Outstanding student research papers are published in the annual journal Passports , and each spring students compete for departmental scholarships. The active local chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society, promotes academic and social activities for students. Other specializations can be arranged. Graduate students pursue studies in two fields. To earn the MA degree each student must also meet a foreign language or research skill requirement and either complete a master's thesis or, in fields where it is offered, a comprehensive examination.
Graduate students are eligible to apply for assistantships and departmental scholarships.
Graduate courses are offered in the late afternoon or evening for the convenience of working students. In the last four years history students have won first place twice and second place once in the university's Outstanding Thesis competition. MA graduates have been accepted into PhD programs ranging from Stanford University and University of California campuses to such diverse institutions as the New School for Social Research, Tulane University and Ohio State University. Among our distinguished alumni is Professor Linda Cooke Johnson of Michigan State University, editor of The Historian , the national journal of the Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society. In addition to a strong commitment to hands on teaching, History Department faculty members have had works published by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and the University of California Press, among others.