempted while registered as an undergraduate student, or while registered as an upper-division undergraduate student (normally based on the last sixty attempted semester hours), or a 3.25 GPA in their history courses, or do not have a competitive score on the combined verbal-quantitative sections and/or the individual verbal or analytical writing sections of the GRE may take up to 9 hours of graduate courses as non-degree-seeking students. To be admitted into the graduate program, however, they must earn a 3.3 GPA or higher in the graduate-level history courses they take under this status.
Generally, applicants who meet all of the above requirements but do not have an undergraduate degree in History must complete 12 hours of history course work at the 3000 and 4000 level, with a 3.25 GPA in these courses, before entering the graduate program. These courses will not count toward the graduate degree. The History Department Graduate Committee can waive this requirement, in whole or in part, when applicants present evidence that they are capable of successfully completing graduate history courses.
If, in addition, applicants do not meet one of the other requirements for entry, such as a GPA of 3.0 in all work attempted while registered as an undergraduate student, or while registered as an upper-division undergraduate student (normally based on the last sixty attempted semester hours) or a competitive score on the combined verbal/quantitative and/or the individual verbal or analytical writing sections of the GRE, they must complete 12 hours of course work at the 3000 and 4000 level with GPA of 3.5 before they can be admitted to the graduate program.
Meeting minimum UCF admission criteria does not guarantee program admission. Final admission is based on evaluation of the applicant’s abilities, past performance, recommendations, match of this program and faculty expertise to the applicant’s career/academic goals, and the applicant’s potential for completing the degree.
Application Deadlines
| Public History | *Fall Priority | Fall | Spring | Summer |
| Domestic Applicants | Jan 15 | Jun 1 | Dec 1 | Apr 1 |
| International Applicants | Jan 15 | Jan 15 | Jul 1 | Nov 1 |
| *Applicants who plan to enroll full time in a degree program and who wish to be considered for university fellowships or assistantships should apply by the Fall Priority date. |
Financials
Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see the College of Graduate Studies Funding website, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.
Fellowships
Fellowships are awarded based on academic merit to highly qualified students. They are paid to students through the Office of Student Financial Assistance, based on instructions provided by the College of Graduate Studies. Fellowships are given to support a student’s graduate study and do not have a work obligation. For more information, see UCF Graduate Fellowships, which includes descriptions of university fellowships and what you should do to be considered for a fellowship.
Institution Codes
GRE: 5233
GMAT: RZT-HT-58
TOEFL: 5233
ETS PPI: 5233
