The Senior Project

      Normally, the Senior Project will be undertaken during the last year of a candidate's study. Students wishing to do the project will notify the Program Chair as to their intentions, before the end of classes during the semester prior to taking History 4950. At that time, they will discuss what they would like to do. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate the student's interests. Proposals, however, must be feasible given the time constraints of one term, the availability of sources, and the relevant knowledge of the faculty. Each student will be assigned a principal supervisor as well as a second reader; the student should meet with his/her principal supervisor on a regular basis throughout the project.  It is best to start thinking about your Senior Project before the start of the semester in question. 

      There are two options for the Senior Project:

i) HIST4950 Independent Project

     This option can be taken in the fall or winter semester of your final year, although typically students take the course in the winter semester of their fourth year.  It is important to have completed HIST 3840 as well as nine other history courses before enrolling in HIST 4950.  HIST4950 involves a thesis proposal, annotated bibliography, and outline, which is then followed by the research for the project, the writing of the essay draft, and an oral presentation.  More details are provided below.

 or:

ii) HIST 4951 and HIST 4952  Advanced Research Essay I and II

      The program has created a new stream for the Senior Project that spans two courses, and this stream will go airborne in the fall 2020 semester.  Specifically, the courses HIST 4951 and 4952 (Advanced Research Essay I and II, respectively) offer students the ability to pursue a more extensive project over two semesters and present it in written and oral form.  If you choose this stream, you need both courses, HIST 4951 and HIST 4952.  In HIST 4951, you will acquire a knowledge of the scholarship in your chosen field of study and then develop essay proposal.  In HIST 4952, you will pursue the research for the essay and then write the essay (which would be longer than the essay required for HIST 4950).  An oral presentation of the essay is required as well. Students who take HIST 4951 and HIST 4952 will be required to do only four courses in the history-related disciplines, instead of five.  More details are provided below.

      As with HIST 4950, it is important to have completed HIST 3840 as well as nine other history courses before enrolling in HIST 4951. 

       Which option is best for you? The HIST 4951-4952 is an option for the senior project that is particularly well suited to those students who wish to delve into a topic in greater depth and who are considering graduate school.  HIST 4951-4952 is similar to an Honours thesis and the professors who write your letters of reference can make that point.  Nevertheless, students majoring in Historical Studies have had good success gaining entrance to post-graduate programs having taken HIST 4950.

       Overall, the Senior Project is the "flagship" course of your Historical Studies degree. It is highly desirable that you do well and our faculty will do everything they can to help you succeed.  Copies of outstanding HIST 4950 papers are available upon request, as a guide to the quality of research and writing expected of you.

Please note: All students enrolled in either option are required to attend an information session in the first week of the semester (time and date t.b.a.). 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR HIST 4950:

A. The finished paper will be between 5,000 and 7,500 words in length.

B. The research base will be equivalent to 15 books, although it may take other forms than traditional printed sources (with the supervisor's approval). Where and when appropriate, students may be encouraged to consult primary sources; this, however, is not a course requirement per se.

C. During the first week of the semester, students will meet with their assigned supervisor to discuss their topics, as previously submitted to the Program Chair, and to begin the immediate preparation of the formal proposal and annotated bibliography.

D. Students will submit a formal thesis proposal supported by an annotated bibliography to their supervisor by the end of the second week of the semester, or the first drop date of the semester, whichever comes first. Samples of these assignments are available upon request.

E. A detailed working outline of their project with an introductory paragraph will be presented to the supervisor by the end of the fifth week of the semester.

F. Students will hand in a full first submission of their project in the eighth week of the semester (remember that this is not your first draft but should be as complete and as polished as you can make it; treat it like your final submission!).

H. Students will give an Oral Presentation based on their first full submission in the tenth week of the semester. They will receive written comments on this oral presentation through their supervisor no later than three days after the presentation.

The final paper will be due no later than the last day of classes during the semester.   

      All HIST 4950 papers are compiled at the end of the academic year and made available in the Ferriss-Hodgett Library.  Students will have the opportunity, if they choose, to make editorial changes upon receiving comments to their final paper before they get reprinted for archival purposes and public distribution.

GRADING SCHEME:

Please note that each assignment noted below will be accepted only if it meets the standard required at this level, as determined by your supervisor.

