American History (M.A.Ed.)
The American history program meets the Virginia requirements for eligibility to teach Advanced Placement (AP), concurrent enrollment, and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in American history at the high school level as well as first-year and sophomore courses at the college level.
The program is led by highly qualified professors who enhance both students’ understanding of history and their abilities to teach that knowledge effectively to others.
Participants in this program benefit from strong ties between Emory & Henry and area public schools, enabling graduate students to connect to the current challenges and opportunities of teaching history. In addition, students in this program benefit from the assistance of highly respected reference librarians.
Objectives: To provide a degree appropriate for a person seeking certification to teach history or social studies with endorsement for Virginia and states with reciprocal agreements concerning credentials. To provide the proof required for competency and mastery according to federal guidelines.
Required Courses: 30 credit hours including History 502, 503, 505, 507, 516, 519, 520, 536, 539, 540, 552, 600.
HIST 502 Colonial and Revolutionary America
Events and ideas involved in the long colonial era, especially in Virginia, and the seminal intellectual and cultural conceptions of the American Revolution.
HIST 503 Middle Period America
Events and ideas involved in the critical formative period of nation-building in the early and middle nineteenth century, with special emphasis on cultural patterns in religion and ideology, economic aspects of developing trade, commerce and slavery, and emerging regional tensions between North and South.
HIST 505 Historiography and Methods
Appraisal of major themes in historical writing and major approaches to historical problems, emphasizing a comparative approach to selected historical traditions.
HIST 507 Civil War and Reconstruction
Origins and consequences of the American Civil War. Emphasis on regionalism, sectionalism, and nationalism; economic interdependencies and conflicts; abolitionist saints and pro-slavery divines, and other cultural counterpoints; modern war and ancient traditions; battlefield tactics and broader social strategies; compromise and the deferred commitments to equality and social justice during the post-bellum Reconstruction period.
HIST 516 History and Geography of Virginia and Tennessee
Comparative study of geography and history of two southern states. Emphasis on graduate- level research and teacher responsibilities in the public schools with regard to the standards of learning.
HIST 517 Modern American Studies
An American Studies approach to cultural development and ideological growth in modern American society, with special emphasis on regional patterns.
HIST 519 Pragmatism and Modern American Ideas
Philosophical and intellectual currents in the U. S. states since 1911, with special emphasis on pragmatic ideas and reformism in late liberal rationalism.
HIST 520 Industrialization and Economic Development
Industrialization and rise of managerial bourgeoisie, petite bourgeoisie, proletariat, and laboring class from the early post-bellum era to the present; organizational capitalism and imperialism, radical protests, the "take-off" phase of industrial development and high mass consumption in the post-industrial era.
HIST 536 World Wars
The two World Wars in imperialist context and with cross-cultural perspective. Economic causes and consequences, and ideological currents. Battlefield tactics and broader social strategies.
HIST 539 Europe in the Postwar Era
Close examination of the history of Eastern and Western Europe from the end of World War II to the present. Focus on the political and economic reconstruction of early postwar Europe, the role of Europe in the Cold War, the emergence of the “New Europe” in the post-communist period, and the transformation of Europe’s political, economic, and cultural relations with the United States.
HIST 540 History of England
Interpretive analysis of key questions and issues of English history from the Norman Conquest to the present. Topics include the process of nation-building on the island of Great Britain, the development of parliamentary democracy, and the role of England in colonization, imperialism, and industrialization.
HIST 552 Latin America
Comparative analysis of structural continuities and revolutions in Latin American history since the pre-Columbian era.
HIST 600 Seminar
Capstone course involving original research and investigation of important secondary sources, leading to a major research paper concerning developments in American history, with emphasis on educational problems and classroom challenges.
Requirements for Admission (M.A.Ed. programs)
Admission to a Master of Arts in Education degree program requires a baccalaureate degree from an accredited undergraduate institution with a minimum GPA of 2.75 overall and 3.0 in the major; completion of the Graduate Record Examination; submission of a writing sample of high quality; and review by an admissions committee.
For experienced teachers and other individuals of exceptional promise, the admissions committee may modify the GPA requirement. Prospective graduate students are required to provide three recommendations from individuals familiar with their work, submit a completed application for graduate admission, and provide official copies of any professional tests they have completed.
For more information about applying to a graduate program contact:
Mary Bolt
Asst. Director of Transfer & Graduate Admissions
Phone: 276.944.6136
Email: mbolt@ehc.edu
Requirements for Graduation with a Master's Degree
Graduate students should select courses in their desired track in consultation with the appropriate Program Director or their advisor. Students can reasonably expect to complete the degree within a three-year period, including enrollments in fall, spring, and summer terms. Thirty (30) total semester hours are required for completion of the Master’s degree. All students are expected to complete the degree within a six-year period. Students who go beyond this time limit may have to take additional courses, as determined by the Program Director.
When students have completed 24 semester hours of course work, they will be required either to take a written comprehensive examination or to complete an integrative project. A follow-up oral examination may be required.
Although the M.A.Ed. is a teaching degree rather than a research degree, a culminating writing project will be required that can take two directions. In most programs, students will write a comprehensive paper in which they will analyze what they have learned, and the implications of their discoveries for what they expect to happen in their classrooms.
Satisfactory progress requires a 3.00 GPA. Any student in the graduate degree program whose GPA falls below 3.00 after attempting nine or more semester hours of course work will not be in good standing and will be placed on academic warning. If, at the end of the first semester of academic warning, or any subsequent semester, the student again does not attain minimum satisfactory academic progress, he or she may be placed on academic warning a second time. If a student fails to raise his or her GPA to a 3.00 after two semesters on academic warning, he or she will be dismissed from the program.
Students dismissed from the graduate program may apply for readmission after one semester. Students seeking readmission after having been dismissed must provide evidence of an attempt to improve academic performance during their time away from the graduate program. A non-refundable fee equal to the initial admission fee must accompany the application for readmission. Students who are readmitted to the program two semesters or more after academic dismissal must meet the requirements of the graduate catalog in force when they are readmitted. Students who have been academically dismissed twice from the graduate program will not be readmitted to the program.
