First:  All writing for anything in history must conform to the Chicago Manual of Style – especially by having footnotes and bibliography

The Graduate College website details the exact formatting for writing theses and dissertations.  This format you must follow whatever you are writing for the history department and you must follow it to the letter. The Graduate College has someone read through your entire thesis to check if you have followed the proper style to the letter. Do not underestimate their abilities to find problems.

Thesis Track:

A thesis is an original research study based heavily upon primary resources.  The length shall be from 80-100 pages.  Sections include:

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Historiography (may be in introduction)
• Main body (probably several sections)
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Educator Track:

The department expects the same level of rigor and quality in labor, research, and expertise of Educator  history students as of students on other tracks.

In the portfolio capstone class you will put together your formal portfolio consisting of several of your best and revised research papers (with bibliographies for each) and a new narrative essay that pulls the research all together. This new essay should be 20-30 pages (with bibliography) for a total portfolio length of 75-100 pages.

Public History Project Track:

The department expects the same level of rigor and quality in labor, research, and expertise of public history students as of students on other tracks.

A project is a research study that leads to a public history demonstration along with a written narrative.

Recognizing that public history projects of different types provide different challenges and opportunities to demonstrate a student’s level of mastery, the department requires that students and their committees agree upon a written portion to complement the public history demonstration. This written portion will typically take the form of a packet.

The project consists of two parts:

1. The public history demonstration
2. The written portion. This portion consists of a packet of written work accumulated and revised from the student’s coursework.   Overall this packet must demonstrate scholarly competence in writing, research, analysis, and historical documentation and will be from 60-80 pages.

The packet typically consists of:

• Abstract
• Project description essay [5-10 pages]
• Historiography Essay (A revised edition of the student’s History 500 paper with bibliography) [20-25 p.]
• Analytical Essay (A revised edition of the student’s History 501 paper with bibliography) [20-25 p.]
• Public History Essay (A revised edition of the History 502 paper with bibliography) [20-25 p.]
• Appendixes that include (if necessary and applicable) printed examples of social media or web content or project data etc…

The thesis/portfolio/project defense will be your opportunity to defend your work before your committee and others.

The first part of your defense (which includes your presentation and questions from the audience/faculty) is public, which means that anyone may attend.

The second part of the defense (which includes the tougher questions from your committee) will occur between just you and the committee.

Expect at least an hour but no more than an hour and a half for the defense.

Every semester, the Graduate College will announce the final date.  Keep in mind that you must place a final draft (i.e. the version that you will defend) of your thesis/portfolio/project on display in the department office at least ten working days before you are scheduled to defend.

Know that you will need to be registered for at least one thesis/portfolio/project credit during the semester in which you intend to graduate.

Provisional status indicates either that the applicant has not yet graduated with a bachelor’s degree, or that there were certain deficiencies in the applicant’s record at the time they were admitted.

• The most common reason to be labeled provisional is that a student has not taken the Graduate Record Exam upon admittance. If you are in that category, you must take the GRE no later than your first semester in the program, or the Graduate College will not allow you to enroll for courses in succeeding semesters.
• Another common reason for provisional status is that a student is that a student does not have sufficient background in the discipline of history. We accept many excellent students whose educational background is in another field. We value students with such expertise and varied perspective they bring to the program, but require them to take coursework during their first semester or year (as spelled out in the letter of acceptance) that will enable them to work successfully as historians.
• Other students come to our program with great promise but a checkered academic background. Those students receive provisional status in order to give them the opportunity to demonstrate that they belong in, and can succeed in, our master’s program. If you fall into this category, you should be aware that your status is not only provisional but probationary. In this case, your first semester of coursework, as well as our required core courses, will be critical for you.
• Any student who has been admitted provisionally will receive a letter from the graduate coordinator spelling out exactly what he/she must accomplish to remove that status; when the student has done so, he/she will be granted regular status. If the student does not fulfill the conditions for advancement to a regular status for a prescribed time, he/she will be dropped from the program.

In looking to fund your graduate education, the first thing to look at is the information on the Graduate College website here: https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege/funding/scholarships-and-fellowships/

Below you will see additional opportunities or further explanation of some of the opportunities described at the Graduate College website.

