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The Humanities and American Studies department offers two graduate degree programs:
Master of Arts in American Studies
Both Graduate Programs require a Master's Thesis. More information on Thesis procedures
Graduate Teaching Assistantships are also available. More information on Graduate Teaching Assistantships
The Master of Arts in American Studies offers students the opportunity to study the social relations and cultural patterns that have both unified and divided Americans over time. Topics covered include popular and elite cultures; the material and technological foundations of American society; cultural heroines and heroes; and the values, ideals, and lifestyles of ordinary people as well as those of recognized historical figures. Students learn how to analyze a broad range of texts, including literature, art, film, and material culture, for evidence of these patterns in American life and culture. The program requires a total of 33 credit hours, including 27 hours of coursework and 6 hours of thesis. Normal time-to-degree for a full-time student is two years.
The Master of Liberal Arts is an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental program that offers students an opportunity to study the ideas and works that have shaped world culture. The program requires a total of 33 credit hours, including 27 hours of coursework and 6 hours of thesis. Normal time-to-degree for a full-time student is two years.
There are five tracks or concentrations within the MLA: the Humanities track (HTS), the Liberal Studies track (LSS), Africana Studies (AFA), Social and Political Thought (SPT), and Florida Studies (FST). Of these, the first two (Humanities and Liberal Studies) are the primary responsibility of the Department of Humanities and American Studies.
The Humanities track offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of European, American, and Latin American cultures. Classes integrate interpretations of the literature, arts, and music of each cultural period with an understanding of their social and historical contexts.
The Liberal Studies track allows students to define their own course of study by taking courses from a range of departments within the College of Arts and Sciences. Students must take at least three courses within a single department and define their course of study in consultation with the Graduate Director.
For information on other tracks, please contact the following advisors:
Africana Studies: Dr. Deborah Plant - plant@cas.usf.edu
Social and Political Thought: Dr. Stephen Turner - turner@cas.usf.edu
Florida Studies: Dr. Ray Arsenault - rarsenau@stpt.usf.edu
Both the Master of Arts in American Studies and the Master of Liberal Arts require a total of 33 credit hours, including 27 hours of coursework and 6 hours of thesis. Graduate courses are 3 credit hours each. The normal course load for a full-time graduate student is 9 credit hours per semester in fall and spring. Students may register for thesis hours after completing at least 18 hours of coursework.
Coursework requirements differ according to program and track:
Humanities track: Two courses are required of all students:
HUM 6801: Theories and Methods of Cultural Studies
HUM 6815: Research Seminar in Humanities
At least 12 additional hours must be selected from among courses
in Humanities, and up to 9 hours in approved outside electives. Six hours may be at the 4000 level.
Humanities track students must demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language by passing a language proficiency exam.
Liberal Studies track: All courses must be approved by the Graduate Director. No more than 12 hours may be taken in any single department. Six hours may be at the 4000 level. Two courses are required of all students:
HUM 6801: Theories and Methods of Cultural Studies
HUM 6815: Research Seminar in Humanities
American Studies graduate students must take the following four courses:
AMS 6156: Theories and Methods of Cultural Studies
AMS 6254: Decade in Depth
AMS 6805: Major Ideas in America
AMS 6938: Graduate Seminar in American Studies
15 additional hours must be selected from 5000 or 6000 level courses in American Studies or related departments, such as English, History, Humanities, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Women's Studies.
In addition, the student of either program will write a thesis proposal and conduct an oral defense of the proposal. The student will then write a thesis of between 40 to 80 pages in length and conduct an oral thesis defense to complete the degree. Please note that students will not be permitted to apply for graduation in the same semester that they defend the thesis proposal. For proposal writing guidelines, click here. For a proposal and thesis timeline, click here.
Thesis Proposal Writing Guidelines
New Thesis Supervisory Committee Form
Change to Supervisory Committee Form
Graduate School Thesis and Dissertation Procedures
Prospective students should consult http://www.grad.usf.edu/newsite/admissions/main.asp to download an application form for the Graduate School at USF. This web page also offers an application check list detailing the items required by the Graduate School for the application process.
