Assessment Details
Academic Year: 2021-2022 Level: Graduate
Campus Department: Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences [UG and Grad]
Program Type: Major [UG] / Program [Grad]
Program Name: History MA (Link)
Description of Data Collection:
Faculty are required to fill out an evaluation form at the end of the semester for each graduate student in every course. The form asks not only for the student’s grade, but asks for specific details about student performance and achievements. Faculty are asked whether they recommend that the student continue in the program. The Director of Graduate Studies reads all the evaluation forms at the end of each semester. The DGS also consults with faculty about specific graduate students whose performance has raised questions.
A key requirement for the MA program is the completion of a graduate seminar in which students write a formal research paper based on extensive primary source research. Faculty evaluations of student performance in seminars is taken especially seriously as a comment on the student’s progress in the program.
At the end of the second (final) year in the program, MA students are required do one of the following: to take a comprehensive exam on two historical fields, to defend an MA thesis, to submit a teaching portfolio, or to submit a public history project for review. The student’s advisor(s), the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Graduate Program Assistant review the paperwork for all of these capstone requirements.
Review Process:
The Director of Graduate Studies and the student’s advisor and teachers interpret the evidence of the student’s progress. The DGS monitors all student progress, and consults with advisors and the students’ teachers as a result of reviewing grades and faculty evaluations at the end of each semester. The Graduate Programs Assistant plays an important role in the process by flagging issues of special concern and calling them to the attention of the DGS.
The DGS meets regularly with a Graduate Committee of three faculty members and the Graduate Programs Assistant to evaluate MA program requirements, course offerings, and career preparation.
Resulting Program Changes:
We have taken several steps to expand and refine the skills that MA students gain in our program and the competencies they can take with them into the job market. We now have a Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate (DH), aimed at improving job skills (see the next paragraph). The History Department as of this semester (spring 2022) has a podcast recording studio and instructional materials and videos about how to create podcasts. We hope that graduate students and faculty who teach graduate courses will introduce podcasting into the MA program. MA students are also invited to work with our Graduate Placement Director.
The DH certificate program is directed by a faculty member (currently Marilynn Johnson of the History Department), and has a board of advisors from humanities departments. The program is a collaborative effort between humanities departments and the digital scholarship team in O’Neill Library. The DH certificate consists of three courses: an introductory course (taught by digital scholarship librarians, all of them holding doctorates), a second graduate course in which the student completes a DH project, and a capstone course (also taught by digital scholarship librarians).
Date of Most Recent Program Review:
We have taken several steps to expand and refine the skills that MA students gain in our program and the competencies they can take with them into the job market. We now have a Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate (DH), aimed at improving job skills (see the next paragraph). The History Department as of this semester (spring 2022) has a podcast recording studio and instructional materials and videos about how to create podcasts. We hope that graduate students and faculty who teach graduate courses will introduce podcasting into the MA program. MA students are also invited to work with our Graduate Placement Director.
The DH certificate program is directed by a faculty member (currently Marilynn Johnson of the History Department), and has a board of advisors from humanities departments. The program is a collaborative effort between humanities departments and the digital scholarship team in O’Neill Library. The DH certificate consists of three courses: an introductory course (taught by digital scholarship librarians, all of them holding doctorates), a second graduate course in which the student completes a DH project, and a capstone course (also taught by digital scholarship librarians).
Attachments (if available)