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General information on
master's programmes
Research Programmes
General Guidelines on
the Presentation and Evaluation of Work
Master of Studies in US
History
General information
The US History programme is open to all students
whose research centres on colonial America or the
United States. It is designed designed for graduate
students who wish to deepen their knowledge of this
area of history and who wish to obtain experience
and training in research.
The course lasts for nine
months (from October to June) and the examination
results are normally published by the beginning of
July. The examination comprises three elements: (1)
two extended essays of up to 5,000 words; (2) an
examination paper; and (3) a dissertation of up to
15,000 words.
The degree programme may be
taken as a terminal master’s degree, but it is also
conceived as standard entry routes into doctoral
study for students with research interests in this
region. It should be stressed, however, that the
admission of any candidate to further study at
Oxford will depend on his/her overall performance in
the M.St., together with the viability of their
proposed research topic and the availability of
appropriate supervision at Oxford.
For formal assessment criteria and
submission deadlines see individual ‘Instructions
to Candidates’.
Contact
information
The current course convenor is ( College).
Overall programme administration is handled by the
History
Graduate Office:
telephone: (01865) 615002 (or 15002 from an internal
phone)
fax: (01865) 250704
address: History Graduate Office, Old High School
for Boys, George Street, Oxford, OX1 2RL
Teaching and
academic environment
(1) a paper on the
United States and its precursor colonies
Teaching is usually arranged
through tutorials. Assessment is through two
submitted essays of up to 5,000 words.
(2) an examination paper
in historical methodology and historiography
Teaching is arranged in
weekly classes in Michaelmas and Hilary Terms.
Assessment is through a three-hour written
examination at the end of Trinity Term.
- Each week students are assigned key texts
relating to a particular topic, one student will
present at the class, and then students and tutors
discuss the relevant issues.
- The first term covers the major developments in
historical writing from the professionalization of
the discipline at the start of the 20th century
through to the end of the century. The second term
focuses on contemporary debates in historical
writing.
(3) a dissertation
A dissertation of not more
than 15,000 words on a topic falling within the
scope of the general subject area chosen by the
candidate for the extended essays under (1).
- It is expected that students will write their
submitted essays and dissertation on different
themes, or covering a different sequence of events
in American history. Examiners are expected to
penalize any obvious overlap between submitted
items.
The Dissertation is written up during the Easter
vacation and the first five weeks of Trinity Term,
but it is essential that students begin to formulate
and plan their dissertation in conjunction with
their supervisors from the beginning of the course.
This preparatory work should take into account
relevant methodological approaches,
historiographical literature, and an appreciation of
the sources which will provide evidence for the
dissertation.
A good dissertation is driven by a research
question or problem suitable for original historical
enquiry. The research question emerges from critical
engagement with the literature in a particular
field. A candidate is expected to make considered
and effective use of the appropriate sources, which
should be consulted in the original so far as
appropriate and practical. A thesis is not an
arbitrary or intuitive processing of primary
material. It must have a coherent approach or method
– one that is relevant and effective for the purpose
of the thesis. It should be presented in a lucid and
scholarly manner. For more advice consult the
broader discussion of what is expected of a doctoral thesis.
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