Five-Year M.A.
Qualified students will be allowed to enter the Master of Arts program after completing three years of undergraduate course work.
Course Requirements
The Master of Arts degree requires completion of 30 credits, of which no more than 9 can be at the 400-level. Students who enter the program after receiving their baccalaureate degree will normally require two years of full-time work to complete it.
The program includes an all course-work (Plan A) option, and a 10-credit Master’s Thesis (Plan B) option. All students are required to take AMST 5XX/6XX, Methods in American Studies, and AMST 5XX/6XX, Research and Writing in American Studies. Additional course work will be selected from the list of courses below (see Additional Courses in American Studies). Under Plan B, students must register for a minimum of 10 credits of AMST 590 and defend their thesis in an oral examination. The format of thesis work is determined by the Division of Graduate Education.
Graduate Committee
A student’s committee will consist of a chair and two additional members. The committee must be formed by the end of the second semester of attendance.
Mastery of Subject Matter
Mastery of subject matter will be determined by
- a record of excellence in all courses
- a four-hour written examination
- a two-hour oral examination
Examinations
Written and oral examinations are normally taken during the student’s last semester. The written examination will consist of two parts, one issued by the chair of the student’s committee, the other by one of the remaining committee members. Written examinations will be graded pass/fail.
A student may not take the oral examination unless she has passed the written examination. In general, the first half of the oral examination will focus on coursework, the second half on the thesis (if applicable).
The Division of Graduate Education issues a deadline each semester for completion of oral examinations. These dates may be found at http://www.montana.edu/wwwdg/cat_dates&dead.shtml.