      Failure to meet any due date without showing due cause will result in a penalty of 5% for the first day and 2% for each calendar day up to a maximum of 6 total "late days," after which a grade of zero will be awarded for the assignment in question.  Students must advise their supervisors in advance of any delays in submission.

The grade for the final submission of the paper will be determined mainly by the supervisor, in consultation with the second reader.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR HIST 4951 AND 4952

HISTORY 4951 Advanced Research Essay I

Course Description

     This course is the first part in the Advanced Research Essay. The purpose of this course is to familiarize the student with the field and the broader historical context surrounding the topic. Students will choose a project advisor in consultation with the program chair.  The chair will then seek a second reader for the project.  

     In this course, the student will meet with the project advisor about once a week to discuss the readings and the assignments. The reading list will be worked out in collaboration with the instructor during the first two weeks of class.

      While students are encouraged to base the advanced research essay on primary historical materials, logistical challenges may render this impossible, depending on the topic.  In such an instance, an essay that is historiographical in orientation would be perfectly acceptable.

Assignment Structure Overview:

Assignment Structure in Detail:

i) Participation

Value: 20%

      Students will be evaluated on their preparedness for the weekly meetings with the advisor as well as the caliber of the comments made by the student.  There will be a few periodic meetings throughout the semester for all Historical Studies program faculty as well as all the students enrolled in the course.

ii) Reading List (comprised of books and articles related to the student’s chosen essay topic but also potential methodologies and relevant historiography)

Value: 10%

Due: Monday of week two

iii) Historiographical Essay 

Length: 15 pages

Value: 15%

Due: Wednesday of week six

This essay will discuss and analyse in detail the scholarship that is relevant to the essay.

iv) Preliminary Essay Proposal

Length: fifteen pages

Value: 15%

Due: Monday of week nine

this proposal will contain extensive detail on the following:

v) Presentation on Essay Proposal

Value: 10%

Date: Week nine of the semester

     Each student will be required to give a fifteen-minute presentation on the proposal.  The presentation will be attended by Historical Studies faculty as well as the other students in the course.

vi) Final Essay Proposal with Annotated Bibliography

Length: 15 pages

Value: 30%

Due: Monday of week twelve

      The second reader of the essay project will be given a copy of the final proposal to review and comment on.

Late Penalties

     Failure to meet any due date without showing due cause will result in a penalty of 5% for the first day and 2% for each calendar day up to a maximum of 6 total "late days," after which a grade of zero will be awarded for the assignment in question.  Students must advise their faculty advisors in advance of any delays in submission.

HISTORY 4952 Advanced Research Essay II

Course Description

     This course continues the foundational work on the independent project conducted in HIST 4951. The bulk of the work in HIST 4952 will be devoted to conducting the primary source research, preparing the outline for the paper, writing the drafts and giving an oral presentation.  Primary source research could involve research in local archives or the use of printed materials available through the Digital Humanities online repository or the university library collection.  However, the topic chosen may present various logistical impediments that render primary historical research impossible; in such a case, an essay that is historiographical in nature is perfectly acceptable.

Each student enrolled in this course will normally meet on a regular basis with the same faculty advisor with whom the student worked in History 4951.

Assignment Structure Overview:

Assignment Structure in Detail:

i) Outline of essay

Length: four pages

Due: Monday of week three

Worth: 10%

ii) First draft of essay

Length: 25-40 pages in addition to the bibliography and documentation

Due: Monday, Monday of week eight

Worth: 20%

iii) Final draft of essay

Due: Monday of week eleven

Worth: 40%

iii) Oral presentation (at the Nick Novakowski symposium at the end of the semester)

Worth: 30%

The second reader of the essay project will be given a copy of the final essay to review and comment on.

    All HIST 4952 papers are compiled at the end of the academic year and made available in the Ferriss-Hodgett Library.  Students will have the opportunity, if they choose, to make editorial changes upon receiving comments to their final paper before they get reprinted for archival purposes and public distribution.

Late Penalties

    Failure to meet any due date without showing due cause will result in a penalty of 5% for the first day and 2% for each calendar day up to a maximum of 6 total "late days," after which a grade of zero will be awarded for the assignment in question. Students must advise their faculty advisors in advance of any delays in submission.