Western Region Graduate Program

The History Graduate Program participates in WICHE, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and their Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP). WRGP is a tuition-discounting program. WRGP enables students from WICHE states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) to enroll in more than 400 participating graduate programs and pay the enrolling institution’s resident tuition rate, instead of the nonresident rate that an out-of-state student would normally pay. At Boise State University we offer this opportunity on a competitive basis. The History department will recommend a small number of WGRP awards based upon merit for outstanding applicants. This recommendation goes to the Graduate College for a final decision.

Graduate Assistantships

The History Department offers Graduate Assistantships to outstanding applicants. Awardees receive a full fee waiver and a yearly stipend of $10,000 (as of 2020) and Health benefits. This position is often awarded for 2 years. Graduate assistants (also known as Teaching Assistants or TAs) are also allotted office space. Total value is $23,146 per academic year or $46,292 for the traditional two year assignment.

Graduate Assistants (Teaching Assistants or TAs) are assigned to a class one or two weeks before the beginning of the semester. During that period before class starts the Professor teaching the class and the TA discuss how the class will operate and the duties of the TA. Often those duties include grading, lecturing on occasion, preparation of class materials, research for the class, and collaboration. It can be a rewarding experience.

All new applicants are considered for the award. Or a student could apply by Jan. 15 of any year they are attending.

Discussion Group Leader — Graduate Assistant

The History Department periodically offers Discussion Group Leader (DGL) positions for graduate students. These positions are for the few University Foundations 100 (UF) classes taught by our history faculty. Each class requires a DGL to teach/lead 4 discussion sections attached to the class. DGL positions pay $11,000 per semester (as of 2020) but offer no other benefits. Along with teaching the discussion sections, students will 20 have grading duties but also may have the opportunity to lecture in the regular class and generally help with the course design as a whole. The call for applicants will be in February (for fall) and May (for spring).

History Department Travel Grants

Our department offers small grants to graduate students on a need basis of up to $1000 for travel related to research. This money can be spent on transportation, lodging, food, or copying etc. We will post notices in Spring for Travel Grants with the idea that the travel would take place during the summer (research time).

Graduate College Conference Travel Funding

The Graduate College has a limited number of travel funding opportunities that are available to graduate students at Boise State University for presentations at academic conferences (including performances, exhibitions, readings, and lecture recitals for graduate students in the arts). A panel of judges reviews applications and makes award recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate College. Reviews take place three times per year with submission deadlines on March 1, July 1, and November 1.

To apply go here:  https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege/conference-travel-funding/

Boise State University, College of Arts and Sciences, and History Department Scholarships

The University, College of Arts and Sciences, and the History Department offer several scholarships for graduate students. They are handled through one outlet. These change often so for more details go to https://www.boisestate.edu/scholarships/ Look specifically for information for Graduate Students. Do not overlook these opportunities.

The student is allowed seven years to complete the program as measured from the date of the earliest course work applied to meet the degree requirements. If for some reason, the student needs more than seven years, he/she should submit a “Request for Extension of Time,” with a letter of explanation for the request, to the Graduate Coordinator.

Graduate students are significantly more likely than the general population to report symptoms of depression and related anxiety. The overall wellness of graduate students is uniquely influenced by several aspects of their academic and work experience. In addition to their perceived relationship with their advisor and supervisory committee chair and work-life balance, their wellness is influenced by financial concerns, academic progression, sleep, physical health, and developing and maintaining social connectedness.

• Support services available to Boise State graduate students range from individual and group counseling to recorded resources and more.

Please visit Boise State Gradwell

The main Graduate College website includes many things but one important part of it is the Graduate Student Success Center.

From there you can navigate to resources for writing help and links to forms and calendars and much else.

It is an excellent resource. https://www.boisestate.edu/graduatecollege-success/

There is so much to navigate to get through graduate school but we think it will be worth it for you. We have all been through it so we know both the difficulties and the satisfaction in completing a graduate degree.

One big piece of advice: When in doubt about what you should be doing – from submitting a form to doubts about grad school in general — ask someone, talk to someone, your advisor (me), your supervisory committee chair, the chair of the history department, someone at the graduate college (just walk in), or even a counselor through GRADWELL if you have more serious concerns about your wellbeing. But do something, don’t let it go, and please don’t quit without telling or talking to someone first. You may decide you want to go down a different path and that’s okay, but talk to us about it, please don’t disappear.