History Department

History Department

Master of Arts in History

The Master of Arts in History program at WOU promotes a community of scholars dedicated to excellence in teaching, professional and community service, and research. 

Graduate students are mentored by high quality faculty who emphasize the value of a Master of Arts degree for educators seeking to strengthen their history content or historians preparing for professional careers or admission to doctoral programs.

Research and writing are integral components of all graduate coursework and history graduate students will produce two article-length papers as demonstration of their mastery of historical knowledge and methodologies.

The MA can be completed within a single academic year (including summer).

Fields and Faculty Areas of Specialization

The Department of History offers graduate courses in three fields: North American History, European History, and World (Latin American and Asian) History. Graduate students will complete coursework in a primary field and a secondary field. The fields reflect the scholarly accomplishments and specialties of the seven-full time History faculty.

North American History

Max G. Geier (Ph.D, Washington State University, 1990) Public History, Environmental, North American West

Max Geier has published two books on the history and ecology of NW Forests and Forest Science communities, based on oral histories and other research funded with major federal grants. Dr. Geier serves as peer reviewer of books and manuscripts relating to environmental and labor history in the Pacific Northwest for several journals and academic publishers. Current research focuses on racialized systems of labor control and law enforcement in resource-based communities of the mid Willamette Valley in the early 20th century.

Kimberly Jensen (Ph.D, University of Iowa, 1992) Women and Gender, War and Society, Twentieth Century United States, Health, Medicine and Gender

Kimberly Jensen is the author of Mobilizing Minerva: American Women in the First World War (University of Illinois Press, 2008) and, with Erika Kuhlman, co-editor of Women and Transnational Activism in Historical Perspective (Republic of Letters, 2010) and a number of articles and chapters including “‘Neither Head nor Tail to the Campaign:’ Esther Pohl Lovejoy and the Oregon Woman Suffrage Victory of 1912,” Oregon Historical Quarterly (Fall 2007). She is writing a scholarly biography of Esther Pohl Lovejoy (1869-1967), Oregon public health activist, suffragist, and director of international medical relief. Jensen is a recipient of the Pastega Award for Excellence in Teaching at WOU.

European History

David Doellinger  (Ph.D, University of Pittsburgh, 2002) Central/Eastern Europe, Germany, Russia/Soviet Union, Bosnia, Social Movements

David Doellinger's current research examines the construction of public spaces for nonconformist activity in Communist East Germany and Czechoslovakia. His article "The 1988 Pilgrimage at Velehrad: Slovak Catholics and the Creation of a Public Space" was published in the winter 2007 issue of Slovakia and an article entitled "Peace through Reconciliation: Aktion Suhnezeichen and the Lutheran Church in the GDR" appears in the edited volume Religion and Philosophy: New Developments in East Central Europe (Palgrave, 2008).

Narasingha Sil (Ph.D, University of Oregon, 1978) Tudor-Stuart England, Europe, Africa

Narasingha (Ram) Sil's training and research demonstrates his interest in cross-cultural and-political issues in the history of Early Modern Europe and England, Colonial India, and Africa. He has published seven monographs and about 150 articles and book-reviews, over fifty encyclopedia articles, and over ten review essays. His eighth monograph and three articles in the social-cultural history of late colonial Calcutta are currently under active consideration.  

World (Latin American and Asian) History

Bau Hwa Hsieh (Ph.D, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1992) Modern and Premodern China, East Asia, Cross-cultural Comparative Women

Bau Hwa Hsieh’s research explores social, cultural and gender studies in traditional China and the political history of modern China. Dr. Hsieh has published articles on women in the Imperial court during the Ming Dynasty, concubines in Ming-Qing China, and traffic in women in Ming-Qing Society. She is currently working on books on Life in the Ming Palace and Concubinage in Late Imperial China.

John Rector (Ph.D, Indiana University, 1976) Latin America, Chile, Puerto Rico

John Rector’s major teaching and research area is Latin America. Before coming to Western Oregon University in 1987, he taught ten years at the Catholic University of Puerto Rico and one year as a Fulbright professor at the Universidad de Chile. His book, The History of Chile, was published by Greenwood Press in 2003.

