COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS


Bernie L. Patterson, Dean

Beth Rushing, Assistant Dean

[ /acad_affairs/grad_school/arts.html ]

MISSION

The graduate programs of the College of Arts and Sciences allow students who have completed an undergraduate degree to pursue further studies in the areas of English, History, Public Administration, Logistics, Biology, Psychology and Public Affairs. In addition the College of Arts and Sciences offers a number of courses which serve students seeking graduate degrees in Education. Graduate programs of the College of Arts and Sciences are offered on the residential campus in Milledgeville, in Macon at the Macon Campus and in Warner Robins at the Robins Graduate Center and the Logistics Education Center. Financial assistance for graduate study is available; interested students should contact the degree program coordinator.

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MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH


Wayne Glowka, Coordinator

[ /acad_affairs/grad_school/english.html ]

MISSION

The Master of Arts degree in English is designed for students who desire the challenge of an intense study of literature. Graduates of the program will have a critical appreciation of literature, a thorough knowledge of scholarly tools, and the preparation necessary to become competent writers and teachers of writing. The degree requires 27 semester hours of graduate-level courses in English and a thesis (9 hours).

Students in the program receive a lot of individual attention from faculty. there are opportunities for students to do research and publish on their own or with faculty and for meeting important scholars and writers at both on-campus and off-campus conferences and events. In addition, graduate assistants gain valuable professional experience as editors, scholars, or tutors.

REGULAR ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants for admission to the program leading to the Master of Arts degree in English must comply with the general requirements of the University System and the university as described earlier in this catalog. A student may receive regular admission with all of the following:

  1. a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution;

  2. a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher (4.0 scale) on all undergraduate work;

  3. a score of 550 or higher on the Verbal section of the GRE or 55 or higher on the MAT; and

  4. an undergraduate major in English.

The complete application, including all supporting papers, should be filed with the Office of Enrollment Services not later than three weeks prior to the beginning of the semester in which the applicant proposes to begin graduate study. Applicants will be given a prompt decision upon receipt of necessary materials. Regular admission, which includes admission to candidacy, is granted upon the recommendation of the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English. A student may enter the program any semester.

PROVISIONAL ADMISSION

A student may receive provisional admission with all of the following:

  1. a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution;

  2. a score of 450 or higher on the Verbal section of the GRE or a 39 or higher on the MAT; and

  3. a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher (4.0 scale) on all undergraduate work.

A provisionally admitted student may gain regular status through the completion of the first 9-12 graduate hours in English with grades of B or better in all courses attempted.

CONDITIONAL ADMISSION

Applicants who apply too late for full consideration for admission or who have not submitted all required documents for evaluation may be assigned conditional admission status. While in this status, a student may register for one semester only by completing a Georgia College & State University Conditional Registration Agreement for Graduate Students; this form requires the signatures of both the student and the graduate coordinator. Any student who registers under this agreement must be admitted either to regular or to provisional status by the end of the first semester of enrollment in order to continue taking courses in the degree program.

Students may take no more than 12 semester hours of course work in conditional and provisional status combined.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The student must complete 27 semester hours in English (ENGL) at the graduate level with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Other requirements, including the thesis, are explained below. With the approval of the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English, a student may transfer graduate hours from another accredited institution, but no more than 9 semester hours will be accepted. All credit applied to the Master of Arts degree in English must be earned within the prescribed period of five years before graduation.

I. Required Courses, 9 semester hours

    ENGL 6601 Graduate Seminar in Methods of Research
    ENGL 6680 Graduate Seminar in Studies in Literature
    ENGL 6685 Graduate Seminar in Critical Approaches to Literature

The student should take ENGL 6601 as soon as possible, preferably in the first term of graduate work. ENGL 6601 is a prerequisite for ENGL 6970 Thesis.

