Master of Arts in Humanities

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts in Humanities

  1. Thirty units of course work at the 5000 level or above.
  2. Three Great Works courses.
  3. Six units for a Master’s thesis.
  4. A reading knowledge of one foreign language. This requirement may be satisfied by meeting the standards set forth in the M.A. handbook.
  5. A comprehensive, written examination on three questions that professors write, based on three general topic areas that students previously discuss with their professors. Topics may not be identical to students’ final paper topics in any of their classes.

Thesis requirements

While completing the thesis, students register for a six-credit thesis course. Well before registering for the course (at least one semester, but preferably two or more), the student must consult with an academic advisor to determine a suitable thesis topic and appropriate criteria, and then begin the research process in earnest. While the six-credit thesis course is completed in one semester, it is expected that the student will do a significant amount of preparatory work on the thesis before taking this course. For more information, contact your academic advisor. NB: The comprehensive examination must be completed prior to submitting a thesis proposal.

Additional Stipulations

  1. Time limit: all requirements ordinarily must be met within six years of a student’s initial registration in course work, excluding leaves of absence.
  2. Transfer credits: refer to “Graduate School Policies” in the “Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts” section for transfer credit information.
  3. Students who enroll in the Humanities program to earn pre-requisites to enter another Master’s program in Braniff cannot transfer programs any later than after earning 15 credit hours in the program into which they intend to transfer.
  4. University undergraduates may count Humanities Great Works Courses as part of a Humanities graduate degree only if they have taken them at the 6000 level and have not counted them toward the undergraduate degree.
  5. No more than 12 hours taken at the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture may count toward the degree. Students who take 12 hours at the DIHC may request that a member of the DIHC faculty be one of their thesis readers.
  6. All DIHC transfers must take at least 18 hours of course work in the regular university program.