Five-Year B.A./M.A. Program
The combined B.A. and M.A. degree program in History integrates Loyola University Chicago’s (LUC) current History degree programs at the undergraduate and master levels. The program provides specially selected History majors with the opportunity to more efficiently move through two degrees and thereby jump-start their professional development by completing two degrees in five rather than six years. Graduates of this program are well prepared to pursue a Ph.D. in History, to apply to a professional school, or to seek a teaching position at the post-secondary level.
The combined degree will be available for only the M.A. degree in History (not the program for the M.A. in Public History).
To apply to the BA/MA program, a student must:
(1) be a declared undergraduate LUC History major,
(2) have junior status at LUC based on credit hours earned,
(3) possess a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 for course work at LUC,
(4) have earned at least a 3.7 GPA in at least five completed History courses at LUC, three of which must be at the 300 level.
A student should apply for admission to this program by March 15th of her/his junior year by submitting a transcript, a writing sample, a one-page statement of purpose, and a recommendation from three full-time faculty members of the History Department. Transfer students may apply at the end of their second semester as a junior, or once they have met criteria #4 above. They should submit both their LUC transcript and a transcript from their previous institution. Admission to the program is highly competitive and will depend upon a positive review of credentials by the department's Graduate Program Committee. The Graduate Program Director will coordinate this program, working with the Director of Undergraduate Programs to advise students on their applications and to assure there is no significant overlap between courses completed at the undergraduate and those at the graduate levels.
The Curriculum:
Students in a bachelors/masters program begin graduate courses during the first semester of their senior year, beginning with the introductory course for the program. No graduate courses will be taken during the freshman, sophomore, or junior years. Students in the combined degree program should begin their senior year with 27-30 total credits in their History major. They will take the required introductory-level graduate course (HIST 400) in the Fall semester of their senior year and complete 6-9 credits in graduate level courses. These 400-level courses can also fulfill the 300-level requirements for the major or 300-level electives toward the B.A. degree. Students can take a maximum of TWO of the following undergraduate colloquia, seminars, tutorials or directed studies and simultaneously count them as graduate credit for the 500-level seminar (students who take any of the two of the classes below are prohibited from taking any more 300-level classes):
HIST 397H: History Honors Tutorial
HIST 399: Directed Study
NLUS: Newberry Library Undergraduate Seminar (always Spring Semester)
HIST 291: Junior Colloquium only counts for undergraduate credit.
Any student enrolled in the combined B.A.-M.A. will have to complete one of the two approved undergraduate seminars (HIST 397: History Honors Tutorial or NLUS: Newberry Library Seminar) and a 500-level seminar. The History major also offers a variety of internships and practica for students with particular interests and career goals, including History Internship (HIST 398), a flexible internship program which provides on-the-job experience for majors in adapting their writing and analytical skills to the needs of such fields as new media, museum management, archival preservation, and public relations.
Students in the B.A./M.A. program will have two electives, which may be used to take courses in another department or an interdisciplinary program, such as the Women and Gender Studies Program, which offers graduate-level courses.
Sample Programs
Sample program for five-year B.A./M.A. degree (with American specialization):
The student needs to complete 36 credits (12 courses) for the B.A., 27 credits (9 courses) for the M.A.
First year
HIST 101: The Evolution of Western Ideas and Institutions to 1600
HIST 212: United States History since 1865
(satisfies requirements for Historical Knowledge core and 6 credits for major)
Second year
HIST 203: American Pluralism
HIST 204: Global History Since 1500
HIST 324: Shipwreck Archaeology
(9 credits toward the major; total of 15 credits in History major)
Third year
HIST 304: The Holocaust and Twentieth-Century Genocide
HIST 376: History of the American Indian
HIST 311: The Medieval World, 1100-1500
HIST 357: Mexican History from Ancient to Modern Times
HIST 291: Junior Colloquium
(15 credits toward the major; total of 30 credits in History major)
(Student applies to the B.A./M.A. program in the second semester.)
Fourth year
HIST 400: Twentieth-Century Approaches to History (required for M.A.)