II. MAJOR AREA, 18 semester hours

    ENGL 5021 Advanced Poetry Workshop
    ENGL 5022 Advanced Fiction Workshop
    ENGL 5110 Literary Criticism
    ENGL 5115 History of the English Language
    ENGL 5116 Structure of Present-day English
    ENGL 5220 Medieval English Literature
    ENGL 5223 Chaucer
    ENGL 5225 English Renaissance Literature
    ENGL 5226 Shakespeare
    ENGL 5227 Milton
    ENGL 5228 Development of English Drama
    ENGL 5330 Restoration and Eighteenth-century Literature
    ENGL 5331 Eighteenth-century English Novel
    ENGL 5335 English Romanticism
    ENGL 5337 Victorian Literature
    ENGL 5338 Nineteenth-century English Novel
    ENGL 5440 Modern Drama
    ENGL 5441 Twentieth-century British Fiction
    ENGL 5445 Literary Women
    ENGL 5446 Modern Poetry
    ENGL 5447 Comparative Literature
    ENGL 5449 Great Books of the Western World
    ENGL 5550 American Literature to 1865
    ENGL 5555 American Literature from 1865 to 1920
    ENGL 5662 Southern Literature
    ENGL 5664 Flannery O'Connor
    ENGL 5665 American Literature from 1920 to the Present
    ENGL 5667 African-American Literature
    ENGL 5669 Multicultural American Literature
    ENGL 5940 Independent Study
    ENGL 5950 Special Topics
    ENGL 5980 Study Abroad
    ENGL 6960 Internship

NOTE: Students who choose the Creative Writing thesis option should take two creative writing classes at the graduate level. No more than two courses in creative writing will be counted toward graduation.

III. THESIS, 9 semester hours

    ENGL6970Thesis

Total Degree Hours 36

[ Refer to the Course Description Section of this catalog for courses and course descriptions. ]

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Foreign Language. The student should demonstrate reading proficiency in a foreign language as early as possible, and must do so before signing up for thesis credit. This proficiency may be demonstrated either by the successful completion of a fourth-level language course with a grade of B or better in the four years prior to admission or by passing a translation examination administered by the Department of Modern Foreign Languages on a passage relevant to English literature.

Comprehensive Examination. In the last term of class work or as soon as possible after the last term of class work, the student must pass a three-hour, three-part essay examination on English and American literature. Part 1 will focus on English literary history, part 2 will focus on American literary history, and part 3 will require a detailed analysis of a specific work. The student should prepare for this examination by taking a broad range of courses in English and American literature and by reading literary histories and important primary and secondary works not covered in class work. The examination will be offered to students during fall and spring terms (but not in the summer term); a student may retake a failed portion of the examination when it is offered in the next regular term. The student should indicate in writing his or her intention to take the examination in a given term by no later than the end of the first week of classes. The student may not take more than 3 semester hours of thesis before passing all parts of the examination. The examination will be written and graded by an ad hoc committee of three English graduate faculty appointed by the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in consultation with the Chair of the Department of English, Speech, and Journalism.

Thesis and Thesis Defense. At the completion of 18 semester hours, the student should seek out a member of the English graduate faculty as a thesis adviser. After a faculty member agrees to be a student's thesis adviser, the student and the faculty member should enlist two other faculty members to join the thesis adviser as the student's thesis committee. One of these two committee members must be from the English graduate faculty; the other may be from the graduate faculty in another department relevant to the thesis topic. Once the committee membership is confirmed, the thesis adviser should notify the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English in writing about the composition of the committee and the general nature of the proposed thesis topic. During the next term, the student should develop a two-page thesis proposal under the direction of the thesis committee. The student may not sign up for more than 3 semester hours of ENGL 6970 Thesis before the proposal is approved in writing by both the thesis adviser and the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English.

The student should sign up for a total of 9 hours of ENGL 6970 Thesis and should be enrolled in thesis hours during the term when the thesis is completed and defended. The thesis should demonstrate either (1) scholarly research on a literary topic of considerable depth or (2) professional accomplishment in a creative work of fiction or poetry with an introduction that places the work in a critical context. The thesis should normally have between 50 and 100 pages of text and should also include a comprehensive list of works cited. The thesis should be prepared in the documentation style recommended by the Modern Language Association and should meet the criteria for theses as established by the Graduate School. Copies of the completed thesis should be submitted to the thesis committee for a critical reading at least four weeks before the end of the semester in which the student completes all requirements for the degree.

The oral defense of the thesis before the thesis committee should be held at least two weeks before the end of the relevant semester. The thesis defense will be open to any interested member of the university community. The defense will normally take at least one hour and will demonstrate the student's knowledge of the thesis topic and the implications of the thesis for the general study of literature. After the defense, a signed original and four high quality copies of the thesis must be submitted to the Library for binding.

Advisement

The general adviser of all student s in the Master of Arts in English program is the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English. However, students should work closely with their thesis advisers and thesis committees in planning coursework as preparation for a specific thesis topic.