Applications must be received by
March 1 for fall admission (late applications accepted until June 15th).
The Liberal Studies and Humanities tracks of the M.L.A. and the M.A. program in American Studies accept applications for fall admission only. For spring and summer application deadlines pertaining to other tracks of the M.L.A., please contact the appropriate advisor directly.
Please send an official transcript, which should demonstrate a minimum GPA of 3.0 in upper-level undergraduate coursework. Applicants to the Master of Liberal Arts Program should designate the track of the MLA to which they are applying (HTS, LSS, AFA, SPT, or FST).
All applicants must also take the GRE. Successful applicants will have a minimum verbal score of 500, with a minimum score of 4.5 in the analytical writing portion of the test.
An academic writing sample should be sent directly to the Humanities and American Studies program director. In addition, applicants to the Liberal Studies Track must submit to the Graduate Director a written description of their proposed program of study, including a complete list of courses selected from the Graduate Catalogue. These additional materials should be sent to the following address:
Graduate Director
Department of Humanities and American Studies
4202 E. Fowler Ave.
CPR 107
Tampa, FL 33620
Please contact the graduate director at ams@cas.usf.edu or mla@cas.usf.edu for further information.
To download the full-color brochure for each of the two degree programs, please follow the links below:
Master of Arts in American Studies
Master of Liberal Arts
Applicants entering in the fall of even-numbered years are eligible to compete for the University Graduate Fellowship. This one-year, $10,000 fellowship is awarded biennially to one new student in either American Studies or any track of the MLA. The award is made to the enrollee with the highest combined GRE score, provided the score is at least 1250.
Graduate students with fewer than 18 credit hours of graduate-level coursework may be considered for a position as a teaching assistant or grader. Graduate students with 18 or more graduate-level credits may additionally be considered to teach a 1000- or 2000-level introductory class as the primary instructor.
Graduate students who wish to be considered for a graduate teaching assistantship should express their interest by emailing the Graduate Director by March 1st (for the summer and fall terms) or October 16th (for the spring term) with a prioritized list of the positions they would like to fill. All active graduate students will be notified by the Graduate Director two weeks before these deadlines of the available positions for the coming semester. New applicants interested in first-semester teaching appointments should contact the Graduate Director to request the list of available positions in time to meet the above deadlines.
International applicants who wish to be considered for a first-semester teaching appointment must also submit, via regular mail, verification of having achieved the following minimum scores:
TOEFL Reading: 20
TOEFL Writing: 24
TOEFL Listening: 20
TOEFL Speaking: 24
TSE: 50
International applicants will only be appointed to first-semester teaching appointments after a successful telephone interview.
Each fall and spring semester, the department will endeavor to fund one section of a course designed and taught by a graduate student. The course will be offered as either AMS 2363 or HUM 2930. The assignment will be awarded competitively to one student each semester according to the following criteria:
(1) The student must be an active graduate student in good standing in either American Studies, Humanities, or the Liberal Studies track of the MLA. He or she must have completed at least 18 hours of graduate study by the time of appointment, and must have previously taught for at least two semesters as a grader or teaching assistant in the department.
(2) The student must indicate by email to the Graduate Director his or her interest in teaching either AMS 2363 or HUM 2930, and attach a proposed syllabus to this email.
Deadlines for applying for this procedure are: February 15th for the fall semester; October 1st for the spring semester.
The successful applicant must achieve an enrollment of at least 20 students in order to offer the course.
Students will only be appointed as teaching assistants in the department for a maximum of six semesters. No graduate teaching assistant will be allowed to teach more than a single preparation in any given semester. For further information, please contact the Graduate Director at ams@cas.usf.edu or mla@cas.usf.edu.
For more information on USF's Graduate School policies and guidelines regarding Graduate Assistantships, please visit http://www.grad.usf.edu/newsite/ga/index.asp.