Graduate Students
Standards and Policies Governing the Graduate Programs in History and Area Studies
Approved by the Graduate Committee: November 1, 2007
The policies in this manual are intended to govern the graduate educational experience of all History and Area Studies students entering the History Department graduate programs after August 15, 2007.
Questions about these policies should be addressed to:
Dr. Amy Nelson, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History: anelson@vt.edu
Dr. Janell Watson, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures: rjwatson@vt.edu
The Graduate Programs in History and Area Studies Standards and Policies
The Department of History's graduate programs are governed by the policies stated in the Graduate Policies and Procedures and Course Catalog of Virginia Tech as well as those outlined in this document. The information in this document is intended only to supplement and not to replace general requirements established by the Graduate School. Copies of Graduate Policies and Procedure and Course Catalog of Virginia Tech can be obtained from the Graduate School's website at http://www.grads.vt.edu/academics/gcat/index.html. It is the student's responsibility to become familiar with the rules and procedures in both documents.
I. Statement of Non-Discrimination
The Department of History Graduate Programs do not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, national origin, religion, or political affiliation.
The University is subject to titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Vietnam Era Veteran Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, Federal Executive Order 112146, Governor Allen's State Executive Order Number Two, and all other rules and regulations that are applicable. Anyone having questions concerning any of those regulations should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity (http://www.vt.edu/equal_opportunity.php ).
II. Faculty Roles and Responsibilities
The Graduate Programs in History are administered by the Director of Graduate Studies, the History Department Graduate Committee, and the Administrative Assistant (Coordinator) to the graduate programs.
The Director of Graduate Studies reports to the History Department chair, who in turn reports to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. The Director of Graduate Studies serves as coordinator of the history department graduate programs and as chair of the Graduate Committee. He/she acts as the academic adviser for first-year students in the history MA program. Additional duties are outlined in the History Department Faculty Handbook.
The Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures serves on the History Department Graduate Committee as a liaison to the Area Studies Program. He/she serves as the academic adviser for first-year students in the Area Studies track, and, in collaboration with the Director of Graduate Studies, administers the Area Studies Program.
The Administrative Assistant for the Graduate Programs maintains student records, advises students about department and graduate school procedures, and requirements for graduation.
Faculty members in the History and Foreign Languages and Literatures (FLL) Departments who hold PhD degrees are eligible to serve as directors and members of thesis committees.
III. Admissions Procedures and Requirements
Applicants for admission to the Master's programs in History must hold a BA or BS from an accredited college or university and be accepted by the Graduate School and the History Department Graduate Committee.
Admission to the program requires applicants to have at least a 3.0 undergraduate QCA and to have taken the GRE exams. If the applicant's native language is not English, a TOEFL score of 600 (paper) or 250 (computer-based) or 100 (IBT) is required. For more information on the TOEFL exam, see www.ets.org.
The History Department requires that all applicants supply the following materials:
- Application for Graduate Study (may be completed online at https://www.applyweb.com/apply/vtechg/index.html).
- Official academic transcripts from all undergraduate institutions that the student has attended.
- Three letters of recommendation (use form provided by the Graduate School).
- GRE scores (Graduate Record Examinations) The GRE should be taken prior to December 15 to ensure that the scores reach the Graduate School by the application deadline. For more information, see: http://www.gre.org/
- One writing sample in English, normally a research paper or analytical essay.
- A $45 application fee.
Applicants for the interdisciplinary Area Studies track should consult the application requirements in the "Standards and Policies" manual for the Graduate Program in Area Studies. < http://www.fll.vt.edu/AreaStudies/PolicyManual.htm>
The deadline for applications for fall semester is February 1, particularly for those applying for financial aid. Every effort will be made to notify all applicants of their status by April 1. Decisions on admissions and funding for assistantships are made by the Director of Graduate Studies and the History Department Graduate Committee.
IV. Assistantships and Other Financial Aid
The most common form of financial aid is the Graduate Assistantship, but other forms may be available through scholarships, federal work-study programs, university loans, and budget tuition plans. For more information on financial aid for graduate study at Virginia Tech, please see: http://www.grads.vt.edu/financial/financial_aid/index.html.
The initial decision to offer a graduate assistantship to an incoming student is based on a competitive, academic ranking of applicants. For continued funding, students are required to maintain a 3.0 QCA, make satisfactory progress toward finishing the MA, and receive satisfactory evaluations for the first-year assistantship assignments.