Career Information

This program will prepare the student for doctoral work in English or for careers demanding advanced skills in critical reading and writing. The degre can make one eligible for teaching at a two-year college, and certified teachers who complete the degree can extend their certification to the fifth-year level. The degree is also useful for anyone interested in a career in professional writing, administration, entertainment, and public service. Whatever the career plans of students, the program requires a serious commitment to literary scholarship. Through this commitment, students will be rewarded with intellectual company of the world's finest writers.

Further Information

Inquiries concerning the nature of the program, the availability of given courses, and the availability of graduate assistantships should be directed to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies in English, CBX 044, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA 31061. Telephone: 478-445-4581. FAX: 478-445-5961. Other information can be viewed at [ /acad_affairs/coll_artsci/eng/English/ ]

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MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY


John D. Fair, Coordinator

[ /acad_affairs/grad_school/mahistory.html ]

MISSION

In offering courses on the graduate level, the Department of History and Geography serves three audiences. First are the students who pursue the M.A. degree, the oldest graduate program at Georgia College & State University. This degree allows the student to learn the advanced research and writing skills necessary to pursue the higher goal of a degree at a doctoral-level institution or to teach at the junior or senior college level, as well as to enter other careers. Second, the Department's graduate program provides students pursuing a higher level of teacher certification to take content courses for the M.A.T., M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees. Third are post-baccalaureate students who love the study of history and wish to study it for personal enrichment.

The academic program for the M.A. degree consists of thirty-six hours, including the thesis.

REGULAR ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants for admission to the program leading to the Master of Arts degree in History must comply with the general requirements of the University System and of Georgia College & State University as described earlier in this catalog. The applicant must:

  1. Hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution with a major in history. A person with a major in another field but with substantial work in history may be admitted.

  2. Have an undergraduate grade average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

  3. Applicants for regular admission to the M.A. in History program must submit scores from the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Miller Analogies Test (MAT). To be granted regular status, the applicant must score a minimum of 1200 on the GRE History MA formula or a minimum of 70 on the MAT History formula. The formulas are: "GRE verbal score + GRE quantitative or analytical score + (100 times the undergraduate grade point average) = 1200 or MAT score + (10 times the undergraduate grade point average) = 70."

  4. Give reasonable assurance of ability to satisfy the foreign language requirement (see "Language Requirement," below).

The complete application, including all supporting papers, should be filed with the Office of Enrollment Services not later than three weeks prior to the beginning of the semester in which the applicant proposes to begin graduate study. Applicants will be given a prompt decision upon receipt of necessary materials. Regular admission, which includes Admission to Candidacy, is granted upon recommendation of the Graduate Coordinator of the Department of History and Geography. Prospective applicants should consult, in person or by mail, with the Graduate Coordinator of the Department of History and Geography prior to filing an application. A student may enter the program any semester.

PROVISIONAL ADMISSION

Applicants who fail to meet one of the requirements for regular admission may be granted provisional status. Provisional students who take 12 semester hours of graduate history (HIST) courses with no grade less than a B will be granted regular status. The B grades must be earned in courses approved by the Graduate Coordinator for the degree program in which the student is seeking admission.

CONDITIONAL ADMISSION

Applicants who apply too late for full consideration for admission and/or have not submitted all required documents for evaluation may be assigned conditional admission status. While in this status a student may register for one semester only by completing a GCSU Conditional Registration Agreement for Graduate Students; this form requires the signatures of both the student and the Graduate Coordinator. Any student who registers under this agreement must be admitted to either regular or provisional status by the end of the first semester of enrollment to continue taking courses in the degree program.

Students may take no more than 12 semester hours of course work in conditional and provisional status combined.

CAREER INFORMATION

The Master of Arts degree in History prepares students for further study elsewhere toward the Ph.D. degree; for teaching in junior colleges; for work in historical societies, archives, museums, and state and national parks and historical monuments; for journalism and other types of professional writing, such as newspapers, magazines, fiction, and non-fiction; for library work as a subject-field accompaniment to a professional library degree; and for government service, including the Federal Foreign Service, upon passing the appropriate entrance examination. Further details may be obtained from the Graduate Coordinator.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The Master of Arts degree in History requires a thesis (9 semester hours credit) and 27 semester hours of graduate course work in History. Three fields of concentration are offered: the United States, Europe, and Archival Management. Graduate instruction in other fields is also available. A program of graduate study based upon the programs described below (subject to schedule availability, student interest, and adviser approval) will be completed when a student is admitted as a regular student in the program. Students hoping to pursue study toward the Ph.D. degree elsewhere should follow Plan A. One three-hour graduate-level Political Science (POLS) or Geography (GEOG) course may be substituted for one optional history course.