HIST 450: Nineteenth-Century U.S. History
HIST 461: Twentieth-Century U.S. History
HIST 492: U.S. Local History (B.A. credit)
HIST 442: Women and Gender History: U.S.A (B.A. credit)
(6 credits toward the major (36 total), 9 credits toward the M.A. degree)
Fifth year
HIST 483: Oral History: Method and Practice (minor field & research tool
HIST 487 Management of History Museums (minor field)
HIST 500-level seminar or HIST 599: Masters Essay
HIST 451: History of the American West
HIST 479: Public History Media (minor field)
HIST 500-level seminar or HIST 599: Masters Essay
Student prepares for comprehensive examination at end of semester or summer
(18 credits toward the M.A. degree; total of 27 credits for M.A.)
Sample program for five-year B.A./M.A. degree (with European specialization):
The student needs to complete 36 credits (12 courses) for the B.A., 27 credits (9 courses) for the M.A.
First year
HIST 101: The Evolution of Western Ideas and Institutions to 1600
HIST 212: United States History since 1865
(satisfies requirements for Historical Knowledge core and 6 credits for major)
Second year
HIST 203: American Pluralism
HIST 204: Global History Since 1500
HIST 324: Shipwreck Archaeology
(9 credits toward the major; total of 15 credits in History major)
Third year
HIST 304: The Holocaust and Twentieth-Century Genocide
HIST 376: History of the American Indian
HIST 311: The Medieval World, 1100-1500
HIST 357: Mexican History from Ancient to Modern Times
HIST 291: Junior Colloquium
(15 credits toward the major; total of 30 credits in History major)
(Student applies to the B.A./M.A. program in the second semester.)
Fourth year
HIST 400: Twentieth-Century Approaches to History (required for M.A.)
HIST 436: Topics in European History, 1870-1945 (counts for B.A.)
HIST 441: Women and Gender: Europe (minor field)
HIST 442: Women and Gender: U.S.A. (minor field)
HIST 433: Modern European Nations (counts for B.A., but could count for M.A.)
(6 credits toward the major (36 total), 9 credits toward the M.A. degree)
Fifth year
HIST 438: History of Modern European Education
HIST 491: Modern Europe, 1789-1870
HIST 561: Seminar in Women and Gender History (minor field)
HIST 410B: Topics in European History
HIST 419: English Social History, 1500-1750
HIST 500-level seminar or HIST 599: Masters Essay
(Student prepares for comprehensive examination at end of semester or summer
(18 credits toward the M.A. degree; total of 27 credits for M.A.)
Sample program for five-year B.A./M.A. degree for undergraduate honors student (with American specialization):
The student needs to complete 36 credits (12 courses) for the B.A., 27 credits (9 courses) for the M.A.
First year
HIST 101: The Evolution of Western Ideas and Institutions to 1600
HIST 212: United States History since 1865
(satisfies requirements for Historical Knowledge core and 6 credits for major)
Second year
HIST 203: American Pluralism
HIST 204: Global History Since 1500
HIST 319 - London 1550 – 1715
(9 credits toward the major; total of 15 credits in History major)
Third year
HIST 304: The Holocaust and Twentieth-Century Genocide
HIST 376: History of the American Indian
HIST 311: The Medieval World, 1100-1500
HIST 357: Mexican History from Ancient to Modern Times
HIST 291: Junior Colloquium
(15 credits toward the major; total of 30 credits in History major)
(Student applies to the B.A./M.A. program in the second semester.)
Fourth year
HIST 396H: Honors Colloquium (counts for B.A., but could be M.A. seminar)
HIST 400: Twentieth-Century Approaches to History (required for the M.A.)
HIST 483: Oral History: Method and Practice (counts for research tool; does not count for MA credit)
HIST 397H: History Honors Tutorial (counts for B.A., but could be M.A. seminar)
HIST 442: Women and Gender History: U.S.A.
HIST 461: Twentieth-Century U.S. History
(6 credits toward the major - 36 total; 9 toward the M.A. degree)
Fifth year
HIST 451: History of the American West
HIST 487 Management of History Museums (minor field)
HIST 500-level seminar or HIST 599: Masters Essay
HIST 479: Public History Media (minor field)
HIST 410A: Topics in American History
HIST 500-level seminar or HIST 599: Masters Essay
Student prepares for comprehensive examination at end of semester or summer.
( 18 credits toward the M.A. degree; total of 27 credits for M.A.)