V. Assistantship Duties
Assistantships are not fellowships, but rather reimbursement for work done for the program. Duties are specific to the department (History or Foreign Languages and Literatures) to which the student is assigned. There are two kinds of assistantships available:
Graduate Assistants (GAs) are expected to work closely with the faculty member(s) to whom they are assigned and to be responsible in carrying out their duties. Faculty who request graduate assistants for their classes are expected to provide guidance in the performance of duties assigned to the student.
A full assistantship requires a student to work for 20 hours per week on average. The hours required of the GA in the history programs may be lowered to 15 per week. Graduate Assistants should expect that some weeks will require fewer hours and other weeks more hours. The faculty member with whom the student is assigned to work is expected to provide a schedule of assignments and deadlines. The student is expected to keep a log of the hours worked during each week of the semester. Students with assistantships must be available through the final exam period of each semester.
Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)also provide academic program support under the supervision of a faculty member. GTAs who have 18 hours of graduate-level course work completed in their teaching disciplines may be assigned full responsibility for teaching an undergraduate course.
VI. Orientation
At the beginning of the fall semester the Graduate Committee holds one or more orientation meetings for all new graduate students. At these sessions, students are provided general information about the following: requirements and procedures; plans of study; office procedures and privileges; advising; thesis preparation; and timetables for meeting course requirements and completion of the thesis. The orientation meeting is generally followed by a reception where new students are introduced to the faculty and to continuing graduate students. Attending departmental orientation programs is mandatory for all incoming students.
Students who receive funding from a Graduate Teaching Assistantship are also required to attend and be enrolled in the GTA Workshop sponsored by the Graduate School (GRAD 5004, 1 cr., P/F) in the first fall semester of their teaching appointment. Other students who hope to qualify for an assistantship in the future should take the workshop in their first semester. The workshop consists of three half days (Monday to Wednesday of the week before classes start in August) and two sessions from the Phase II offerings during fall semester.
All new students must meet individually with the Director of Graduate Studies during the first semester to discuss the student's particular needs and plans.
VII. Coursework
The Master of Arts in History degree requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit including the following:
3 hours in Historical Methods (Hist 5104)
3 hours in Research Methods for Historians (Hist 5134)
12 hours in history – at least 3 hours of which must be a research seminar
6 hours in related fields
6 hours of thesis/research
The non-thesis option for a Master of Arts in History also requires 30 semester hours:
3 hours in Historical Methods (Hist 5104)
3 hours in Research Methods for Historians (Hist 5134)
15 hours in History – 3 hours of which must be in research seminars
9 hours of electives (can be in related fields)
The Master of Arts in History with an Area Studies concentration requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit including the following:
3 hours in Area Studies Methods (Hist/Fll/Geog 5024)
9 hours in History
9 hours in Foreign Languages and Literatures
3 hours in Geography or related fields
6 hours of thesis/research
The non-thesis option for a Master of Arts in History with an Area Studies concentration also requires 30 semester hours:
3 hours in Area Studies Methods
*9 hours in History
*9 hours in Foreign Languages and Literatures
*9 hours in Geography or related fields
*at least 3 of these hours must be in a research seminar
Graduate Assistants and Graduate Teaching Assistants must be enrolled each semester in 12 credit hours to maintain their assistantships.
Students are normally expected to complete the degree requirements for the MA in four semesters. Each semester the Graduate School publishes a calendar of deadlines for filing the paperwork required for graduation: http://www.grads.vt.edu/academics/dates_deadlines/commencement_deadlines.html. Students expecting to graduate in a given semester must adhere to the deadlines set by the Graduate School.
VIII. Progress Toward the Degree
Unless otherwise advised, students pursuing the Master's degree in History should write a final thesis, guided by a thesis director and a committee of at least two additional readers. The thesis represents a piece of independent research based on primary sources and guided by the existing literature in the field. (A detailed discussion of the thesis process and the thesis proposal can be found here: http://www.history.vt.edu/graduate_students/thesis_process.htm)
During the first year of graduate work, each student will identify a thesis topic and request a faculty member to serve as the thesis adviser.
By April 1 of the first year, each student will submit to the Graduate Committee a statement of intent to write a thesis with a one-page description of the topic. This statement must be signed by the student's thesis adviser. At this time the student may also recommend committee members, however, the Graduate Committee retains the right to nominate alternative or additional members to a student's thesis committee.