M.A., HISTORY (U.S. AND EUROPE CONCENTRATIONS)

I. REQUIRED COURSE, 3 semester hours

    HIST 6001 Historical Methods and Interpretations

II. ADVANCED CURRICULUM, 3 semester hours

    Select one course from the following:
      HIST 6201 Advanced Topics in European History
      HIST 6301 Advanced Topics in British History
      HIST 6401 Advanced Topics in American History
      HIST 6451 Advanced Topics in Southern History

III. MAJOR AREA, 21 semester hours

    Select at least 21 hours from the following:
      HIST 5010 Local History
      HIST 5015 Historic Architecture Preservation
      HIST 5020 Public History
      HIST 5045 World War I
      HIST 5050 World War II
      HIST 5070 The Industrial Revolution
      HIST 5110 Classical Greece
      HIST 5120 Classical Rome
      HIST 5130 The Middle Ages
      HIST 5140 Renaissance and Reformation
      HIST 5150 The Age of Absolutism, 1559-1789
      HIST 5210 The French Revolution and Napoleon
      HIST 5220 Modern Europe
      HIST 5240 Hitler and Nazi Germany
      HIST 5250 Soviet Russia
      HIST 5260 Contemporary Germany
      HIST 5270 The Balkans
      HIST 5280 The Intellectual and Cultural History of Europe to 1550
      HIST 5285 The Intellectual and Cultural History of Europe since 1550
      HIST 5310 Tudor England
      HIST 5315 Stuart England
      HIST 5335 Modern Britain
      HIST 5340 Modern English Social History
      HIST 5360 A Cultural History of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
      HIST 5380 The British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations
      HIST 5405 Religion in American History
      HIST 5410 Topics in American Social History
      HIST 5415 Georgia: Colony and State
      HIST 5510 Colonial America
      HIST 5520 Revolutionary America
      HIST 5530 The Age of Jefferson
      HIST 5540 The Antebellum South
      HIST 5610 The American Civil War
      HIST 5620 The South Since Reconstruction
      HIST 5640 Contemporary America
      HIST 5650 Contemporary American Foreign Policy
      HIST 5710 Modern Middle East
      HIST 5720 The Vietnam War
      HIST 5940 Independent Study
      HIST 5950 Special Topics
      HIST 5980 Study Abroad
      HIST 5990 Academic Workshop
      *HIST 6201 Advanced Topics in European History
      *HIST 6301 Advanced Topics in British History
      *HIST 6401 Advanced Topics in American History
      *HIST 6451 Advanced Topics in Southern History
      HIST 6940 Independent Study (graduates only)
      HIST 6950 Special Topics (graduates only)
      HIST 6960 Internship

*If not taken in Area II, listed above.

Students in these concentrations may take no more than three (3) hours from the following courses:

    HIST 5935 Archives Practicum
    HIST 6050 Archival Theory and Issues
    HIST 6055 Archival Methods and Practice

IV. THESIS, 9 semester hour

    HIST 6970 Thesis Research

Total Degree Hours, 36 semester hour

[ Refer to the Course Description Section of this catalog for courses and course descriptions. ]

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M.A., HISTORY (ARCHIVAL MANAGEMENT CONCENTRATION)

I. REQUIRED COURSE, 3 semester hours

    HIST 6001 Historical Methods and Interpretations

II. ADVANCED CURRICULUM, 3 semester hours

Select one course from the following:
HIST6201Advanced Topics in European History
HIST6301Advanced Topics in British History
HIST6401Advanced Topics in American History
HIST6451Advanced Topics in Southern History
III.MAJOR AREA 9