Degree Requirements

The 45 credit degree consists of the following course requirements:

HST 698 Methods, Research and Writing (5 credits)
Two Seminars:
One seminar in a primary field (4 credits)
One seminar in a secondary field (4 credits)
Five graduate courses in a primary field (20 credits)
Three graduate courses in a secondary field (12 credits)

A minimum of 23 credits are to be completed at the 600-level.

Up to 15 credit hours of relevant graduate courses in other departments may be taken with prior approval from the History faculty.

Students will be required to take comprehensive exams in their primary and secondary fields of study.  Comprehensive exams will be based on completed course-work and will take place in the final quarter of enrollment in the program.

Admission Requirements

Admission to the graduate program adheres to the guidelines laid down for general admission by the Graduate Studies Program at WOU. 

Students must hold a Bachelor’s degree in History or Social Science discipline with 28 credit hours in History of which 20 credit hours must be upper-division, from an accredited US institution or an equivalent degree from a foreign institution.

Students must have a GPA of 3.00 or above for the last 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of undergraduate study.

Students must be accepted into the program by the History Department faculty.  The selection process for admission into the program is based on a qualitative evaluation of the student’s previous academic work and potential success in this professional field.

Students can enroll in graduate classes either through acceptance in the MA program or by permission of the instructor.

Students are also required to show proficiency in a second language for conferral of the MA degree.  Language proficiency may be established by passing an exam approved or administered by the department or by passing second year language coursework in the five years prior to applying to the MA program.  With departmental approval, students can opt to take language courses while completing graduate coursework.

Application Procedures and Guidelines

To apply to the Master of Arts in History program, prospective students must apply for admission to both: 1) Graduate Studies at WOU; and 2) the Master of Arts in History Program.  Applicants are only admitted into the Master of Arts in History program upon acceptance by both Graduate Studies at WOU and the History MA program.  The dual-path application process can be completed by submitting the following:

1) An Application for Graduate Admission to WOU.  Prospective students must submit an application for graduate admission and the nonrefundable and nontransferable $50 application fee directly to the Graduate Studies Office.  Applicants also must supply to the Admissions Office sealed official transcripts from all non-WOU institutions attended.  For complete instructions and guidelines, see the Application for Graduate Admission available online at http://www.wou.edu/provost/graduate/gradproc.php#adm or contact Deb Charlton at the Graduate Studies office, 503-838-8597, charltod@wou.edu.

2) An Application to the Master of Arts in History program.  Applicants must also submit directly to the Chair of the Department of History:

• A Statement of Purpose (In the Statement of Purpose, applicants should discuss how their undergraduate studies have prepared them for their graduate work in history.  Applicants should identify the specific fields and topics they wish to study and explain why.  The statement should also include a discussion of how the applicants see the MA in History fitting into their academic and professional lives and why they feel WOU can help prepare them.)
  
• A writing sample (Applicants should submit a research paper or thesis.  The writing sample should not include instructor’s comments or grade notations.
  
• Three sealed letters of recommendation (At least two of the letters should be from individuals with whom you have worked in an academic setting and who can comment on your academic performance and writing.  Applicants should provide each referee with a signed waiver form, to be included with the sealed letter.  The waiver form is available online by clicking onto this link.)
• GRE scores (general test only, no subject test required; official or unofficial copy acceptable)
• Copies of all academic transcripts (official or unofficial acceptable)

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Graduate students may apply to begin the MA program each academic term.  Applications will be reviewed once all materials (including letters of recommendation) have been received by the History Department.  We encourage students to apply early.  Review of applications will begin on the following dates:

• October 15 for applicants seeking to begin the program in Winter.
• January 15 for applicants seeking to begin the program in Spring or Summer.
• April 2 for applicants seeking to begin the program in Summer or Fall. 

Graduate Financial Support

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs)
As GTA positions become available, the history faculty will award them on a competitive basis.  Students wishing to be considered for these positions must submit a separate application for a GTA by April 2.  The GTA application is available online.  Click here.

History Department Assistantships
The History Department will annually award up to six scholarships on a competitive basis to students who have been admitted into the History MA program.  For more information, click here.

Additional Information:
For more information, visit the Department of History’s Website at http://www.wou.edu/history or contact the Chair of the Department of History at 503-838-8288.

Contact

History Department 503.838.8369 | or e-mail: geierm@wou.edu

History MA Program 503.838.8318 | or e-mail: jenseki@wou.edu