At the beginning of the second year, each student will meet with the Director of Graduate Studies in History (history concentrators) or the Director of Graduate Studies in Foreign Languages and Literatures (Area Studies Concentrators) to discuss his/her Plan of Study, which must be submitted to the Graduate School and which lists the classes the student has taken and the classes that still need to be taken prior to graduation, and also lists the student's thesis committee. Any subsequent changes in classes or research hours need to be reported to the Director of Graduate Studies, the Area Studies Coordinator, and the Graduate Administrative Assistant of the History Department. A change in the thesis committee or the Plan of Study requires a formal request that must be processed through the Graduate School. All committee changes must also be approved by the Graduate Committee and the Graduate School. Forms for these procedures maybe found here: http://www.grads.vt.edu/forms/index.html
IX. Annual Evaluation
The Graduate Committee will evaluate each student's progress during the second semester of the first year. Comments will be solicited from faculty members with whom the student has taken courses and for whom the student has worked as a graduate assistant. Student evaluations of graduate assistants may also be considered. Continuation of funding is contingent on a satisfactory evaluation. The Director of Graduate Studies will convey any concerns to the student and provide them with a written summary of their progress report.
X. The Thesis
The student must keep the thesis committee informed regarding progress on the thesis. Most students submit the thesis to their readers chapter by chapter. Committee members can then provide feedback on the work as it progresses. At the time of the thesis proposal defense, the student and advisor should establish a series of due dates for the chapters and set a final due date for the project.
The Thesis Proposal
No later than September 15 of the second year, the student will submit a draft thesis proposal to the advisor and other members of the thesis committee. The purpose of this proposal is to justify the selected topic and submit a plan for researching and writing the thesis, and to receive suggestions and criticism from faculty members and graduate student peers. The proposal should be approximately 10 –12 pages of narrative and should also include a representative bibliography of primary and secondary sources and a schedule for completion of research and writing. For more information, see "The Thesis Process" website on the History Department Graduate Programs website: http://www.history.vt.edu/graduate_students/thesis_process.htm
On September 30 the student will submit a revised formal proposal to the Director of Graduate Studies. At this time the student will be assigned a date for defending the thesis proposal. Proposal defenses take place during the fall semester of the student's second year, in conjunction with the Historical Methods course (Hist 5104).
It is expected that all students will adhere to this schedule. In the unlikely event that a student does not defend a thesis proposal during the fall semester and in conjunction with the History 5104 course, the student must: (1) petition the Graduate Committee for an exemption from the formal schedule; and (2) schedule a public proposal defense at least one full semester before planning to graduate.
At the beginning of the spring semester, the second year students intending to graduate in May must fill out an Application for Degree on Hokie Spa. For commencement deadlines see: http://www.grads.vt.edu/academics/dates_deadlines/commencement_deadlines.html
XI. Thesis Defense
After completing the thesis, the student will have a formal defense, which usually lasts about one hour. The student will defend the thesis only after the thesis director has approved the thesis and the other committee members believe that the student is ready to defend. The committee must be given at least two weeks to evaluate the final draft of the thesis. Late submissions to committee members could jeopardize the thesis defense and graduation.
At least two weeks prior to the defense, the student must submit file a "Final Exam Request Form" with the Graduate School stating the title of the thesis, the composition of the thesis committee, and the date, place, and time of the defense. To graduate as scheduled, the thesis must be approved and signed by the committee by the date specified by the Graduate School.
A student typically begins the defense by briefly discussing what the thesis argues, emphasizing the main points of the thesis, and indicating its contributions to current research in the field. During the remainder of the session, the committee members have the opportunity to ask questions. At the end of the defense, the committee members sign a card stating whether they approve the thesis. The student then promptly returns the card to the Graduate School.
XII. Electronic Submission of the Thesis
Virginia Tech requires all graduate students to submit their thesis electronically so that the work is available via the internet. Within two weeks of the defense, the student must submit a final copy of the thesis and the Electronic Dissertation Approval Form to the Graduate School (See: http://www.grads.vt.edu/academics/dates_deadlines/commencement_deadlines.html and http://www.grads.vt.edu/forms/academics/ETD/etd_approval.pdf). For ETD preparation and submission instructions, see: http://www.grads.vt.edu/academics/completion/etd.html
XVI. Avenues of Redress
Students with questions or concerns about any of the policies covered in this statement have several avenues of redress. Many procedural issues can be clarified by the Administrative Assistant for the Graduate Programs. Concerns about the thesis process should be taken up first with the student's thesis adviser. Students with issues related to GA assignments should first discuss the question or problem with the faculty member with whom the student is working.
If the problem cannot be resolved or the policy clarified at this level, students should follow up their concerns with the Director of Graduate Studies. They may also consult the Ombudsperson at the Graduate School.
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