Select at least 9 hours from the following:
HIST 5010 Local History
HIST 5015 Historic Architecture Preservation
HIST 5020 Public History
HIST 5045 World War I
HIST 5050 World War II
HIST 5070 The Industrial Revolution
HIST 5110 Classical Greece
HIST 5120 Classical Rome
HIST 5130 The Middle Ages
HIST 5140 Renaissance and Reformation
HIST 5150 The Age of Absolutism, 1559-1789
HIST 5210 The French Revolution and Napoleon
HIST 5220 Modern Europe
HIST 5240 Hitler and Nazi Germany
HIST 5250 Soviet Russia
HIST 5260 Contemporary Germany
HIST 5270 The Balkans
HIST 5280 The Intellectual and Cultural History of Europe to 1550
HIST 5285 The Intellectual and Cultural History of Europe since 1550
HIST 5310 Tudor England
HIST 5315 Stuart England
HIST 5335 Modern Britain
HIST 5340 Modern English Social History
HIST 5360 A Cultural History of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
HIST 5380 The British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations
HIST 5405 Religion in American History
HIST 5410 Topics in American Social History
HIST 5415 Georgia: Colony and State
HIST 5510 Colonial America
HIST 5520 Revolutionary America
HIST 5530 The Age of Jefferson
HIST 5540 The Ante-Bellum South
HIST 5610 The American Civil War
HIST 5620 The South Since Reconstruction
HIST 5640 Contemporary America
HIST 5650 Contemporary American Foreign Policy
HIST 5710 Modern Middle East
HIST 5720 The Vietnam War
HIST 5940 Independent Study
HIST 5950 Special Topics
HIST 5980 Study Abroad
HIST 5990 Academic Workshop
*HIST 6201 Advanced Topics in European History
*HIST 6301 Advanced Topics in British History
*HIST 6401 Advanced Topics in American History
*HIST 6451 Advanced Topics in Southern History
HIST 6940 Independent Study (graduates only)
HIST 6950 Special Topics (graduates only)
HIST 6960 Internship

*If not taken in Area II, listed above.
IV.Archival Courses6 semester hour
HIST6050Archival Theory and Issues
HIST6055Archival Methods and Practice
V.Archives Practicum6 semester hour
HIST5935Archives Practicum
VI.THESIS9 semester hour
HIST6970Thesis Research

Total Degree Hours, 36 semester hour

[ Refer to the Course Description Section of this catalog for courses and course descriptions. ]

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

ADVISEMENT

Upon admission to the program, each student is advised by the chairperson of the Department of History and Geography. The student is also assigned to a supervisory committee as explained in the Comprehensive Examination section, below. The designated chairperson of the supervisory committee will serve as the student's adviser and thesis director for the final examination.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

A reading knowledge of one modern foreign language, ordinarily French, German, or Spanish, must be demonstrated. With consent of the chairperson of the department another language or, if concentrating in history of an English-speaking area, an appropriate course in statistics or computer science with a grade of at least B, may be substituted. A reading knowledge may be demonstrated in either of two ways:

  1. By having completed not more than four years prior to admission to graduate study, the fourth course or higher of a language with a grade of at least B.

  2. By an examination, either standardized or local at the option of the student, administered by the Department of Modern Foreign Languages of the university. The local examination consists of two parts: (a) writing a satisfactory translation, with the aid of a dictionary, of a relatively brief passage from a previously unseen work in the field of history, and (b) writing a satisfactory general summary in English, with the aid of a dictionary, of a longer passage from a previously unseen work in the field of history, and satisfactorily answering oral questions on the passage.

The examination may be taken a maximum of three times in any one language. The student should make arrangements for taking the examination directly with the chairperson of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages.

THESIS

Students will submit a thesis in an acceptable style of historical writing which demonstrates the ability to investigate independently a topic of historical significance. The topic will be selected in consultation with the student's adviser and be approved by the supervisory committee. Style and format will be in conformity with Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (University of Chicago Press). The original and four copies of the completed thesis in unbound form must be submitted to the supervisory committee for critical reading not later than four weeks prior to the date of proposed graduation. After the student has passed the Master's Comprehensive Examination on thesis and course work, the original will be placed in the vault of the university library for safekeeping, and the copies will be bound. The student will be charged a binding fee. One copy will be returned to the student and the others will be distributed to the library (for circulation), the Department of History and Geography, and the thesis supervisor. The student must be registered for HIST 6970 (Thesis Research) in the semester in which requirements are completed and thesis examination given. The thesis must also be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

THESIS DEFENSE

The candidate must pass an oral defense related to preparation of the thesis. This requirement must be completed no later than ten days prior to anticpated graduation, and the candidate should be enrolled in the university at the time. The candidate will be assigned a supervisory committee to conduct the defense. A candidate who fails may, upon recommendation of the supervisory committee, repeat the thesis defense. If the candidate fails a second time, no further opportunities will be permitted.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Inquiries concerning the nature of the program, the availability of given courses, and the availability of graduate assistantships should be sent to the chairperson of the Department of History and Geography, Georgia College & State University, Campus Box 47, Milledgeville, GA 31061; telephone, (478) 445-5215.

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