Dear History PhD Students,

For those of you taking a HIST 804 readings course in  a minor field this semester, or planning to do so next semester, I wanted to alert you to the remaining meeting dates of the Graduate Committee so you can submit your minor field proposals to us for approval. Our next two meetings this semester are on Monday, October 19 and Monday, November 16. In order to be considered at either of these meetings, I need the following no later than the Friday before each meetings:

(1) IF YOU PLAN TO SATISFY THE MINOR FIELD VIA AN EXAM: As spelled out last Spring, if you wish to satisfy the minor field via a take-home written exam instead of a field statement, you must get your proposal to the Graduate Committee before the start of the semester you are doing the 804 readings. You will not be allowed to take the exam if your proposal has not been approved by the Graduate Committee. Those of you taking 804 this semester who have not yet submitted a proposal to us, please take note. The proposal for students taking an exam only needs to be a paragraph spelling out the contours (geographical, chronological, topical, etc.) of the field. Your bibliography of at least 50 books (or the equivalent) is really more important than the text of the statement for those of you taking an exam. You should also submit the proposal form (down load from the PhD web site) signed by the two faculty members who will be reading your exam at the end of the semester.

(2) IF YOU PLAN TO SUBMIT A FIELD STATEMENT (only applies to students who entered the program prior to fall 2009): You must submit a longer proposal of 1-2 pp., plus the bibliography of at least 50 books (or the equivalent) and the signed proposal form during the semester of your 804 readings. For student writing field statements, the written proposal is equally important as the bibliography. You must indicate what you plan to cover in the finished statement.

PLEASE CHECK WITH STEVE BARNES IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS WHETHER YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE AN EXAM INSTEAD OF SUBMITTING A FIELD STATEMENT. Remember, if you have already completed your 804 readings in a minor field but have not yet completed a field statement, you have one and only one opportunity to take an exam instead--this Fall semester. Please see Steve if you have any questions.

Best wishes,

Mack Holt

Chair, Graduate Committee

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Mack P. Holt
Professor of History, Director of MA Program
Dept. of History and Art History
Mail Stop 3G1
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22020-4444

Tel.: (703)-993-1259
Fax: (703)-993-1251
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