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Faculty of Arts
University of Alberta

Program Requirements

Before proceeding to the researching and writing of the thesis, a student must:

  • take and pass CLASS 501 (*1), graded pass/fail (if not previously passed).
  • take and pass six (*18) courses at the graduate level. These must include:
    1. at least three (*9) in the Department of History and Classics at the 500-600 level.
    2. one (*3) of fieldwork or the equivalent.
  • take and pass two (*6) author courses in GREEK or LATIN, whichever is the appropriate language (these courses may be included in the six above courses).
  • fulfill the Departmental language requirement in two modern languages relevant to the student’s field of study, as determined by the supervisory committee and reported in writing to the Associate Chair (Graduate Studies) by the end of the first year.
  • fulfill the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research ethics training requirement. NOTE: This requirement applies to all University of Alberta graduate students who started their program on or after 1 September 2004; it does not apply to those who started their program prior to that date.
  • prepare for, take, and pass two written and one oral comprehensive examinations in two fields. NOTE: The exams will be sat after the completion of course work and must be successfully completed before proceeding to the candidacy.
  • take and pass the oral candidacy examination, for which the student prepares a thesis proposal of ten to twenty double-spaced pages (including bibliography), based on some preliminary research.

After passing the candidacy examination, the student must:

  • register with the Graduate Committee the subject of his/her thesis, as approved by the candidacy examining committee.
  • research and write a thesis that represents the result of original historical research, makes a genuine contribution to knowledge, and meets the standards laid down by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. The text of the thesis should normally be between 200 and 300 pages in length.
  • successfully defend the thesis in a final oral examination.